DOHA: Unlicensed real estate appraisers are thriving in Qatar, influencing real estate prices amid a continuing construction boom.
It is illegal to appraise real estate without a licence from the Ministry of Justice, but there are unlawful appraisers operating in the market openly.
There are 120 licensed appraisers, and there are no estimates of unlicensed middlemen and evaluators.
A prominent real estate appraiser told local Arabic daily Al Raya in comments published yesterday that an effective way to stop illegal operators was to have a professional association of licensed appraisers.
“We must be allowed to form our professional association so we can fight for our rights and ensure that professional ethics is followed,” said Khalifa Al Muslemani.
He said it is necessary to regulate the profession of real estate appraisal and have a law in place since illegal appraisers are destroying the market.
There are cases in the courts and the involved parties are buyers, sellers and illegal appraisers, he said.
Illegal appraisers increase the price of a property to get higher commission on a sale. This way they are harming the national economy, banks and buyers’ interest, he said.
Licensed appraisers have offices and if sellers and buyers operate through them, the chances of disputes over transactions are dim.
Another licensed appraiser, Rashid Al Dosri, told the daily that it was because of illegal appraisers that the real estate market was facing recession.
“They have taken real estate prices to incredible highs because they want to charge more commission,” said Al Dosri talking of illegal middlemen and appraisers.
The situation is that a villa that costs a million and a few thousands riyals is being sold for three to four million riyals because of the involvement of illegal appraisers, said Al Dosri.
“They are giving wrong estimates. Licensed appraisers are being marginalised. They are being pushed to the sidelines.”
There is the need to organize the profession and regulate it by putting a law in place, he added.
But a director of a real estate company, Mohamed Nuzmi, told the daily that he doesn’t agree that appraisers can influence prices.
“They come into picture only when a court hearing a dispute refers the matter to an appraiser for opinion, so how they can influence the price of a property,” asked Nuzmi.
A bank giving away a loan seeks help from an appraiser. In the event of a dispute between a bank and a borrower, an appraiser is appointed (by the bank). “An appraiser can give correct estimates of a property because he knows the market,” said Nuzmi.
The current increase in real estate prices is because of middlemen involved in transactions who don’t have the right experience and don’t know the local market, he said.
“They increase prices because they want higher commission,” said Nuzmi.
He added that the government should allow vertical expansion of buildings to cope with the rising population and the soaring demand for housing instead of going in for horizontal expansion.
Before a property can be sold, insured or mortgaged an appraiser has to estimate its value. One of the jobs of an appraiser is to look at previous appraisals of a property, future developments in the area and other factors that can impact its price.
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