The Malaysian Institute of Professional Property Managers (MIPPM) today launches their second annual conference entitled ‘PropTech: Driving the future of Property Management 2017” held at Connexion@Nexus, Bangsar South Kuala Lumpur. The conference was attended by approximately 200 delegates.

The one-day conference began with the welcoming speech by Sr Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin who is the Organising Chairman of the conference followed by Sr Sarkunan Subramaniam's President of MIPPM's welcoming speech.

The opening ceremony was officiated by YB Dato' Lee Chee Leong, Deputy Minister of Finance II, joined by Sr Dr Hajah Zailan Binti Mohd Isa, Deputy Director General of The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia

Sr Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin, Vice President of MIPPM says, "The theme for the MIPPM Annual Conference this year is indeed appropriate in the light of the current rapid change in disrupting technology especially related to real estate and Industry 4.0.

This is indeed a unique conference aimed at bringing together an array of participants and speakers from abroad and locally to meet and share ideas and stimulate discussions in the area of Property Technology.”

Sr Sarkunan Subramaniam, President of MIPPM says, "The entire property industry is now facing major disruptions and the traditional way of doing business is changing. The estate agency practice used to print newspaper classifieds to advertise their listings and today they have moved quite substantially to listing in the various portals and apps that have abruptly appeared, in a way trying to eliminate the need for estate agents, pushing estate agents out of their comfort zone.

Today, disruptive technology has erupted that all these front-end tenant/occupant interfaces can be done online and through apps. "I can tell you that there is a real proliferation of such programmes and apps that technologist have jumped into, that the property manager cannot ignore. If he does so, he will soon find that, it is he who is going to be ignored in the future when his management portfolio dwindles," he said.

Clients are demanding real-time information at their ease and time and do not want to wait for property manager's monthly reports or meetings to hear what is happening to their investment. They want to view a dashboard of the key parameters at a real-time, anytime without having to read a report a month or even weeks old.

Subramaniam adds, "The need for Malaysians Property Managers to embrace PropTech urgently is further compounded with the current move by The Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers to open up the profession to other than Registered Valuers who have to carry out property management in the past.

This is a great progressive move and those at MIPPM laud the Board for getting Parliament to approve the amendments to the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act, making the Act now to be renamed the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act.

The move is estimated to add 10,000 registrants nationwide to the 1,000 odd registered property managers. This is going to change the entire property management landscape. Those who worked for registered property managers, who may have lacked qualifications but have gained the experience can now register and form their own companies. Those who were having companies undertaking property management in the past without registration and those from other allied professions such as architects or engineers can now register.

In this landscape the property management company that embraces PropTech uses it to its benefit will stand out amongst the competition and withstand the wave that is going to hit the profession.

MIPPM also is equipping itself for this landscape change. "We want to work with the Board, understanding that the Board will be very busy next year in the process of registering property managers and avail ourselves to the Board for any assistance required. Already MIPPM has been instrumental in assisting the Board in the change of the legislation to register property managers and have been working together in setting guidelines, rules and conduct for Property Managers," he said.

In his keynote speech address, YB Dato' Lee Chee Leong, Deputy Minister of Finance II says, "Disruptive change is coming. We cannot avoid it. In fact, we must embrace it. The days of walking into a high street letting agent, taking hours to view a property, and searching a spreadsheet for a potential mortgage lender could be dwindling. The property sector is innovating and embracing new technology to improve its offering to customers.

Driven by rapid urbanisation and tech-savvy population, and with Government's strong support of innovation and entrepreneurship, I believe Malaysia can play an important role and take lead in the digital transformation of real estate industry and perhaps become a hub for PropTech in coming years. YB Dato' Lee Chee Leong adds, "Ministry of Finance has always been supportive of MIPPM in its continuous efforts in elevating the profession to the next level.

The recent amendment to the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981 (Act 242) will allow the liberalisation of the property management practice in Malaysia and further enhance the real estate industry by opening opportunities for more practitioners other than registered valuers to seek registration under the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Malaysia. The amendment involves the opening of the Register of Property Managers under the Act to encourage all unlicensed property managers to register with the Board.

The new Register of Property Managers is expected to ensure that only the competent property managers are allowed to practice in order to protect the public's interest.

"Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to share the Key Data gathered by National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) under Jabatan Penilaian dan Perkhidmatan Harta (JPPH) on the Property Market for the first half of 2017. The latest record showed that there is a significant increase in the number of strata property developments which will, therefore, require more property managers with the right qualifications and skills," said Dato' Lee.

"With this in mind, I truly hope related bodies such as MIPPM will continue to provide the necessary industry related training for its members as well as for the public especially for the management of strata property developments. I am confident that this conference will be beneficial for all of us in enhancing our knowledge and in keeping abreast of the technological changes affecting real estate business especially in property management," he concluded.