Unitec is pleased to announce that The National Certificate in Real Estate (Salesperson) course fee will still be supported by Government funding.
The Government has continued to support the training of industry entrants in 2012.
The National Certificate in Real Estate (Salesperson) fee for 2012 is $1859.00
The Commerce Commission has stemmed a growing tide of complaints about daily deal and group buying websites with a proactive approach to educating the websites about consumer law.
Greg Allan, Manager Competition Branch, says the Commission was on the case as soon as it started to see concerning trends emerging in the daily deal and group buying market place.
“Earlier last year, our intelligence unit identified this as an area where we were increasingly likely to see complaints. We then started to see numbers of complaints reported to the Commission begin to climb. As a result, we’ve been targeting the websites, talking to them about their compliance programmes, checking how they vet advertising, and how they deal with complaints,” said Mr Allan.
Under the Fair Trading Act, it is illegal for any business whether they are operating in the real or virtual world, to mislead consumers, give false information, or use unfair trading practices.
While issues continue to emerge, Mr Allan said the levels of complaints to the Commission have been steadily dropping since it we began talking to the websites about these issues.
“We have been particularly heartened to see a number of these websites taking responsibility, including by issuing refunds to customers whose deals haven’t gone according to plan,” said Mr Allan.
Mr Allan said it was particularly important as the market evolved that the Commission’s focus remained on the websites rather than the individual traders as the websites are in a better position to obtain compliance before offers are published.
“These deals are now targeting consumers in real time. You could be walking down the street and want a meal, and look to your smart phone to find out which deals are nearby. You can buy on the spot, download the barcode, walk into a restaurant and get the deal.”
“The fast-changing nature of these deals means we have to be ahead of the game, rather than picking up the pieces at the end, which is why we’ve taken a proactive approach,” Mr Allan said.
“Consumers also need to know their rights and do their homework. Anyone looking to take up a deal should carefully check the offer, including the terms and conditions, and if unsure of any part of the offer, contact the supplier making the offer to confirm details ” said Mr Allan.
Background
Daily deal websites offer goods or services at a discounted price until the pre-specified number of sales is reached or the day ends (whichever comes first).
Group buying websites offer products or services at significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers buy. This means a certain number of people must sign up for the offer before it becomes available.
Numbers and types of complaints
Between 1 January and 30 June 2011, when the numbers of daily deal websites rose dramatically, the Commission received an average of 22.5 complaints per month. By October and November 2011, the average was 10 complaints per month from 85 websites.
The type of complaint has also changed over that period. Initial complaints focused on traders not supplying goods or services promised, or imposing extra conditions which meant that vouchers could not be redeemed. Recent complaints have focused more on misleading advertising statements and misleading recommended retail prices.
Media contact:Mary Macpherson, Senior Communications Advisor
Phone work (04) 924 3737, mobile 021 225 4452
Victoria Parry, Senior Communications Adviser
Phone work (04) 924 3709, mobile 021 225 4454
Commission media releases can be viewed at www.comcom.govt.nz/mediareleases
Posted in Random
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New Zealand’s housing market is still limping along as buyers refuse to over-pay for properties, keeping the volume of sales muted.
The number of sales rose 28 per cent to 5,007 last month compared to October last year when the market was plumbing 20-year lows, but was 4.4 per cent down from September, according to the Real Estate Institute.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, volumes fell 0.5 per cent in the month.
“The volume figures for October suggests that the spring ‘lift’ widely expected in the real estate market has been muted,” said chief executive Helen O’Sullivan, in a statement. “Properties perceived by prospective buyers as over-priced are not generating much interest at all.”
Quotable Value data this week showed property values are still on the rise, and are 4.4 per cent from the 2007 peak on a nationwide basis. The bulk of that improvement is emanating from Auckland, which has underpinned the market which has struggled to recover from depressed values and prices in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Still, October was a tough month for Auckland house sales, which fell 4.7 per cent last month, though are still up 35 per cent from the same month a year ago.
The national median sale price rose 2.6 per cent to $359,000 last month compared to both September prices and October 2010 prices, while average number of days to sell a house shortened to 35 days from 35 days in September and 41 days a year ago.
The REINZ stratified median house price index, constructed with the Reserve Bank to iron out peaks and troughs in pricing information, fell 0.3 per cent in October and is up 3.4 per cent from the same month a year ago. The index is 3.3 per cent below the peak recorded in 2007.
Posted in Finance, Industry links, Quotable Value, Random, Unitec Real Estate
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
The Unitec Real Estate Programme received some very positive feedback from industry professionals who had attended the Real Estate Industry VIP Presentation held at North Harbor Stadium in Albany on Monday 31st October.
Keith Manch, Chief Executive of the Real Estate Agents Authority, was the guest speaker at this major industry event. He gave a brief presentation on how the revised compliance model is working as well as an update into the REAA proposals for continuing professional education in the Real Estate Industry.
“The current status of industry relationships is strong,” Keith noted. “This is as a result of engagement with the REINZ, the Regulators Forum and the Continuing Education consultation work.”
“It was an excellent opportunity to hear the update from Keith and find out the latest about CE. I was also pleased to hear of the progress Unitec has made in expanding to the North Shore with your Northern campus,” one participant emailed.
“You are to be commended for your pro-active leadership stance in bringing industry stakeholders together to hear from VIP’s such as Keith Manch on a range of issues critical to our industry. I was pleased to see the leap of understanding that drove question and responses,” said an industry stakeholder.
Real Estate Programme Leader Mary Crotty says that the VIP Presentation underscores the importance that the Programme gives to the “connections between education and the industry.”
Mary comments that Unitec is well prepared, and is now ready to facilitate classes that will comply with the new regulations around continuing education, at both the Mt Albert Campus and the Northern Campus.
Sourced from the NZ Herald
Six industry training organisations have been given until February to improve their performance or face losing all taxpayer funding.
The ITOs were this year found to be making unjustified claims for more than 9 per cent of the money they received in 2009.
The figures, obtained by the Weekend Herald under the Official Information Act, emerged from a national audit which found a quarter of listed trainees that year were not employed as the ITOs claimed.
Tertiary Education Commission figures also show the ITOs – which were forced to repay $4.3 million for money wrongly claimed in 2009 – had to return $20 million last year for training they did not carry out.
The commission and the Industry Training Federation, which represents ITOs, say most of this money was for planned training which fell through because of the economic downturn, rather than false claims.
However, both acknowledge that the Government’s clampdown on funding rules may have forced some to stop claiming for trainees who were not achieving anything.
Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce, who announced a sweeping review of industry training in June, agreed, saying ITOs were forced to run their systems by the new rules and a new register which recorded training as it happened.
Some ITOs which had to make big repayments in 2009 might be struggling to reduce trainee numbers to levels they could justify last year.
Briefing papers show in July, Mr Joyce warned six ITOs – Apparel and Textile, Seafood, Aviation, Travel and Tourism, Engineering, Food and Manufacturing, Equine and Opportunity (which covers cranes and rigging) – that they would lose recognition and funding if follow-up reviews found they were still claiming money for ineligible trainees.
Two of these – Aviation, Travel and Tourism and Engineering, Food and Manufacturing – were told they must resubmit their investment plans for next year before they could receive any more public funding.
A further 10, which claimed more than $100,000 for ineligible trainees, are being monitored and face possible follow-up checks next year.
The reports also show:
* Thousands listed as trainees in the ITOs last year had achieved no credits towards a qualification.
* One trainee electrician spent 15 years on a national certificate supposed to take three part-time years.
* The Engineering, Food and Manufacturing ITO (known as Competenz) agreed to suspend 1070 people still listed as training more than four years after the usual completion date of their course.
Officials said taxpayers lost $24 million in 2009 – $14 million through ITOs overclaiming on courses which should have been completed and $10 million because more than 15,000 trainees enrolled for more credits than could be achieved.
From this year the commission linked funding to the actual duration of a course and proof that trainees were achieving credits. It said ITO cash reserves would cover most of the money owed to the Crown.
By Andrew Laxon | Email Andrew
harry.cheng@bayleys.co.nz
Below is the summary of Auckland Real Estate market for September 2011. 492 properties sold in Auckland city in last month. The average days on market for those properties sold in August 2011 is 61. The average sale price is $617,030.
| KEY MARKET INDICATORS | |
| Property sold in Auckland City in September 2011 | 492 |
| Average sale price in Auckland City in September 2011 | $617,030 |
| Average days on market | 61 |
| Highest sale price in Auckland City in September 2011 | $3,450,000 |
| Lowest sale price in Auckland City in September 2011 | $32,000 |
| Property currently for sale in Auckland City | 3,146 |
| Auckland Property Sales September 2011 |
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Posted in Industry links, Random, Snapshot, Unitec Real Estate
http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/bylaw/part22.asp#13
22.13.1
No person shall deposit , cause, permit or authorise the deposit of any unsolicited mail, circulars, leaflets, brochures or flyers:
Posted in Industry links, Random, Unitec Real Estate
