by Shane Henson — December 10, 2012—Two of the principal global real estate bodies, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), are now working together to drive the creation of international property measurement standards in an effort to address the lack of consistency in the way property is measured, and therefore valued.
Currently, measurement standards exist nationally and regionally, typically varying from market to market, hindering cross-border real estate comparison. The organizations say that widespread market adoption of these new standards will provide the building blocks for well-functioning global real estate markets and will be complementary to international financial reporting standards and international valuation standards: two layers shaping the global financial system.
“Real estate is a global industry, and transparent, well-regulated markets depend on a globally consistent understanding of valuation principles. Measurement is fundamental to the valuation process and helping to advance industry-owned standards is an essential part of our public interest remit,” explained Johnny Dunford, global commercial property director for RICS.
The emerging coalition, which is not restricted to BOMA International and RICS, will shortly begin the standard-setting process and look to involve further partners around the world—including governments, companies and academia—to develop standards owned and adopted across world markets, say the organizations.
