Brokers look to property investment advice

According to PIPA chair Ben Kingsley, more practitioners, including brokers, are seeking to incorporate qualified property investment advice into their service offering, despite the fact that the provision of property investment advice continues to go unregulated by the federal government.

Mr Kingsley said: “Although property investment advice still remains unregulated, we are committed to driving higher standards to protect consumers and ensure they benefit from the wealth creation benefits that well-selected, strategic property investment can bring.

“Property has become a favoured investment class among Australian investors and one that requires as much due diligence as any other asset. We are seeing practitioners from a range of backgrounds, including mortgage broking, financial planning and real estate services, formalise their property investment knowledge to offer a professional, qualified service.”

Mr Kingsley said there were several catalysts driving the trend.

“In many cases it’s inbound demand from clients looking for assistance with their property investment strategies. In other cases, we hear that practitioners are simply becoming aware of clients’ less than strategic approach to property investment and they’re looking for a way to help. There is also growing recognition that property investment advice is simply very complementary to a range of professions.”

[Related: Brokers ‘most important source of finance’ for investors]