Estate surveyors and valuers have intensified the fight against quackery in the profession by working to establish mega practices.

The Chairman, Estate Agency and Marketing Faculty of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Mr Sam Eboigbe, said the society had become very sophisticated and the business of real estate was changing.

He said it had become necessary for practitioners to upgrade and deliver effective service to investors.

“Estate surveyors are losing so much ground to external incursion into our territory and in a bid to halt that trend, we have decided to look inward on what to do things through mega practices,” he said.

Eboigbe, who conveyed the faculty’s interactive session on ‘Dynamics of establishing and running a vibrant mega estate practice’, said investors were on the lookout for well-established operators that they could be trusted to handle big business.

“When you compare one man practice with some of the mega practices, you will discover that in mega practice, there is more effective service, specialisation and one-stop shop and concentration on area where clients get the best,” he said.

The President of NIESV, Mr Rowland Abonta, stated that international investors were aware of the potential in the industry and had competitive advantage of expertise, depth, accessibility to funds.

He said they could not be stopped, hence the need for indigenous professionals to position themselves for partnerships and its greater benefits.

Abonta said it was pertinent to state that the institution’s continued quest to promote effective real estate practice and deliver quality service to clients as well as contribute optimally to national economic development might be a mirage if members failed to embrace partnerships and mega practice.

The NIESV president, who was represented by the Vice President, Emmanuel Wike, said real estate practice thrived on trust, specialisation, professionalism, quality delivery and funds accessibility, being a capital-intensive venture.

He said it had become inevitable in view of today’s reality that external support for the sector’s financing and projects development would be required.

These requirements, he stated, could effectively be met through partnerships and mega practices, adding that otherwise practitioners might soon become relevant.

He said, “It is disheartening to note that despite the advantages in mega practice, members are neither willing to embrace, nor explore it even with a subsisting law.

“Young practitioners should be admonished and encouraged to embrace any of the models with incentives offered would-be partners with conditions to make it difficult for them to break it.”

According to him, mega practices should be integrated into the advocacy thrust of the institution.