Editorial

Citation

Warren, C.M.J. (2015), "Editorial", Property Management, Vol. 33 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/PM-02-2015-0007

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Property Management, Volume 33, Issue 2.

The second issue of Property Management for 2015 demonstrates the wide diversity of interests held by property managers and property researchers around the world. The Journal continues to receive high-quality papers in increasing numbers which demonstrates the popularity of Property Management, and reflects quality of research we are able to bring to readers. The Editorial Advisory Board and our team of reviewers have been particularly busy over recent months as the volume of research articles continues to increase. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for the tireless work that they all put in to ensure that only the best research papers make it into the journal.

In this issue of Property Management we have papers which relate to property education as well as issues in both the residential and commercial sectors of the market. The papers once again illustrate the diversity of locations from which relevant research emanates with papers from researchers in Australia, Norway, Italy and UK.

The first paper in this issue comes from Joanna Poon from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK and Michael Brownlow of Vesuvius, UK. The paper; “Real estate student satisfaction in Australia: what matters most?”, as the title suggests is based on research undertaken by Joanna while working in Australia and explores the perceptions of students in tertiary education courses linked to the property industry. The paper uses data from two surveys including a national level survey of all graduates. The findings show that generally students exhibit a high level of satisfaction with their courses. These findings have implications not just in Australia but for all involved in teaching or maintaining professional body accreditation of real estate courses.

The second paper is by Francesco Tajani and Pierluigi Morano both from Polytechnic of Bari, Italy. Their paper is entitled “An evaluation model of the financial feasibility of social housing in urban redevelopment”. Their research examines the issues around social housing in areas of urban regeneration and puts forward a model which seeks to determine the appropriate level of social housing to be included within any private sector regeneration project. The data for this model are drawn from the Campania region of Italy and shows the extent to which housing project meet the stated social housing objectives. This paper provides a useful tool which can be used by government entities in setting planning schemes where there is a need to establish and meet acceptable levels of affordable social housing.

Paper three in this issue is a collaboration between researchers in the USA and the UK. The authors are Andrew Holt from Metropolitan State University of Denver, USA and Timothy Eccles from Nottingham Trent University, UK. The paper assesses whether financial reporting practices for commercial service charges in the UK retail sector match the best practice requirements of the RICS Code of Practice for Commercial Service Charges. The analysis draws on service charges documents obtained from 126 UK retail centres with 44 different managing agents and 87 landlords.

The paper indicates that implementation of the code is very variable and generally poor in terms of financial reporting. These findings are significant in that they show that adoption of the code of practice by property managers and centre owners is slow despite its development to deal with industry perceptions of poor levels of competence and a lack of accountability among managers. This paper will make interesting reading for all involved in retail and commercial property management.

The fourth paper is written by Mary Ann Stamsø, from the National Institute for Consumer Research in Norway. The paper; “Selling a house and the decision to use a real estate broker in Norway” reports on the booming residential market in Norway and what influences the decision to use a broker. Recent legislative changes aimed at greater transparency in price setting in Norway are discussed. The paper draws on a survey of 1,469 vendors and reports on the factors which influence the decision to use a real estate agent or one of the growing number of organisations offering to assist in the process of organising a private sale. This research gives a good insight into the residential markets in Norway and the attitudes of vendors to the sales process.

The final paper comes from Erika Altmann in School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania, Australia. Her paper is entitled; “Industry professionalisation of strata title managers: what are the implications for governance?” This research focuses on the rapid expansion of the strata management industry in Australia as the trend to higher density living results in increased numbers of medium- and high-density apartments which require the services of competent strata managers. The paper explores the role of the strata title manager and the emergence of the profession. It discusses the training received by strata managers and the disconnect between what is received as training and the requirements of the profession.

I trust that you find the range of research papers presented in this issue of Property Management interesting and informative and I would encourage you to present your research for inclusion in the Journal. I would also welcome any feedback on the papers that are presented, or the future development of the Journal to meet the needs of both researchers and practitioners.

Clive M.J. Warren