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Central Metropolitan College of TAFE, Perth, Western Australia

1998 - The 4th Annual PRRES Conference in Perth, Western Australia

January 19 - 21, 1998
Central Metropolitan College of TAFE, Perth, Western Australia

Conference Summary

This years Pacific Rim Real Estate Society conference was hosted by the Department of Property Studies, Curtin University of Technology and held at the conveniently located Central Metropolitan College of TAFE premises, in the heart of the City of Perth.

Potential Topics

The three day conference opened by the Honorable Mike Board, Acting Minister for Planning provided real estate analysts, academics and practitioners the opportunity to present the results of their latest research. Of the sixty papers presented, sixteen were refereed providing presenters the opportunity for more formal recognition of their efforts.

The keynote address was given by an internationally recognised US real estate authority Professor Austin Jaffe. Dr. Jaffe is the Philip H. Sieg Professor of Business Administration and Research Director of the Institute for Real Estate Studies at Penn State University. His paper entitled "The Costs of Ignoring Institutional Factors in International Property Research" gave all of those involved in real estate research much to reflect on particularly when evaluating future research objectives.

The conference was organised into three parallel sessions as in previous years to permit presentation of the large number of papers. Session topics covered a broad spectrum of property related issues including: institutional property performance; heritage properties; cycles, indices and forecasts; land contamination; and valuations for public purposes. Two keynote addresses were presented. Professor Neil Crosby in association with John Murdoc, University of Reading, UK whose paper entitled "Property Valuation Variation and The Margin Of Error" questioned the "margin of error" concept as a valid means of measuring accuracy of valuation estimates, and Professor Dominique Achour, Head of Department of Property Studies, Curtin University of Technology whose address entitled "Fiscaltopia and Local Governments: Are We Paying Enough Local Taxes" made the brave suggestion that perhaps we are not.

The Annual General Meeting provided the opportunity to reflect on the years accomplishments. Significant amongst these were the establishment of the PRRES electronic journal ; development of the PRRES Strategic Plan (ratified by PRRES members); revision of the PRRES Constitution; election of PRRES's past-president Graeme Newell as Executive Director of IRES, and the introduction of two new awards: a "Young Achievers" award sponsored by the Australian Institute of Valuers and Land Economists (AIVLE) and a Property Essay prize sponsored by the Malaysian Association of Valuers and Property Consultants in Private Practice (PEPS) for the best papers submitted by junior property academics, students or researchers.

Other matters arising at the AGM included a reminder of the future conference venues: 1999, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and 2000, Sydney to coincide with the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games; and the establishment of new positions for PRRES: President Elect, Executive Director, Director of Development, Historian, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster. The latter four positions are non board member positions of PRRES. Angelo Karantonis was elected President elect for the 1998 year.

Award presentations were made during the conference dinner function held at the scenic waterfront Matilda Bay yacht club.

  • Gail Saunders, was presented with a plaque of gratitude for her work as National Education Manager of the Australian Institute of Valuers and Land Economists (AIVLE). Gail has been responsible for the accreditation of all the property programs in the various Universities and for the development and implementation of a CPD program for the Institute. Gail's new role is as the Executive Director of the AIVLE in New South Wales. The award was presented by John MacFarlane, University representative on the National Education Committee of the AIVLE.

  • The PEPS Young Achievers award was presented to Ms Lau Wai Seang presented by John Loh senior member of PEPS, for her essay "Purpose-built offices in the Klang Valley - Performance Indicators and Performance Cycles".

  • The PRRES Achievement Award, PRRES's most prestigious honour, was made to two most deserving recipients this year. One award (deferred from 1997) was made to Professor Tom Whipple, retired Head of the School of Economics and Finance, Curtin University of Technology, for his leading role in the maturing of property education and research in Australia over the past quarter century. Professor Whipple, with an extensive industry background of experience to draw on, has a host of publications in his name and has initiated property courses throughout Australia and Indonesia. The other award went to Associate Professor Graeme Newell, Head of the School of Land Economy, University of Western Sydney, for his substantial contribution to the property profession through his teaching, research and consultation over the past twenty years, but more specifically for his commitment to and leadership in PRRES and its associated societies. Graeme, as immediate past president of PPRES and current executive director of the International Real Estate Society, has been instrumental in the development and promotion of both organisations. Fellow academics, students and industry members have benefited from both Tom's and Graeme's willingness to pass on their extensive property knowledge, helping these individuals to develop both their research and teaching skills. These awards were presented by Sandy Bond, PPRES president, from Massey University, Palmerston North.

The meeting concluded with the Property Education Forum, a panel of property education experts from a number of the membership countries who presented an overview of the current affairs and issues in property education within their respective regions.

Delegates were able to take advantage of an extra optional day-trip out to Rottnest Island, a one hour fast ferry trip down the Swan River and across the coast from Perth. With over 40 km of coastline, Rottnest Island contains quiet coves, rocky headlands and sweeping crystal clear bays perfect for swimming, snorkelling, diving, wind surfing, boating and fishing. For land pursuits one can cycle, bird watch or simply relax and look for quokka, the small, furry marsupial after which Rottnest was named. In 1696 De Vlamingh described the quokka as "a kind of rat as big as a common cat" and named the island "Rott Enest" (meaning "rat's nest").

Sandy Bond

1998 Conference Gallery

Peer Review

PRRES 1998 is offering double blind review of full papers. These papers will be published on the PRRES Inc. website

Thank you to our conference organisers

Proceedings from the 4th Annual Conference PRRES Conference

Delegate Papers

Papers shown as "refereed" have been refereed through a peer review process involving an expert international board of referees headed by Dr Dulani Halvitigala. Full papers were refereed with authors being required to make any changes prior to presentation at the conference and subsequent publication as a refereed paper in these proceedings.   Non-refereed presentations may be presented at the conference without a full paper and hence not all non-refereed presentations and/or papers appear in these proceedings.  All authors retain the copyright in their individual papers.

Keynote Speakers

Professor Austin Jaffe

Professor Austin Jaffe

Dr. Jaffe is the Philip H. Sieg Professor of Business Administration and Research Director of the Institute for Real Estate Studies at Penn State University. His paper entitled "The Costs of Ignoring Institutional Factors in International Property Research" gave all of those involved in real estate research much to reflect on particularly when evaluating future research objectives.

Professor Neil Crosby

Professor Neil Crosby

Professor Neil Crosby in association with John Murdoc, University of Reading, UK whose paper entitled "Property Valuation Variation and The Margin Of Error" questioned the "margin of error" concept as a valid means of measuring accuracy of valuation estimates

Professor Dominique Achour

Professor Dominique Achour, Head of Department of Property Studies, Curtin University of Technology whose address entitled "Fiscaltopia and Local Governments: Are We Paying Enough Local Taxes" made the brave suggestion that perhaps we are not.