Estate agents decry lack of data

REPRESENTATIVES of estate agents blame the absence of any legal way to get accurate information about property for the misconception that agents are bound to cheat.

Joseph Leung, vice-chairman of Hong Kong Real Estate Agencies Association (HKREAA), said yesterday it was technically difficult for estate agents to come up with information such as floor area and the age of a property.

''There is no regulations requiring a flat's floor area be accurately spelled out in, say, the Land Office,'' said Mr Leung, whose 500-member association comprises the territory's small estate-agents.

''Another information which is difficult to obtain is the age of the property. Asking the Works Branch for a property's age may take several months,'' he said.

Inaccurate figures provided by estate agents on floor area and the age of properties have been a prime cause for concern by home-buyers.

''The floor area of a property is always passed on bigger and the age of property always younger,'' HKREAA chairman Stephen Ng said in a seminar on licensing estate agents.

The Government is determined to regulate estate agents by adopting a two-tier licensing system.

Mr Ng doubted whether the passing on of inaccurate figures about property was the sole responsibility of agents, saying it was due, instead, to the absence of legal mechanisms to obtain accurate information.