Tell us a little bit about yourself and your role at RICS.
I started working as a valuer in 1983. After studying Building & Architecture at TU Delft, I joined a property developer in Tokyo, Japan. On returning to the Netherlands, I gained experience with the Municipality of The Hague and a firm of structural engineers. I have been with DTZ Zadelhoff since 1995. A year later, in 1996, I became a MRICS chartered surveyor, one of the first in the Netherlands. DTZ Zadelhoff made me a partner in 2000 with Valuations as my main portfolio, and in 2008 I became a member of the Executive Board. DTZ Zadelhoff is the market leader in the Netherlands in the area of property consultancy. Over the years, our Valuations department has grown into the largest business unit of DTZ Zadelhoff. In 2012 I acquired the title of FRICS and I was recently appointed Chairman of the Valuation Committee of RICS Nederland.
What is the importance of asset valuation in the Netherlands?
Valuation is the subject of increasing public interest in the Netherlands. RICS Nederland plays an ever more important role in this development, with all the main valuation firms being "Regulated by RICS". As the importance of RICS expanded in the Netherlands, so too did the number of RICS Regulated Firms. In the Netherlands, RICS has an ongoing dialogue with the Central Bank and numerous sector and stakeholder groups with the purpose of raising the quality of the valuation process. The rules of the Red Book are becoming increasingly accepted as a leading and normative framework.
What is the added value of RICS certification for valuers and their clients?
RICS membership is an absolute must for property valuers in the Netherlands. Indeed, larger clients (institutional investors and banks) make RICS membership an absolute requirement. RICS Regulated Firms control practically the entire valuation market in the Netherlands. Clients are making ever higher demands of valuations as these must comply with international regulations. RICS is leading with more and more valuers joining its ranks. It is expected that this will ultimately lead to a situation in which valuers who are not RICS-certified will no longer receive instructions from large clients. In fact, this is already largely the case.
How does RICS monitor the work of its registered valuers?
The Netherlands is one of the first RICS countries in which valuers must be listed as RICS Registered Valuer. This registration is supplementary to other registers, such as VastgoedCert. RICS and VastgoedCert have recently reached an agreement on how to benefit from one another's respective strong points in assessments and exams. The monitoring of registered valuers started at the end of 2012. Since then, numerous RICS Regulated Firms have been visited by an RICS auditor to monitor whether their valuation procedures comply with RICS requirements.
Valuation services in the Netherlands are generally of a high standard, also when viewed from an international perspective. Continuous monitoring helps the sector to raise the quality of the valuation product. It is a welcome development that has, in a short period of time, become indispensable.
