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Mr.YakovMarkusFRICS
Dear friends,
the interview with one of the most interesting professionals is opening series of dialogues on our markets and professions.
For your attention and enjoyment - please read the interview with Mr Yakov Markus FRICS, our Eminent member from Ukraine.
"an advice for those starting in valuation profession - always keep in mind that before you know it – everything is already ahead of you."
RICS: Please tell us a few words about yourself. What is your current job position? What does it involve?
YM: I work in my own consulting company called “Markus Bureau” as Chief expert. The scope of my responsibilities cover the strategic consulting and dealing with most challenging tasks of the projects. The company specialises in the valuation of complicated non-standard objects, such as businesses, investment and commercial properties, i.e. hotels, logistics complexes, shop centres with various specifics.
RICS: What are the most interesting aspects of your job? And the most challenging?
YM: I could say that the most interesting aspect of what I do is the very individual charter of the projects, their uniqueness, as there are no practical templates and each project is different from the one before. This is also a challenge.
RICS: What can you say about the Ukrainian market? To what extent has it been affected by the global financial crisis?
YM: The global finance crisis has significantly impacted all sectors of the Ukrainian economy: • RE market as such – Before crisis properties were significantly overpriced vs their value and the market looked rather distorted. Currently we watch the vice-versa effect with the offers being too many for the demand. But.. the price of the properties with high investment potential (e.g. luxury residential property, land plots of the seashore, etc.) have not lost their high numbers and remain stable high. What should be also considered – the forex rates that have been deeply impacted by Hrivna’s 60% decline vs US dollar (i.e. the rate was 5,05 UAH to a USD, now it’s 8,00 to a dollar)
• Valuation profession – the challenging character of the situation has called for a higher professional level of the valuers in our market and a certain level of flexibility in the meaning of finding non-standard approaches. To reflect the momentum and provide a professional advice for the community I have decided to put together series of books that contain views of most prominent specialists (“Investment and commercial property”) and another one will be due soon – “From value to worth, from worth to value”.
RICS: What do you think you can bring to your career as a FRICS? YM: The way I see it, RICS membership is an additional quality and guarantee mark for a professional which creates a pool of really qualified specialists.
RICS: What project has given you the greatest satisfaction to date?
YM: There was a monthly magazine called “Valuation practice” that ran under my editorship during 2007-2009. We have published 39 editions dedicated to the various professional subjects and containing a 15-year valuation experience which has now been shared. They have proved to be very much popular in the professional community and the work on this project has brought a true professional satisfaction for me.
RICS: Have you noticed something that is missing/changing (please choose the most appropriate) in the property industry in general?
YM: The main diagnosis – the last 4-5 years the world has been living beyond its means. The banks were into a competing game of who provides the fastest credit not really considering how it is backed up. I believe this game is over now and I hope and very much doubt it will be played again. A healthy way for any economy should contain the following steps:
• Restructure of banking system
• Strengthening of investors’ trust
• Unfreezing of the construction
• Investment into the new construction
I think the following factors should be considered while valuing as they were overseen in the past:
• Investment volume
• Investors’ motivation
• Property worth (investment value)
Also, one should pay attention to the choice of basis of value – it is no longer as straightforward as it used to be. RICS: What advice could you give to someone who wants to start in the property industry today?
YM: I have always thought that the valuation process includes 3 main components:
• Methodology
• Logic
• Common sense
So my advice to those starting in RE industry today would be:
• To develop understanding that valuation methodology should correspond to the standards, and for this, one needs to continue learning as the standards change
• To develop the logic of valuation models to an understandable level, so even a reader that has nothing to do with valuation profession can grab the sense of it
• To realize that it is common sense that controls the consequences of the valuation job done, so one should not let the common sense leave him even for a short period of time
And always keep in mind that before you know it – everything is already ahead of you.