One standard for all: A global norm for measuring property

The International Property Measurement Standards Coalition (IPMSC) has selected leading professionals from around the world to develop a global standard for measuring property. After continuous work and global public consultation, the first international property measurement standard was announced on IPMS website at ipmsc.org

Therefore we have asked Polina Stoykova, Managing Director and Head of Research of BULGARIAN PROPERTIES to give an independent expert opinion about this global initiative.

The International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS) focus on definitions, so that they standardize what the terms mean and how they should be used in order to mean the same thing around the world. They define general principles of measurement and calculation and they are divided in 3 parts: IPMS 1, 2 and 3 each of them measuring the office buildings in a different way for different purposes. IPMS 1 measures the gross external area and it is used in the planning process and for development proposals. IPMS 2 measures the interior area and categorizes the use of space in an office building. It is used by brokers, asset managers, facility managers, researchers and valuers. IPMS 3 is for measuring the occupation of floor areas in exclusive use, which means the floor area available on an exclusive basis to an occupier but excluding standard facilities and shared circulation areas on a floor-by-floor or occupier-by-occupier basis. Using the 3 standards, a building is fully measured and presented for use by different interested parties in the process.

Where did the idea for a new standard come from?

There was a growing need of having a unified method for measurement of property internationally as this is a key element of the property investment process. In the introduction to the standard they say that after a meeting at the World Bank in 2013 an International Property Measurement Standard Coalition was formed with the purpose to bring the harmonization of national property measurement standards through the creation and adoption of agreed international standards for measurement of Buildings.

What challenges has RICS faced by developing it?

The main challenges were to summarize the quite varying practices in the different countries and come up with a model that utilizes all good practices, reflects and addresses all important terms and issues in property measurement, corresponds to the way the existing buildings are being measured and presented, so that it can be easily adopted and recognized internationally as a working standard.

What stage is this standard currently at?

The standard for measurement of office buildings was officially published in November 2014 and is already an active standard. The implementation will be a long process, but the important thing is that is already in place, so the standardization process has already started. The next stages include creation of standards for residential, industrial and retail buildings.

What, exactly, makes it different from existing options? In other words, what is unique about it, and what’s new about what it brings to the market?

IPMS for offices is a unification of existing market practices, so that they can be used in a standardized form internationally. The unique thing is not that it creates something totally new but that it sets a framework for property measurement in such a way that properties can be compared internationally and the market players know what the terms and measurements used mean, and be sure that they mean the same thing in every country.

What’s the benefit of the real estate in whole here?

The benefit is that this will make the global property market more transparent, unified and easier to compare from country to country, lowering the risk for investors who used to deal with quite varying national measurement practices in the past.

Who should be involved? What additional areas might this standard be able to expand into?

The IPMS standards will gradually be created and adopted for all various types of properties. For the moment the Office IPMS is ready and standards for residential, industrial and retail buildings are currently being developed. Measurement specialists, government bodies, consultants, valuers, brokers and agents, investors and occupiers should all be involved in the process of recognition and adoption of the new standards in order to bring them to practice.

What are RICS standardization developmental plans for the future?

The property industry is a huge industry and there are many areas that need attention in the globalized world. RICS is working to standardize many spheres of the profession. We have seen a new edition of the Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Standards (REABS) which are quite interesting and challenging for us as a real estate agency in Bulgaria and we will be working for introducing them to the Bulgarian real estate agencies.

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