The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is supporting a global initiative to create a universal method of measuring property assets in an attempt to boost investor confidence in the sector.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is supporting a global initiative to create a universal method of measuring property assets in an attempt to boost investor confidence in the sector.
At present, the way property assets are measured varies wildly from country to country, making it difficult to compare like with like.
RICS said this confusion can affect property values and lead to errors in financial reporting.
The organisation has convened an initial meeting of the Property Measurement Standards Coalition (IPMSC) in Washington to tackle this problem and work towards the implementation of a universal standard of property measurement.
'This is a groundbreaking initiative,' said Ken Creighton, RICS director of Professional Standards.
'Working with international portfolios inevitably brings real difficulties of comparison when every market has at least one different way of measuring space,' added Julian Lyon, manager of European Real Estate at General Motors.
