Mark Sigglekow – this year’s Stuart MacIntosh Award winner – is proud his good friend’s generous legacy will sit on his mantelpiece for the next year. The project management professional worked with Stuart MacIntosh – a fellow part-time Department of Property lecturer who died after a short illness in 2007 – and went to school with him on the North Shore.

“It does make this award very special to know that it commemorates Stuart, who went to school with me at Takapuna Primary and Takapuna Grammar. I am very touched that this remembrance of Stuart has been given to me, and I’m grateful to the Department of Property for this accolade,” says Mark.

Mark, a part-time senior lecturer for the Department for almost ten years, started his career with a degree in engineering from The University of Auckland, followed by a postgraduate diploma in business. The past two decades have seen him hold senior positions here and in Australia in both line management and project teams for a wide range of challenging development process projects. Mark has served the property industry with a long stretch on the Auckland Branch Committee of the Property Institute of New Zealand and the Institute’s board of directors. In

1999, he helped the University to develop the Bachelor of Property 3rd year paper (Property Development), and has worked in the Department ever since.

“It sharpens my mind and keeps me at the leading edge of the profession. I like to think that my work results in top quality students who can handle flexibility and capability over a broader range.

He says every project is different and in a market where projects come from new industries or countries with different languages, his job is to ensure students understand project management to a high degree.

“I also like to produce graduates who not only understand the profession, but also have a passion and enthusiasm. I’ve been through four recessions so far, and without passion and discipline, it could get hard to enjoy work every day.”

Department of Property head Deborah Levy says Mark’s passion and commitment to the industry was one of the reasons why he was chosen for the Stuart MacIntosh Award this year and his intimate knowledge of project management has been an exceptional advantage for property students in the past decade.

Property Connect December 2009 | A Newsletter from the Department of Property

Old mate’s remembrance a treasure for 2009 recipient

American valuation expert studies kiwi valuers

Contact

Department of PropertyOwen G Glenn Building12 Grafton RoadAuckland

Phone: +64 9 923 8632 or +64 9 923 6290Fax: +64 9 308 2314

Email: property@auckland.ac.nzWeb: www.property.auckland.ac.nz

GOlD sPOnsORs

silvER sPOnsORs

BROnzE sPOnsORs

Property Group

An American valuation researcher who has studied New Zealand valuers for more than a decade says our industry appears robust and world-class.

Professor and chair of the Department of Real Estate at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, Julian Diaz III says he has respect for New Zealand valuers, and what they produce is professional and thorough.

The American Real Estate Society’s Richard Ratcliff Award winner in 2009, Professor Diaz has studied New Zealand valuers since the late 1990s, basing himself from The University of Auckland’s Department of Property on three occasions.

His teaching interests include real estate development, real estate investments and quantitative methods for real estate analysis. Having authored more than 30 academically published articles, Professor Diaz is particularly interested in how New Zealand valuers’ behaviour compares with their US counterparts.

“From every angle, I’ve been interested in the cross-cultural differences. The professional valuation community here in New Zealand is small but engaged, interactive and successful. Despite the immense differences in size, attitudes of our two countries towards real estate and valuation are relatively the same,” he says.

While in New Zealand, Professor Diaz worked collaboratively with Associate Professor Deborah Levy and made contact with many of the 50 to 60 valuers based in the Auckland area. He researched trends by interviewing masters students from other parts of the University.

“What I can say about New Zealand is that the valuation industry’s level of professionalism is very high, and as good as anywhere else in the world. Your processes are very similar to those in the United States, and your sense of professionalism is very high.”

Professor Diaz’s seminar titled ‘Behavioural research into real estate valuation process’ – which explained the financial crisis in the US and his decades’ long research into valuer behaviour.

Students play hard in 2009 Young property professional honoured

REINZ buddy programme continues to add value

Property student wins SPARk prize

The Auckland Land Economy Society (ALES) has ramped up activities in 2009, achieving a very successful year of recreation and socialising for students.

As well as rugby, cupcakes and cocktails, ALES organised a number of social events for students, including two pub crawls, class parties and an end-of-year function.

Spokesperson Grace Forrester says with the addition of four new ALES team members, and original members taking a back seat to form the executive board, 2009 has proved to be a busy year.

“The pub crawl especially has developed a strong name for itself and, as a result, the 120 tickets sold out in less than 20 minutes in the second semester – an ALES record,” Grace says.

The team of Simon Quine, Adam Flint, William Lumbus and Grace have this year put on a networking event for professional women and students in property. Held in the Decima Glenn function room at the Business School, students were given an insight into what it is like to be a woman in the property industry from stalwarts such as Michelle McKellar, Jo Duffy and Deborah Levy.

ALES also entered a team – comprising Grace, Adam, Vincent Bennett and Chris Single – in the Management Consulting Club Property Case competition, and clinched top prize after taking out the first heat.

Another of the year’s highlights was the success of the Property Pirates rugby team, which took out third place in this year’s inter-faculty rugby tournament after beating the Medical School’s Sea Bass and School of Law rugby teams. Sports co-ordinator William Lumbus says the team’s new jerseys helped this year.

Coached by Chris Single and Sam Greenwood, the Property Pirates were sponsored by Segar and Partners, with Chris Segar attending every match day and providing great support and advice to the whole team.

As a result of that success, five property students were picked in The University of Auckland tournament team - first year BProp/LLB student Michael O’Connell, second year BProp students Edward Washer and Scott McElroy, third year BProp (and New Zealand

cycling representative) Blair James, and fifth year BProp/BCom Jacob Vermunt.

ALES was first established some years ago, but was out of action until students Joshua Rea and Jacob Vermunt resurrected the organisation again in late 2007 to enable the strengthening of networking relationships with fellow students and industry players.

“Joshua and Jacob saw networking as crucial in property, and realised that a medium fostering this was essential,” Grace says.

“2008 was our first official year with Sam Greenwood and Chris Single joining the ALES team, and last year saw pub crawls, steins, the creation of the Property Pirates and a professional and very successful end-of- year function.”

Mentoring fellow valuers, designing client-customised software and specialising in commercial and industrial valuation has clinched the 2009 Property Institute of New Zealand Young Property Professional of the Year for Department graduate William Hickey.

The award, sponsored by Terralink International, is given to an individual who has demonstrated excellence in the field of property. Institute chief executive David Clark says William has provided exceptional contributions to the industry, and is a worthy winner this year.

William holds a BProp and BCom from The University of Auckland, and is a past treasurer of the Institute’s Auckland branch. During that time, he co-ordinated a number of branch social

events and helped organise the PINZ national conference this year.

Highly regarded by senior practitioners within the property industry, William works at Jones

Lang LaSalle and specialises in the valuation of industrial and commercial property. He is responsible for the co-ordination of portfolio valuations for a number of institutional clients, and is involved with major commercial and industrial portfolio valuations.

“In all William’s activities, he demonstrates an extremely high degree of professionalism, a sound grasp of valuation principles and has been a mentor to a number of young valuers both within our company and the wider valuation and property community,” David Wigmore from Jones Lang LaSalle says.

“William demonstrates all the attributes, as a young registered valuer, that make him an outstanding role model for other young valuers and property professionals.”

Turning under-utilised inner city and suburban real estate into gardens growing fresh produce for local communities has won a third year BCom/BProp student an early SPARK $100,000 Challenge prize for 2009.

Jacob Vermunt, an Ernst & Young professional working within the Real Estate Advisory Services Division, clinched the $1000 prize for his unique Green Focus concept. This concept is based primarily around urban regeneration, where inner city and suburban real estate is used more efficiently while benefiting society.

As well as producing locally-grown produce, Green Focus would reduce the use of fossil fuels to transport produce around the country. It would also bring additional value for land-owners through increased revenue, create jobs, involve people in creating a sustainable community, and change lifestyle habits.

“Target locations for planting would be on vacant lots, tops of buildings, down the sides of houses or even on public property,” Jacob says.

“Crops that are suitable or practical for the location would be planted, harvested and then sold back to the local community.”

Jacob, who was involved in SPARK and ALES at University and also tutored for the Tuakana Programme, received a scholarship from The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and studied at the University of Edinburgh in 2006-07.

He says the idea would not only provide food resources but income for landowners.

“Although marginal in value, this would be a socially responsible activity that creates tangible value to the property,” he says.

“Essentially we are giving everyone access to having a vegetable patch while not having to look after it but still reaping almost all the benefits.”

Jacob says the idea is temporarily shelved due to other commitments this year, but he would support anyone interested in developing the idea further.

Buddied up with industry professionals, a number of second year Bachelor of Property students got a taste of life as aspiring property professionals this year when they took part in the 2009 REINZ Buddy Programme.

The programme, run jointly by the The University of Auckland Business School Department of Property and the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), offers students the chance to meet and work with a property professional (their allocated buddy), offering them valuable real-life experience and industry networking opportunities.

The students and participating property professionals signed contracts to confirm their commitment to the programme, the students then spent a minimum of six hours learning from and working with their industry buddies.

The participating professionals, among other things, explained to their student colleagues how their real estate offices are managed and administered, what sales meetings are about, inspected properties on their books, took them to auctions and open homes, explained the advertisement and marketing options and provided details of special projects the office may have been involved in.

“The REINZ Programme’s particular value is it gives students the opportunity to relate their theoretical studies with current practices in the property industry. It assists our students in the making of informed career choices and allows them to develop a relationship with a mentor in the industry,” Head of the Department of Property, Associate Professor Deborah Levy says.

09006 Property Connect Spring.indd 1 9/12/2009 10:38:26 a.m.

The May 7 event was attended by more than 220 people, including industry professionals, staff, students, alumni and school principals, and took place at the Alumni Marquee, Old Government House with the aid of $23,000 in dinner sponsorship from industry supporters.

The award presentations – always the highlight of the dinner – were dominated by student Bowen Pan, who won a total of four awards.

“The 2009 group of graduates are among some of the best this Department has ever produced,” the Head of Department, Associate Professor Deborah Levy, says.

“We are all extremely proud to be involved in the journey they have made from first year students through to graduates who can be immensely satisfied with the standards they have achieved.”

After-dinner speaker, Irish Honorary Consol-General to New Zealand Rodney HC Walshe, spoke about how ‘Ireland won the 2011 Rugby World Cup for New Zealand...and other fantasies’.

Student reflections for the year involved, Business School Director of Careers, James Hairsine interviewing three students – Jason Dobbie, Claire Verner and Christopher Lin – about their experiences studying Property.

“We would like to thank everyone who took part in the event, and those industry supporters who offered sponsorship,” Deborah says.

“The auction went very well, considering the economic tightening, and we were thrilled at the success.”

Award winners were: Brookfield Multiplex Scholarship – Edward Yip; ING Property Scholarship – Samuel Mathews; Senior Scholarship in Property Studies – Bowen Pan; The Balmoral Asset Management Scholarship – Christopher Single; Annual Prize in Bachelor of Property – Samuel Mathews; Lesley Allison Memorial Prize – Gregory Soar; FER Noble Memorial Prize – Sue Teng; Property Institute of NZ Student of the Year Prize – Bowen Pan; Real Estate Institute of NZ Prize – Claire Verner; Squire Speedy Prize in Property – Bowen Pan;

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Prize – Emma Paterson; WKS Christiansen Prize – George Culver; Gerald Brown Memorial Award – Christopher Farhi; Keystone Bayleys Property Scholarship – James Fraser; Blair Hargrave/Colliers International Scholarship – Lauren Sanderson; Alexander Dorrington Scholarship – Xi Zhang; Redwood Group 2008 Property Case Competition Winners – Jing Huang, Xi Zhang, Jee Chung Wong, Chung Hwa Chu; Goodman Scholarship – Lauren Phillips; Equinox Capital Property Project Prize – Bowen Pan; 2008 Spark Entrepreneurship Challenge – Oliver Farnsworth and Jacob Vermunt.

Senior prizes in the Bachelor of Property were awarded to: Jessica Rod, Bhavisha Lal, Dhilan Balia, Carl Thompson, Ka Yu Cathy Lam, Christopher Lin, Claire Verner, Jessica Cossio, Calista Hea, Adam Tucker, Joanna-Leigh Bowman, Shayal Chandran, Bradley Ahn, Ashley Robinson, Dianna Mannion, Martina Llewellyn, Joanna Wong, Bradley Unthank, Dilesh Bhai, Patric Van Brandenburg, Gareth Strawbridge, Thomas Seton and Kristin O’Sullivan.

Top property graduates honoured New buddy programme to reflect sector reality Property seminar series

Go back to old-fashioned job-seeking skills, property students advised

Property’s top graduates were honoured and farewelled at a Department of Property graduation dinner in May.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in New Zealand chairman John Cameron has encouraged graduates struggling to find positions within established industry players to volunteer their services or work for “very little” compensation, while waiting for positions to become available.

The New Zealand chairman and regional director of Asia Pacific for global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle says the country’s economic recession means good employment is no longer “hanging like fruit from trees waiting to be plucked.

“I suggest to any of you, if you should have difficulty over the next months, be prepared perhaps to work for very little in order to get that foot into the right door,” Mr Cameron told the Department of Property graduation dinner.

“Once it is in the door and you can demonstrate the skills and enthusiasm you are able to offer, the battle is almost won. So do not despair if it has been difficult for you, seek some part-time work in the industry, shadow someone with the right experience, or even just volunteer to help and see what comes of it.”

Mr Cameron says before getting his formal professional qualifications 40 years ago, he was articled to the principal of a small firm of chartered surveyors in London.

“During my first year I was paid only my rail fares from home to the office and back each day including Saturday, but it was worth it – it was an amazing grounding,” he says.

“Think deeply about the current environment, and adapt. Be aware that the pendulum has swung for a year or two, and take up the challenge of finding the secret to current opportunities.

“Think and act outside the square, do your best to get your foot in the door with organisations that can provide you with good experiences. This may not necessarily be specific to the field of property as a career that you aspire to.

“Just maybe this worldwide recession and financial crisis will eventually at least partially restore some of the values that I think the world has lost to its great detriment.”

STUDENT COMMENTS

Student reflections for this year’s Department of Property Graduation Dinner were supplied by Jason Dobbie, Claire Verner and Christopher Lin. Here are some excerpts of their comments:

Claire: “I was going to do commerce and wanted to do something else to ensure that I didn’t get bored. I read the Property booklet and thought ‘I like looking at houses in the Property Press – maybe I’ll like property.’ Luckily, it turned out that I did!”

Chris: “The main difference between property and commerce is that relationship with the industry – industry lecturers, the case competition, scholarships and awards.”

Jason: “I went to a ‘Tall Poppy’ school and wanted to be unique. I wanted to do something different from all my friends. I signed up to a general education paper – New Zealand Popular Music – as easy as that sounds, I basically failed it.”

Claire: “I valued the smaller environment – before I’d come to Uni, I’d heard it was so big and you wouldn’t know anyone but I felt in Property that it was far more personal and friendly than I had expected. Yesterday I did both the commerce and property ceremonies and in commerce, I felt like I was one of hundreds, compared to when I did my property one. I was more excited because I knew everyone around me.”

The ‘Coffee Mate Buddy Programme’ has replaced the PINZ Buddy Programme as a better way of focusing on student needs in the current economic climate. This will make the programme less onerous for industry professionals and companies, Head of Department Deborah Levy says.

“The Buddy Programme is an invaluable learning experience for our property professionals of the future, and has proved both highly successful and rewarding to all involved,” she says.

“However, due to the current economic downturn and the challenging job market,

we will now offer an opportunity for students to partake in a one-on-one information gathering interview with an industry professional.

“There is no expectation of the industry to provide employment for the students, as the aim is specifically for industry professionals to share their advice and experience. The opportunity to network with a number of potential future property professionals should not be under-rated.”

Implemented from August, the new programme operates within the property professional’s office in a semi-formal environment, or at a cafe. Interviews are expected to explore possible career options, ideas for placement within the industry, skills needed by potential employers, work experience opportunities, industry organisations or networks to join, work, travel and other issues.

Deborah says the Department thanks all industry professionals for assisting third year students in the past and current programmes, and also final year students for participating.

Since the launch of the Departmental Seminar Series in March, our seminars have gained momentum and we are attracting large, diverse audiences and distinguished speakers. We’ve had presentations from academic staff as well as visiting speakers from within the industry.

The breadth of topics has varied from green roofs to the gentrification of Viaduct Harbour to a debate on the future of the New Zealand housing market.

In the month of July, we organised two seminars discussing current valuation issues. Mike Steur, the senior managing director of valuations at CBRE Australia, discussed the challenges that valuers face in these recessionary times. At the following seminar, Julian Diaz III from Georgia State University gave an insightful seminar on his research into valuer behaviour and possible transformations in valuation practices in the wake of the financial crisis.

Our latest seminar featured a panel of four property experts including our own James Young. Presentations by Kieran Trass, owner of the Hybrid Group, and Alistair Helm, CEO of realestate.co.nz, were followed by a panel discussion with Bernard Hickey, managing editor of interest.co.nz. According to the Hybrid Group’s property cycle clock, we’re in the middle of the housing slump and it will take another two to three years for the market to genuinely begin its recovery. Mr Helm, however, believes market fundamentals are vastly different and cannot be paralleled with the UK or US, and ultimately the housing market is driven by the three Ds – Death, Divorce and Debt.

If you are not on our mailing list but would like to be notified of upcoming seminars, please send your contact details to Noreen Garrad at n.garrad@auckland.ac.nz. PINZ members attending our seminars will receive 1 CPD point.

Property students graduating from The University of Auckland this year are being advised to consider old-fashioned methods of gaining employment.

A redesigned buddy programme introducing third year Department of Property students to potential employers will more accurately reflect market conditions and arm students with more information on the industry.

Published chapters and articlesThe following is a list of Department of Property book chapters and academic journal articles that have been published and accepted for publication in 2009.

Book chapters2009 MURPHY, L., Market Rules: Neo-liberal Housing Policy in New Zealand. In Glynn, S. (ed) Where the Other Half Lives: Lower-income housing in a neoliberal world, Pluto Books, London, p.195-216.

2009 LEVY, D. MURPHY, L. LEE, C., Influences and emotions: Exploring family decision making processes when buying a house. In Smith, S and Munro, M. (eds) The Microstructures of Housing Markets, Routledge, London, p.110-128 (reproduced from Levy et al 2008).

Papers2009 LEVY, D., LEE, C., “Switching behaviour in property related professional services”. Journal of Property Research, 26 (1), pp.87-103.By exploring social processes within the Auckland market, this paper investigates customer reasons for switching property service providers within a business-to-business context.

2009 LEVY, D.S., MORRISH, S., DONG, Z., “The role of property in a portfolio of small to medium enterprises”. Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 15 (3). Perceptions of successful entrepreneurs who own more than one distinct business are analysed in this paper, along with the role property plays in their portfolios of small and medium enterprises.

2009 REHM, M., “Judging a house by its cover: Leaky building stigma and house prices in New Zealand”. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 2 (1), pp.57-77.This study analyses the leaky building stigma associated with monolithic claddings and estimates the number of affected properties and the impact on house prices for owners of monolithic-clad dwellings in the Auckland region.

2009 FILIPPOVA, O. & REHM, M., “The influence of lot position on house price”. Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 15 (3).

2009 FILIPPOVA, O., “The influence of submarkets on water view house price premiums in New Zealand”. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 2 (1), pp.91-105.The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of submarkets on water view premiums of residential properties, and investigate the correlation between submarket view premium and socio-economic status.

09006 Property Connect Spring.indd 2 9/12/2009 10:38:53 a.m.

The May 7 event was attended by more than 220 people, including industry professionals, staff, students, alumni and school principals, and took place at the Alumni Marquee, Old Government House with the aid of $23,000 in dinner sponsorship from industry supporters.

The award presentations – always the highlight of the dinner – were dominated by student Bowen Pan, who won a total of four awards.

“The 2009 group of graduates are among some of the best this Department has ever produced,” the Head of Department, Associate Professor Deborah Levy, says.

“We are all extremely proud to be involved in the journey they have made from first year students through to graduates who can be immensely satisfied with the standards they have achieved.”

After-dinner speaker, Irish Honorary Consol-General to New Zealand Rodney HC Walshe, spoke about how ‘Ireland won the 2011 Rugby World Cup for New Zealand...and other fantasies’.

Student reflections for the year involved, Business School Director of Careers, James Hairsine interviewing three students – Jason Dobbie, Claire Verner and Christopher Lin – about their experiences studying Property.

“We would like to thank everyone who took part in the event, and those industry supporters who offered sponsorship,” Deborah says.

“The auction went very well, considering the economic tightening, and we were thrilled at the success.”

Award winners were: Brookfield Multiplex Scholarship – Edward Yip; ING Property Scholarship – Samuel Mathews; Senior Scholarship in Property Studies – Bowen Pan; The Balmoral Asset Management Scholarship – Christopher Single; Annual Prize in Bachelor of Property – Samuel Mathews; Lesley Allison Memorial Prize – Gregory Soar; FER Noble Memorial Prize – Sue Teng; Property Institute of NZ Student of the Year Prize – Bowen Pan; Real Estate Institute of NZ Prize – Claire Verner; Squire Speedy Prize in Property – Bowen Pan;

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Prize – Emma Paterson; WKS Christiansen Prize – George Culver; Gerald Brown Memorial Award – Christopher Farhi; Keystone Bayleys Property Scholarship – James Fraser; Blair Hargrave/Colliers International Scholarship – Lauren Sanderson; Alexander Dorrington Scholarship – Xi Zhang; Redwood Group 2008 Property Case Competition Winners – Jing Huang, Xi Zhang, Jee Chung Wong, Chung Hwa Chu; Goodman Scholarship – Lauren Phillips; Equinox Capital Property Project Prize – Bowen Pan; 2008 Spark Entrepreneurship Challenge – Oliver Farnsworth and Jacob Vermunt.

Senior prizes in the Bachelor of Property were awarded to: Jessica Rod, Bhavisha Lal, Dhilan Balia, Carl Thompson, Ka Yu Cathy Lam, Christopher Lin, Claire Verner, Jessica Cossio, Calista Hea, Adam Tucker, Joanna-Leigh Bowman, Shayal Chandran, Bradley Ahn, Ashley Robinson, Dianna Mannion, Martina Llewellyn, Joanna Wong, Bradley Unthank, Dilesh Bhai, Patric Van Brandenburg, Gareth Strawbridge, Thomas Seton and Kristin O’Sullivan.

Top property graduates honoured New buddy programme to reflect sector reality Property seminar series

Go back to old-fashioned job-seeking skills, property students advised

Property’s top graduates were honoured and farewelled at a Department of Property graduation dinner in May.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in New Zealand chairman John Cameron has encouraged graduates struggling to find positions within established industry players to volunteer their services or work for “very little” compensation, while waiting for positions to become available.

The New Zealand chairman and regional director of Asia Pacific for global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle says the country’s economic recession means good employment is no longer “hanging like fruit from trees waiting to be plucked.

“I suggest to any of you, if you should have difficulty over the next months, be prepared perhaps to work for very little in order to get that foot into the right door,” Mr Cameron told the Department of Property graduation dinner.

“Once it is in the door and you can demonstrate the skills and enthusiasm you are able to offer, the battle is almost won. So do not despair if it has been difficult for you, seek some part-time work in the industry, shadow someone with the right experience, or even just volunteer to help and see what comes of it.”

Mr Cameron says before getting his formal professional qualifications 40 years ago, he was articled to the principal of a small firm of chartered surveyors in London.

“During my first year I was paid only my rail fares from home to the office and back each day including Saturday, but it was worth it – it was an amazing grounding,” he says.

“Think deeply about the current environment, and adapt. Be aware that the pendulum has swung for a year or two, and take up the challenge of finding the secret to current opportunities.

“Think and act outside the square, do your best to get your foot in the door with organisations that can provide you with good experiences. This may not necessarily be specific to the field of property as a career that you aspire to.

“Just maybe this worldwide recession and financial crisis will eventually at least partially restore some of the values that I think the world has lost to its great detriment.”

STUDENT COMMENTS

Student reflections for this year’s Department of Property Graduation Dinner were supplied by Jason Dobbie, Claire Verner and Christopher Lin. Here are some excerpts of their comments:

Claire: “I was going to do commerce and wanted to do something else to ensure that I didn’t get bored. I read the Property booklet and thought ‘I like looking at houses in the Property Press – maybe I’ll like property.’ Luckily, it turned out that I did!”

Chris: “The main difference between property and commerce is that relationship with the industry – industry lecturers, the case competition, scholarships and awards.”

Jason: “I went to a ‘Tall Poppy’ school and wanted to be unique. I wanted to do something different from all my friends. I signed up to a general education paper – New Zealand Popular Music – as easy as that sounds, I basically failed it.”

Claire: “I valued the smaller environment – before I’d come to Uni, I’d heard it was so big and you wouldn’t know anyone but I felt in Property that it was far more personal and friendly than I had expected. Yesterday I did both the commerce and property ceremonies and in commerce, I felt like I was one of hundreds, compared to when I did my property one. I was more excited because I knew everyone around me.”

The ‘Coffee Mate Buddy Programme’ has replaced the PINZ Buddy Programme as a better way of focusing on student needs in the current economic climate. This will make the programme less onerous for industry professionals and companies, Head of Department Deborah Levy says.

“The Buddy Programme is an invaluable learning experience for our property professionals of the future, and has proved both highly successful and rewarding to all involved,” she says.

“However, due to the current economic downturn and the challenging job market,

we will now offer an opportunity for students to partake in a one-on-one information gathering interview with an industry professional.

“There is no expectation of the industry to provide employment for the students, as the aim is specifically for industry professionals to share their advice and experience. The opportunity to network with a number of potential future property professionals should not be under-rated.”

Implemented from August, the new programme operates within the property professional’s office in a semi-formal environment, or at a cafe. Interviews are expected to explore possible career options, ideas for placement within the industry, skills needed by potential employers, work experience opportunities, industry organisations or networks to join, work, travel and other issues.

Deborah says the Department thanks all industry professionals for assisting third year students in the past and current programmes, and also final year students for participating.

Since the launch of the Departmental Seminar Series in March, our seminars have gained momentum and we are attracting large, diverse audiences and distinguished speakers. We’ve had presentations from academic staff as well as visiting speakers from within the industry.

The breadth of topics has varied from green roofs to the gentrification of Viaduct Harbour to a debate on the future of the New Zealand housing market.

In the month of July, we organised two seminars discussing current valuation issues. Mike Steur, the senior managing director of valuations at CBRE Australia, discussed the challenges that valuers face in these recessionary times. At the following seminar, Julian Diaz III from Georgia State University gave an insightful seminar on his research into valuer behaviour and possible transformations in valuation practices in the wake of the financial crisis.

Our latest seminar featured a panel of four property experts including our own James Young. Presentations by Kieran Trass, owner of the Hybrid Group, and Alistair Helm, CEO of realestate.co.nz, were followed by a panel discussion with Bernard Hickey, managing editor of interest.co.nz. According to the Hybrid Group’s property cycle clock, we’re in the middle of the housing slump and it will take another two to three years for the market to genuinely begin its recovery. Mr Helm, however, believes market fundamentals are vastly different and cannot be paralleled with the UK or US, and ultimately the housing market is driven by the three Ds – Death, Divorce and Debt.

If you are not on our mailing list but would like to be notified of upcoming seminars, please send your contact details to Noreen Garrad at n.garrad@auckland.ac.nz. PINZ members attending our seminars will receive 1 CPD point.

Property students graduating from The University of Auckland this year are being advised to consider old-fashioned methods of gaining employment.

A redesigned buddy programme introducing third year Department of Property students to potential employers will more accurately reflect market conditions and arm students with more information on the industry.

Published chapters and articlesThe following is a list of Department of Property book chapters and academic journal articles that have been published and accepted for publication in 2009.

Book chapters2009 MURPHY, L., Market Rules: Neo-liberal Housing Policy in New Zealand. In Glynn, S. (ed) Where the Other Half Lives: Lower-income housing in a neoliberal world, Pluto Books, London, p.195-216.

2009 LEVY, D. MURPHY, L. LEE, C., Influences and emotions: Exploring family decision making processes when buying a house. In Smith, S and Munro, M. (eds) The Microstructures of Housing Markets, Routledge, London, p.110-128 (reproduced from Levy et al 2008).

Papers2009 LEVY, D., LEE, C., “Switching behaviour in property related professional services”. Journal of Property Research, 26 (1), pp.87-103.By exploring social processes within the Auckland market, this paper investigates customer reasons for switching property service providers within a business-to-business context.

2009 LEVY, D.S., MORRISH, S., DONG, Z., “The role of property in a portfolio of small to medium enterprises”. Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 15 (3). Perceptions of successful entrepreneurs who own more than one distinct business are analysed in this paper, along with the role property plays in their portfolios of small and medium enterprises.

2009 REHM, M., “Judging a house by its cover: Leaky building stigma and house prices in New Zealand”. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 2 (1), pp.57-77.This study analyses the leaky building stigma associated with monolithic claddings and estimates the number of affected properties and the impact on house prices for owners of monolithic-clad dwellings in the Auckland region.

2009 FILIPPOVA, O. & REHM, M., “The influence of lot position on house price”. Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 15 (3).

2009 FILIPPOVA, O., “The influence of submarkets on water view house price premiums in New Zealand”. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 2 (1), pp.91-105.The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of submarkets on water view premiums of residential properties, and investigate the correlation between submarket view premium and socio-economic status.

09006 Property Connect Spring.indd 2 9/12/2009 10:38:53 a.m.

The May 7 event was attended by more than 220 people, including industry professionals, staff, students, alumni and school principals, and took place at the Alumni Marquee, Old Government House with the aid of $23,000 in dinner sponsorship from industry supporters.

The award presentations – always the highlight of the dinner – were dominated by student Bowen Pan, who won a total of four awards.

“The 2009 group of graduates are among some of the best this Department has ever produced,” the Head of Department, Associate Professor Deborah Levy, says.

“We are all extremely proud to be involved in the journey they have made from first year students through to graduates who can be immensely satisfied with the standards they have achieved.”

After-dinner speaker, Irish Honorary Consol-General to New Zealand Rodney HC Walshe, spoke about how ‘Ireland won the 2011 Rugby World Cup for New Zealand...and other fantasies’.

Student reflections for the year involved, Business School Director of Careers, James Hairsine interviewing three students – Jason Dobbie, Claire Verner and Christopher Lin – about their experiences studying Property.

“We would like to thank everyone who took part in the event, and those industry supporters who offered sponsorship,” Deborah says.

“The auction went very well, considering the economic tightening, and we were thrilled at the success.”

Award winners were: Brookfield Multiplex Scholarship – Edward Yip; ING Property Scholarship – Samuel Mathews; Senior Scholarship in Property Studies – Bowen Pan; The Balmoral Asset Management Scholarship – Christopher Single; Annual Prize in Bachelor of Property – Samuel Mathews; Lesley Allison Memorial Prize – Gregory Soar; FER Noble Memorial Prize – Sue Teng; Property Institute of NZ Student of the Year Prize – Bowen Pan; Real Estate Institute of NZ Prize – Claire Verner; Squire Speedy Prize in Property – Bowen Pan;

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Prize – Emma Paterson; WKS Christiansen Prize – George Culver; Gerald Brown Memorial Award – Christopher Farhi; Keystone Bayleys Property Scholarship – James Fraser; Blair Hargrave/Colliers International Scholarship – Lauren Sanderson; Alexander Dorrington Scholarship – Xi Zhang; Redwood Group 2008 Property Case Competition Winners – Jing Huang, Xi Zhang, Jee Chung Wong, Chung Hwa Chu; Goodman Scholarship – Lauren Phillips; Equinox Capital Property Project Prize – Bowen Pan; 2008 Spark Entrepreneurship Challenge – Oliver Farnsworth and Jacob Vermunt.

Senior prizes in the Bachelor of Property were awarded to: Jessica Rod, Bhavisha Lal, Dhilan Balia, Carl Thompson, Ka Yu Cathy Lam, Christopher Lin, Claire Verner, Jessica Cossio, Calista Hea, Adam Tucker, Joanna-Leigh Bowman, Shayal Chandran, Bradley Ahn, Ashley Robinson, Dianna Mannion, Martina Llewellyn, Joanna Wong, Bradley Unthank, Dilesh Bhai, Patric Van Brandenburg, Gareth Strawbridge, Thomas Seton and Kristin O’Sullivan.

Top property graduates honoured New buddy programme to reflect sector reality Property seminar series

Go back to old-fashioned job-seeking skills, property students advised

Property’s top graduates were honoured and farewelled at a Department of Property graduation dinner in May.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in New Zealand chairman John Cameron has encouraged graduates struggling to find positions within established industry players to volunteer their services or work for “very little” compensation, while waiting for positions to become available.

The New Zealand chairman and regional director of Asia Pacific for global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle says the country’s economic recession means good employment is no longer “hanging like fruit from trees waiting to be plucked.

“I suggest to any of you, if you should have difficulty over the next months, be prepared perhaps to work for very little in order to get that foot into the right door,” Mr Cameron told the Department of Property graduation dinner.

“Once it is in the door and you can demonstrate the skills and enthusiasm you are able to offer, the battle is almost won. So do not despair if it has been difficult for you, seek some part-time work in the industry, shadow someone with the right experience, or even just volunteer to help and see what comes of it.”

Mr Cameron says before getting his formal professional qualifications 40 years ago, he was articled to the principal of a small firm of chartered surveyors in London.

“During my first year I was paid only my rail fares from home to the office and back each day including Saturday, but it was worth it – it was an amazing grounding,” he says.

“Think deeply about the current environment, and adapt. Be aware that the pendulum has swung for a year or two, and take up the challenge of finding the secret to current opportunities.

“Think and act outside the square, do your best to get your foot in the door with organisations that can provide you with good experiences. This may not necessarily be specific to the field of property as a career that you aspire to.

“Just maybe this worldwide recession and financial crisis will eventually at least partially restore some of the values that I think the world has lost to its great detriment.”

STUDENT COMMENTS

Student reflections for this year’s Department of Property Graduation Dinner were supplied by Jason Dobbie, Claire Verner and Christopher Lin. Here are some excerpts of their comments:

Claire: “I was going to do commerce and wanted to do something else to ensure that I didn’t get bored. I read the Property booklet and thought ‘I like looking at houses in the Property Press – maybe I’ll like property.’ Luckily, it turned out that I did!”

Chris: “The main difference between property and commerce is that relationship with the industry – industry lecturers, the case competition, scholarships and awards.”

Jason: “I went to a ‘Tall Poppy’ school and wanted to be unique. I wanted to do something different from all my friends. I signed up to a general education paper – New Zealand Popular Music – as easy as that sounds, I basically failed it.”

Claire: “I valued the smaller environment – before I’d come to Uni, I’d heard it was so big and you wouldn’t know anyone but I felt in Property that it was far more personal and friendly than I had expected. Yesterday I did both the commerce and property ceremonies and in commerce, I felt like I was one of hundreds, compared to when I did my property one. I was more excited because I knew everyone around me.”

The ‘Coffee Mate Buddy Programme’ has replaced the PINZ Buddy Programme as a better way of focusing on student needs in the current economic climate. This will make the programme less onerous for industry professionals and companies, Head of Department Deborah Levy says.

“The Buddy Programme is an invaluable learning experience for our property professionals of the future, and has proved both highly successful and rewarding to all involved,” she says.

“However, due to the current economic downturn and the challenging job market,

we will now offer an opportunity for students to partake in a one-on-one information gathering interview with an industry professional.

“There is no expectation of the industry to provide employment for the students, as the aim is specifically for industry professionals to share their advice and experience. The opportunity to network with a number of potential future property professionals should not be under-rated.”

Implemented from August, the new programme operates within the property professional’s office in a semi-formal environment, or at a cafe. Interviews are expected to explore possible career options, ideas for placement within the industry, skills needed by potential employers, work experience opportunities, industry organisations or networks to join, work, travel and other issues.

Deborah says the Department thanks all industry professionals for assisting third year students in the past and current programmes, and also final year students for participating.

Since the launch of the Departmental Seminar Series in March, our seminars have gained momentum and we are attracting large, diverse audiences and distinguished speakers. We’ve had presentations from academic staff as well as visiting speakers from within the industry.

The breadth of topics has varied from green roofs to the gentrification of Viaduct Harbour to a debate on the future of the New Zealand housing market.

In the month of July, we organised two seminars discussing current valuation issues. Mike Steur, the senior managing director of valuations at CBRE Australia, discussed the challenges that valuers face in these recessionary times. At the following seminar, Julian Diaz III from Georgia State University gave an insightful seminar on his research into valuer behaviour and possible transformations in valuation practices in the wake of the financial crisis.

Our latest seminar featured a panel of four property experts including our own James Young. Presentations by Kieran Trass, owner of the Hybrid Group, and Alistair Helm, CEO of realestate.co.nz, were followed by a panel discussion with Bernard Hickey, managing editor of interest.co.nz. According to the Hybrid Group’s property cycle clock, we’re in the middle of the housing slump and it will take another two to three years for the market to genuinely begin its recovery. Mr Helm, however, believes market fundamentals are vastly different and cannot be paralleled with the UK or US, and ultimately the housing market is driven by the three Ds – Death, Divorce and Debt.

If you are not on our mailing list but would like to be notified of upcoming seminars, please send your contact details to Noreen Garrad at n.garrad@auckland.ac.nz. PINZ members attending our seminars will receive 1 CPD point.

Property students graduating from The University of Auckland this year are being advised to consider old-fashioned methods of gaining employment.

A redesigned buddy programme introducing third year Department of Property students to potential employers will more accurately reflect market conditions and arm students with more information on the industry.

Published chapters and articlesThe following is a list of Department of Property book chapters and academic journal articles that have been published and accepted for publication in 2009.

Book chapters2009 MURPHY, L., Market Rules: Neo-liberal Housing Policy in New Zealand. In Glynn, S. (ed) Where the Other Half Lives: Lower-income housing in a neoliberal world, Pluto Books, London, p.195-216.

2009 LEVY, D. MURPHY, L. LEE, C., Influences and emotions: Exploring family decision making processes when buying a house. In Smith, S and Munro, M. (eds) The Microstructures of Housing Markets, Routledge, London, p.110-128 (reproduced from Levy et al 2008).

Papers2009 LEVY, D., LEE, C., “Switching behaviour in property related professional services”. Journal of Property Research, 26 (1), pp.87-103.By exploring social processes within the Auckland market, this paper investigates customer reasons for switching property service providers within a business-to-business context.

2009 LEVY, D.S., MORRISH, S., DONG, Z., “The role of property in a portfolio of small to medium enterprises”. Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 15 (3). Perceptions of successful entrepreneurs who own more than one distinct business are analysed in this paper, along with the role property plays in their portfolios of small and medium enterprises.

2009 REHM, M., “Judging a house by its cover: Leaky building stigma and house prices in New Zealand”. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 2 (1), pp.57-77.This study analyses the leaky building stigma associated with monolithic claddings and estimates the number of affected properties and the impact on house prices for owners of monolithic-clad dwellings in the Auckland region.

2009 FILIPPOVA, O. & REHM, M., “The influence of lot position on house price”. Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 15 (3).

2009 FILIPPOVA, O., “The influence of submarkets on water view house price premiums in New Zealand”. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 2 (1), pp.91-105.The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of submarkets on water view premiums of residential properties, and investigate the correlation between submarket view premium and socio-economic status.

09006 Property Connect Spring.indd 2 9/12/2009 10:38:53 a.m.

Mark Sigglekow – this year’s Stuart MacIntosh Award winner – is proud his good friend’s generous legacy will sit on his mantelpiece for the next year. The project management professional worked with Stuart MacIntosh – a fellow part-time Department of Property lecturer who died after a short illness in 2007 – and went to school with him on the North Shore.

“It does make this award very special to know that it commemorates Stuart, who went to school with me at Takapuna Primary and Takapuna Grammar. I am very touched that this remembrance of Stuart has been given to me, and I’m grateful to the Department of Property for this accolade,” says Mark.

Mark, a part-time senior lecturer for the Department for almost ten years, started his career with a degree in engineering from The University of Auckland, followed by a postgraduate diploma in business. The past two decades have seen him hold senior positions here and in Australia in both line management and project teams for a wide range of challenging development process projects. Mark has served the property industry with a long stretch on the Auckland Branch Committee of the Property Institute of New Zealand and the Institute’s board of directors. In

1999, he helped the University to develop the Bachelor of Property 3rd year paper (Property Development), and has worked in the Department ever since.

“It sharpens my mind and keeps me at the leading edge of the profession. I like to think that my work results in top quality students who can handle flexibility and capability over a broader range.

He says every project is different and in a market where projects come from new industries or countries with different languages, his job is to ensure students understand project management to a high degree.

“I also like to produce graduates who not only understand the profession, but also have a passion and enthusiasm. I’ve been through four recessions so far, and without passion and discipline, it could get hard to enjoy work every day.”

Department of Property head Deborah Levy says Mark’s passion and commitment to the industry was one of the reasons why he was chosen for the Stuart MacIntosh Award this year and his intimate knowledge of project management has been an exceptional advantage for property students in the past decade.

Property Connect December 2009 | A Newsletter from the Department of Property

Old mate’s remembrance a treasure for 2009 recipient

American valuation expert studies kiwi valuers

Contact

Department of PropertyOwen G Glenn Building12 Grafton RoadAuckland

Phone: +64 9 923 8632 or +64 9 923 6290Fax: +64 9 308 2314

Email: property@auckland.ac.nzWeb: www.property.auckland.ac.nz

GOlD sPOnsORs

silvER sPOnsORs

BROnzE sPOnsORs

Property Group

An American valuation researcher who has studied New Zealand valuers for more than a decade says our industry appears robust and world-class.

Professor and chair of the Department of Real Estate at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, Julian Diaz III says he has respect for New Zealand valuers, and what they produce is professional and thorough.

The American Real Estate Society’s Richard Ratcliff Award winner in 2009, Professor Diaz has studied New Zealand valuers since the late 1990s, basing himself from The University of Auckland’s Department of Property on three occasions.

His teaching interests include real estate development, real estate investments and quantitative methods for real estate analysis. Having authored more than 30 academically published articles, Professor Diaz is particularly interested in how New Zealand valuers’ behaviour compares with their US counterparts.

“From every angle, I’ve been interested in the cross-cultural differences. The professional valuation community here in New Zealand is small but engaged, interactive and successful. Despite the immense differences in size, attitudes of our two countries towards real estate and valuation are relatively the same,” he says.

While in New Zealand, Professor Diaz worked collaboratively with Associate Professor Deborah Levy and made contact with many of the 50 to 60 valuers based in the Auckland area. He researched trends by interviewing masters students from other parts of the University.

“What I can say about New Zealand is that the valuation industry’s level of professionalism is very high, and as good as anywhere else in the world. Your processes are very similar to those in the United States, and your sense of professionalism is very high.”

Professor Diaz’s seminar titled ‘Behavioural research into real estate valuation process’ – which explained the financial crisis in the US and his decades’ long research into valuer behaviour.

Students play hard in 2009 Young property professional honoured

REINZ buddy programme continues to add value

Property student wins SPARk prize

The Auckland Land Economy Society (ALES) has ramped up activities in 2009, achieving a very successful year of recreation and socialising for students.

As well as rugby, cupcakes and cocktails, ALES organised a number of social events for students, including two pub crawls, class parties and an end-of-year function.

Spokesperson Grace Forrester says with the addition of four new ALES team members, and original members taking a back seat to form the executive board, 2009 has proved to be a busy year.

“The pub crawl especially has developed a strong name for itself and, as a result, the 120 tickets sold out in less than 20 minutes in the second semester – an ALES record,” Grace says.

The team of Simon Quine, Adam Flint, William Lumbus and Grace have this year put on a networking event for professional women and students in property. Held in the Decima Glenn function room at the Business School, students were given an insight into what it is like to be a woman in the property industry from stalwarts such as Michelle McKellar, Jo Duffy and Deborah Levy.

ALES also entered a team – comprising Grace, Adam, Vincent Bennett and Chris Single – in the Management Consulting Club Property Case competition, and clinched top prize after taking out the first heat.

Another of the year’s highlights was the success of the Property Pirates rugby team, which took out third place in this year’s inter-faculty rugby tournament after beating the Medical School’s Sea Bass and School of Law rugby teams. Sports co-ordinator William Lumbus says the team’s new jerseys helped this year.

Coached by Chris Single and Sam Greenwood, the Property Pirates were sponsored by Segar and Partners, with Chris Segar attending every match day and providing great support and advice to the whole team.

As a result of that success, five property students were picked in The University of Auckland tournament team - first year BProp/LLB student Michael O’Connell, second year BProp students Edward Washer and Scott McElroy, third year BProp (and New Zealand

cycling representative) Blair James, and fifth year BProp/BCom Jacob Vermunt.

ALES was first established some years ago, but was out of action until students Joshua Rea and Jacob Vermunt resurrected the organisation again in late 2007 to enable the strengthening of networking relationships with fellow students and industry players.

“Joshua and Jacob saw networking as crucial in property, and realised that a medium fostering this was essential,” Grace says.

“2008 was our first official year with Sam Greenwood and Chris Single joining the ALES team, and last year saw pub crawls, steins, the creation of the Property Pirates and a professional and very successful end-of- year function.”

Mentoring fellow valuers, designing client-customised software and specialising in commercial and industrial valuation has clinched the 2009 Property Institute of New Zealand Young Property Professional of the Year for Department graduate William Hickey.

The award, sponsored by Terralink International, is given to an individual who has demonstrated excellence in the field of property. Institute chief executive David Clark says William has provided exceptional contributions to the industry, and is a worthy winner this year.

William holds a BProp and BCom from The University of Auckland, and is a past treasurer of the Institute’s Auckland branch. During that time, he co-ordinated a number of branch social

events and helped organise the PINZ national conference this year.

Highly regarded by senior practitioners within the property industry, William works at Jones

Lang LaSalle and specialises in the valuation of industrial and commercial property. He is responsible for the co-ordination of portfolio valuations for a number of institutional clients, and is involved with major commercial and industrial portfolio valuations.

“In all William’s activities, he demonstrates an extremely high degree of professionalism, a sound grasp of valuation principles and has been a mentor to a number of young valuers both within our company and the wider valuation and property community,” David Wigmore from Jones Lang LaSalle says.

“William demonstrates all the attributes, as a young registered valuer, that make him an outstanding role model for other young valuers and property professionals.”

Turning under-utilised inner city and suburban real estate into gardens growing fresh produce for local communities has won a third year BCom/BProp student an early SPARK $100,000 Challenge prize for 2009.

Jacob Vermunt, an Ernst & Young professional working within the Real Estate Advisory Services Division, clinched the $1000 prize for his unique Green Focus concept. This concept is based primarily around urban regeneration, where inner city and suburban real estate is used more efficiently while benefiting society.

As well as producing locally-grown produce, Green Focus would reduce the use of fossil fuels to transport produce around the country. It would also bring additional value for land-owners through increased revenue, create jobs, involve people in creating a sustainable community, and change lifestyle habits.

“Target locations for planting would be on vacant lots, tops of buildings, down the sides of houses or even on public property,” Jacob says.

“Crops that are suitable or practical for the location would be planted, harvested and then sold back to the local community.”

Jacob, who was involved in SPARK and ALES at University and also tutored for the Tuakana Programme, received a scholarship from The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and studied at the University of Edinburgh in 2006-07.

He says the idea would not only provide food resources but income for landowners.

“Although marginal in value, this would be a socially responsible activity that creates tangible value to the property,” he says.

“Essentially we are giving everyone access to having a vegetable patch while not having to look after it but still reaping almost all the benefits.”

Jacob says the idea is temporarily shelved due to other commitments this year, but he would support anyone interested in developing the idea further.

Buddied up with industry professionals, a number of second year Bachelor of Property students got a taste of life as aspiring property professionals this year when they took part in the 2009 REINZ Buddy Programme.

The programme, run jointly by the The University of Auckland Business School Department of Property and the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), offers students the chance to meet and work with a property professional (their allocated buddy), offering them valuable real-life experience and industry networking opportunities.

The students and participating property professionals signed contracts to confirm their commitment to the programme, the students then spent a minimum of six hours learning from and working with their industry buddies.

The participating professionals, among other things, explained to their student colleagues how their real estate offices are managed and administered, what sales meetings are about, inspected properties on their books, took them to auctions and open homes, explained the advertisement and marketing options and provided details of special projects the office may have been involved in.

“The REINZ Programme’s particular value is it gives students the opportunity to relate their theoretical studies with current practices in the property industry. It assists our students in the making of informed career choices and allows them to develop a relationship with a mentor in the industry,” Head of the Department of Property, Associate Professor Deborah Levy says.

09006 Property Connect Spring.indd 1 9/12/2009 10:38:26 a.m.

Mark Sigglekow – this year’s Stuart MacIntosh Award winner – is proud his good friend’s generous legacy will sit on his mantelpiece for the next year. The project management professional worked with Stuart MacIntosh – a fellow part-time Department of Property lecturer who died after a short illness in 2007 – and went to school with him on the North Shore.

“It does make this award very special to know that it commemorates Stuart, who went to school with me at Takapuna Primary and Takapuna Grammar. I am very touched that this remembrance of Stuart has been given to me, and I’m grateful to the Department of Property for this accolade,” says Mark.

Mark, a part-time senior lecturer for the Department for almost ten years, started his career with a degree in engineering from The University of Auckland, followed by a postgraduate diploma in business. The past two decades have seen him hold senior positions here and in Australia in both line management and project teams for a wide range of challenging development process projects. Mark has served the property industry with a long stretch on the Auckland Branch Committee of the Property Institute of New Zealand and the Institute’s board of directors. In

1999, he helped the University to develop the Bachelor of Property 3rd year paper (Property Development), and has worked in the Department ever since.

“It sharpens my mind and keeps me at the leading edge of the profession. I like to think that my work results in top quality students who can handle flexibility and capability over a broader range.

He says every project is different and in a market where projects come from new industries or countries with different languages, his job is to ensure students understand project management to a high degree.

“I also like to produce graduates who not only understand the profession, but also have a passion and enthusiasm. I’ve been through four recessions so far, and without passion and discipline, it could get hard to enjoy work every day.”

Department of Property head Deborah Levy says Mark’s passion and commitment to the industry was one of the reasons why he was chosen for the Stuart MacIntosh Award this year and his intimate knowledge of project management has been an exceptional advantage for property students in the past decade.

Property Connect December 2009 | A Newsletter from the Department of Property

Old mate’s remembrance a treasure for 2009 recipient

American valuation expert studies kiwi valuers

Contact

Department of PropertyOwen G Glenn Building12 Grafton RoadAuckland

Phone: +64 9 923 8632 or +64 9 923 6290Fax: +64 9 308 2314

Email: property@auckland.ac.nzWeb: www.property.auckland.ac.nz

GOlD sPOnsORs

silvER sPOnsORs

BROnzE sPOnsORs

Property Group

An American valuation researcher who has studied New Zealand valuers for more than a decade says our industry appears robust and world-class.

Professor and chair of the Department of Real Estate at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, Julian Diaz III says he has respect for New Zealand valuers, and what they produce is professional and thorough.

The American Real Estate Society’s Richard Ratcliff Award winner in 2009, Professor Diaz has studied New Zealand valuers since the late 1990s, basing himself from The University of Auckland’s Department of Property on three occasions.

His teaching interests include real estate development, real estate investments and quantitative methods for real estate analysis. Having authored more than 30 academically published articles, Professor Diaz is particularly interested in how New Zealand valuers’ behaviour compares with their US counterparts.

“From every angle, I’ve been interested in the cross-cultural differences. The professional valuation community here in New Zealand is small but engaged, interactive and successful. Despite the immense differences in size, attitudes of our two countries towards real estate and valuation are relatively the same,” he says.

While in New Zealand, Professor Diaz worked collaboratively with Associate Professor Deborah Levy and made contact with many of the 50 to 60 valuers based in the Auckland area. He researched trends by interviewing masters students from other parts of the University.

“What I can say about New Zealand is that the valuation industry’s level of professionalism is very high, and as good as anywhere else in the world. Your processes are very similar to those in the United States, and your sense of professionalism is very high.”

Professor Diaz’s seminar titled ‘Behavioural research into real estate valuation process’ – which explained the financial crisis in the US and his decades’ long research into valuer behaviour.

Students play hard in 2009 Young property professional honoured

REINZ buddy programme continues to add value

Property student wins SPARk prize

The Auckland Land Economy Society (ALES) has ramped up activities in 2009, achieving a very successful year of recreation and socialising for students.

As well as rugby, cupcakes and cocktails, ALES organised a number of social events for students, including two pub crawls, class parties and an end-of-year function.

Spokesperson Grace Forrester says with the addition of four new ALES team members, and original members taking a back seat to form the executive board, 2009 has proved to be a busy year.

“The pub crawl especially has developed a strong name for itself and, as a result, the 120 tickets sold out in less than 20 minutes in the second semester – an ALES record,” Grace says.

The team of Simon Quine, Adam Flint, William Lumbus and Grace have this year put on a networking event for professional women and students in property. Held in the Decima Glenn function room at the Business School, students were given an insight into what it is like to be a woman in the property industry from stalwarts such as Michelle McKellar, Jo Duffy and Deborah Levy.

ALES also entered a team – comprising Grace, Adam, Vincent Bennett and Chris Single – in the Management Consulting Club Property Case competition, and clinched top prize after taking out the first heat.

Another of the year’s highlights was the success of the Property Pirates rugby team, which took out third place in this year’s inter-faculty rugby tournament after beating the Medical School’s Sea Bass and School of Law rugby teams. Sports co-ordinator William Lumbus says the team’s new jerseys helped this year.

Coached by Chris Single and Sam Greenwood, the Property Pirates were sponsored by Segar and Partners, with Chris Segar attending every match day and providing great support and advice to the whole team.

As a result of that success, five property students were picked in The University of Auckland tournament team - first year BProp/LLB student Michael O’Connell, second year BProp students Edward Washer and Scott McElroy, third year BProp (and New Zealand

cycling representative) Blair James, and fifth year BProp/BCom Jacob Vermunt.

ALES was first established some years ago, but was out of action until students Joshua Rea and Jacob Vermunt resurrected the organisation again in late 2007 to enable the strengthening of networking relationships with fellow students and industry players.

“Joshua and Jacob saw networking as crucial in property, and realised that a medium fostering this was essential,” Grace says.

“2008 was our first official year with Sam Greenwood and Chris Single joining the ALES team, and last year saw pub crawls, steins, the creation of the Property Pirates and a professional and very successful end-of- year function.”

Mentoring fellow valuers, designing client-customised software and specialising in commercial and industrial valuation has clinched the 2009 Property Institute of New Zealand Young Property Professional of the Year for Department graduate William Hickey.

The award, sponsored by Terralink International, is given to an individual who has demonstrated excellence in the field of property. Institute chief executive David Clark says William has provided exceptional contributions to the industry, and is a worthy winner this year.

William holds a BProp and BCom from The University of Auckland, and is a past treasurer of the Institute’s Auckland branch. During that time, he co-ordinated a number of branch social

events and helped organise the PINZ national conference this year.

Highly regarded by senior practitioners within the property industry, William works at Jones

Lang LaSalle and specialises in the valuation of industrial and commercial property. He is responsible for the co-ordination of portfolio valuations for a number of institutional clients, and is involved with major commercial and industrial portfolio valuations.

“In all William’s activities, he demonstrates an extremely high degree of professionalism, a sound grasp of valuation principles and has been a mentor to a number of young valuers both within our company and the wider valuation and property community,” David Wigmore from Jones Lang LaSalle says.

“William demonstrates all the attributes, as a young registered valuer, that make him an outstanding role model for other young valuers and property professionals.”

Turning under-utilised inner city and suburban real estate into gardens growing fresh produce for local communities has won a third year BCom/BProp student an early SPARK $100,000 Challenge prize for 2009.

Jacob Vermunt, an Ernst & Young professional working within the Real Estate Advisory Services Division, clinched the $1000 prize for his unique Green Focus concept. This concept is based primarily around urban regeneration, where inner city and suburban real estate is used more efficiently while benefiting society.

As well as producing locally-grown produce, Green Focus would reduce the use of fossil fuels to transport produce around the country. It would also bring additional value for land-owners through increased revenue, create jobs, involve people in creating a sustainable community, and change lifestyle habits.

“Target locations for planting would be on vacant lots, tops of buildings, down the sides of houses or even on public property,” Jacob says.

“Crops that are suitable or practical for the location would be planted, harvested and then sold back to the local community.”

Jacob, who was involved in SPARK and ALES at University and also tutored for the Tuakana Programme, received a scholarship from The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and studied at the University of Edinburgh in 2006-07.

He says the idea would not only provide food resources but income for landowners.

“Although marginal in value, this would be a socially responsible activity that creates tangible value to the property,” he says.

“Essentially we are giving everyone access to having a vegetable patch while not having to look after it but still reaping almost all the benefits.”

Jacob says the idea is temporarily shelved due to other commitments this year, but he would support anyone interested in developing the idea further.

Buddied up with industry professionals, a number of second year Bachelor of Property students got a taste of life as aspiring property professionals this year when they took part in the 2009 REINZ Buddy Programme.

The programme, run jointly by the The University of Auckland Business School Department of Property and the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), offers students the chance to meet and work with a property professional (their allocated buddy), offering them valuable real-life experience and industry networking opportunities.

The students and participating property professionals signed contracts to confirm their commitment to the programme, the students then spent a minimum of six hours learning from and working with their industry buddies.

The participating professionals, among other things, explained to their student colleagues how their real estate offices are managed and administered, what sales meetings are about, inspected properties on their books, took them to auctions and open homes, explained the advertisement and marketing options and provided details of special projects the office may have been involved in.

“The REINZ Programme’s particular value is it gives students the opportunity to relate their theoretical studies with current practices in the property industry. It assists our students in the making of informed career choices and allows them to develop a relationship with a mentor in the industry,” Head of the Department of Property, Associate Professor Deborah Levy says.

09006 Property Connect Spring.indd 1 9/12/2009 10:38:26 a.m.