The Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Personnel jointly said that 1,119 people were given certificates after passing exams covering subjects including property management, construction engineering and real estate development.

About 3.5 million people work in China's property management sector, which began in 1981 with one company in what was then the first Special Economic Zone, the southern city of Shenzhen.

Today's property-management staff work at more than 30,000 companies, managing more than 10 billion square meters of property, or more than half the real estate in urban areas. But to date, regardless of experience, none of these people have had formal qualifications equivalent to licensed realtors in foreign countries, and many have drawn consumer complaints over lack of professionalism.

That is changing, as China has just gotten its first batch of certified property managers. The Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Personnel jointly said that 1,119 people were given certificates after passing exams covering subjects including property management, construction engineering and real estate development.

"The certification of professional property managers could standardize property management services and thus improve such services," said Qi Ji, Vice Minister of Construction.

Despite the many people in the sector, the "professional skills of those service providers were not improving with their expansion. Their professional skills were widely divergent, and services provided were not very satisfactory due to the lack of control on market access," said Xie Jiajin, chairman of the China Property Management Association.

A recent survey of the China Consumers' Association found that property management-related complaints were on top of the list, as many consumers said the management companies charged too much for too little service.

Although 1,119 people are just a fraction of the sector's workforce, "the initiation of the certification is bound to have a far-reaching impact," Xie said. He said that the certification would mean a higher degree of professional standards and improved competitiveness.

According to Xie, most of the 1,119 people had a junior college diploma either in economics, management or construction engineering.

All had experience in property management, which is a prerequisite for taking the exam. Candidates for certification must have experience of as little as one year for a doctoral degree holder to 10 years for those with lesser academic qualifications. Exams will be held annually.

As only 1,391 people nationwide were even qualified to take the exams this time, it appears that there will be a shortage of certified property managers, said Xie.

(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2008)