Honesty, Transparency & Reliability More Important Than Ever for Property Developers

These findings echo another survey from the UK, published in 2019 that highlighted a lack of trust in developers. This is a problem more widespread than just NSW. This mistrust is not entirely unjustified, with another Construct NSW report finding that 39% of strata buildings had experienced serious defects in the common property.

Office of the Building Commissioner (OBC) is implementing the Construct NSW strategy to reform the building and construction industry. UrbanTalk is striving to be part of this change by providing a platform that complements the Construct NSW initiatives.

As part of the strategy to reform the building and construction industry, Construct NSW led by the Office of the Building Commissioner (OBC) has implemented iCIRT, a star rating system for developers. According to the website, the iCIRT star rating is based on:

Character – Bona fides of officers/owners, phoenixing and adverse checks
Capability – Trading history, officeholder experience, licenses, insurances
Conduct – Track record, judgements, tax debt, incidents, penalties, undertakings
Capacity – Project pipeline, sustainable/stable operations, liquidity, cash flow
Capital – Capital, funding, borrowing capacity, covenants, debt serviceability
Counterparties – Related parties, value chain dependencies, sustainable sourcing

The industry average and comparatives will also be available, enabling a more detailed understanding of how a rated party compares to others.

At the moment this rating system is voluntary, however, developers have already begun signing up and those that have received high ratings have garnered positive press. If iCIRT becomes mandatory, or even as more developers jump on board voluntarily, those dubious developers will have fewer places to hide and will likely face uncomfortable questions from prospective buyers about why they aren’t rated or why their rating is so low.

The development sector is entering a new age of honesty, transparency, reliability, and accountability – it’s the only way to rebuild the trust with consumers, who will have more tools at their disposal to gauge trustworthiness going forward. UrbanTalk is looking to be part of this new age, by providing community members and potential property buyers with an honest, transparent record of the development process.

While Construct NSW’s initiatives are focused on company and industry-wide reform, UrbanTalk takes a project-by-project approach. Project Listings on the UrbanTalk website allow anyone to view the progress of a development project, get timely information, and see the project’s journey, building much needed consumer confidence. It provides a fantastic platform to launch sales & marketing, where a buyer’s research can be conducted.

This new approach will only become more commonplace as it transforms into a competitive advantage for developers and a stamp of quality for low-confidence consumers – those who don’t embrace it will be left behind.