Editorial

Citation

Warren, C.M.J. (2015), "Editorial", Property Management, Vol. 33 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/PM-05-2015-0020

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Property Management, Volume 33, Issue 4.

Having just attended the Land, Housing and Urbanisation Forum at Renmin University of China organised to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of Land and Real Estate, it was encouraging to see how well attended this forum was. It attracted keynote speakers from the UK, Germany, Russia and Canada in addition to those from China. Under the leadership of Professor Lu Ping, the strength of real estate education and research is growing in China which faces rapid urbanisation alongside a growing and ageing population. Professor Lu is also a valued member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Property Management.

From a property management perspective, the Chinese property market faces many of the issues that arise in other regions but also has the added complications brought about by rapid growth and a growing population moving from rural areas into the major cities. The challenges faced in the management of large property portfolios was the subject of a number of papers presented at the Renmin University, Land, Housing and Urbanisation Forum and included energy security, meeting sustainable energy targets and the problems of restricted availability of water in some major cities. It is hoped that in the future much of the research undertaken in leading Chinese universities will find its way into the journal.

This fourth issue of Property Management for 2015 once again presents five research papers which range across a number of countries and areas of professional practice. The papers for this issue are drawn from researchers in Australia, Europe and Africa and include collaborative papers linking research in Finland and Australia. There is also a good mix of research relating to both residential property management and commercial office management.

The first paper in this issue comes from Chris Guilding, Dawne Lamminmaki and Jan Warnken from Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. The paper is titled; "Preparing strata titled communities for climate change: an empirical examination". The paper reports on a study using an expert industry group to investigate the issues which large, multi-unit residential developments face in addressing climate change. The findings provide in a table 16 recommendations identifying which stakeholder group has the primary responsibility for enacting the recommendations. Not surprisingly unit holders have the largest number of action items; however, worryingly the research also shows that this group are also the most sceptical about the potential impact of climate change.

The second paper is by Ainur Zaireen Zainudin and Khadijah Hussin from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia. Their paper is entitled "The cooperative-collective sharing arrangement of gated communities in Malaysia". This paper is based on a small case study conducted in Iskandar, Malaysia, an economic development region. In all, 12 housing developers were interviewed, involving 32 gated communities. The investigation covered the identification of the governing document used in operating a gated community, the operational purposes and scopes, the arrangement for collection of maintenance fees, and the internal governance within the gated communities. The paper highlights some of the problems faced in managing this type of community development. While the case study is small and focused on the situation in Malaysia, there are some implications for other regions with similar developments.

Paper three in this issue is written by Peggie Rothe, Chris Heywood, Matti Christersson and Anna-Liisa Sarasoja from Aalto University, Built Environment Services Research Group, Espoo, Finland and Chris Heywood from University of Melbourne, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, Australia. The paper title is "Office relocation management in Finland – challenges and service opportunities". The paper points to the fact that selecting new office space and relocating is a process that many organisations go through from time to time. This relocation process is a significant event that brings a hiatus to the organisation's operations. The decisions concerning location and office solution determine the future operating environment which can have a significant impact on real estate costs, productivity, efficiency and workforce satisfaction. This research paper uses a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology in which questionnaires and structured interviews were undertaken with key stakeholders. The findings reveal that organisations would be well served in recruiting expert facilitators to assist with many of the practical aspects of the relocation process, greatly reducing the risks to the organisation. While the research was undertaken in Finland, it has far reaching implications for most commercial office markets around the world.

The fourth paper is written by Chukwuma C. Nwuba, Uche S. Egwuatu and Babatunde M. Salawu from Kaduna Polytechnic – Estate Management Kaduna, Nigeria, and Uche Egwuatu from Chika Egwuatu & Partners (Estate Surveyors and Valuers) Abuja, Nigeria. The paper "Clients' means of influence on mortgage valuation in Nigeria", looks at what influence clients can have on valuers' mortgage valuations. The research uses surveys and focus groups to evaluate perceptions within the valuation industry in Nigeria. The findings are inline with similar research for other regions of the world, indicating that lending institutions use subtle coercion, such as the promise of further work, to ensure that the valuation report accords with the desired outcome of the institution. This research reinforces that professional valuers have to guard against the potential for adverse influence being exerted by client lenders in order to receive favourable valuation reports.

The final paper comes from a team at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. The authors are Junaidah Jailani, Richard Reed and Kimberley James. Their paper is entitled "Examining the perception of tenants in sustainable office buildings" and analyses the gap between occupants' expectations of sustainable building outcomes and what the building actually provides. In addition the lack of user knowledge about sustainable building design and operation is also evaluated. The study confines itself to just eight buildings in Melbourne and, as such, is a limited study, but it does present some interesting findings that will have wider application in any commercial building with a sustainability rating.

Once again I hope that you enjoy this issue of Property Management and find the research presented interesting. I thank you for your support and urge you to provide feedback on the content and to consider submitting your research for publication within the Journal. The quality of research papers published in Property Management relies on the hard work of the Editorial Advisory Board and referees; I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone and to invite anyone interested in contributing their time and expertise as a referee to contact me.