By Berio Mbala WINDHOEK Bank Windhoek and the Property Association signed an agreement to provide the first-ever estate agent upgrading courses in Namibia. The three courses to be offered by the Property Association and sponsored by Bank Windhoek have a value of N$30 000. The three courses are the 42-Day Planner for estate agents to become successful, Marketing Real Estate and Understanding Contracts and Agreements. According to information forwarded to New Era by Peter Rust of the Property Association, “these courses will help to maintain or even increase the level of professionalism acquired through ongoing training within the real estate industry”. “The real estate industry in Namibia has seen a great escalation in the number of estate agent in recent years. After having passed the required board examination, no further education or training is required, leaving many estate agents with very limited real estate experience,” said Rust. To survive in this highly competitive area “further training is needed in order to prevent an influx of inexperienced estate agents that could possibly damage the reputation of the entire industry,” Rust added. Rust also said the courses will be run in Windhoek and Swakopmund. There are plans to extend them to the northern regions in future. The three courses offered by the Property Association were, upon presentation, well received by important stakeholders. “The Namibia Estate Agent Board and the Institute of Agents Namibia endorsed the programme, while Bank Windhoek acts as the main sponsor of the programme,” said Rust. “Estate agents play a vital role in the development and growth of the property industry, therefore Bank Windhoek sees this as an important building block in ensuring high caliber estate agents that provide excellent service to their clients and thus boosting the property industry,” said Dries Bornman, Senior Manager of Property Finance at Bank Windhoek.