CEO proud of change at institute

Real Estate Institute executive director Boud Hammelburg resigned just before Christmas but said he left the organisation in better shape.

Hammelburg, who was based at the institute's national headquarters in Parnell, joined in 2002.

Institute president Howard Morley said Hammelburg had left "to pursue his own interests" and the institute was yet to appoint a replacement.

Hammelburg said his main achievement had been changing the institute. "I left the institute on a high. I've changed the culture of the organisation to make it more businesslike."

The institute's finances have had a marked turnaround between 2004 and last year.

The group consolidated balance sheet released late last year showed it made an operating surplus of $332,397 in the year to March 31 2005, compared with a deficit the previous year of $623,370. This represented a performance turnaround of $955,767 in a year.

The institute (REINZ Inc) generated a net profit of $277,537 compared with a loss of $352,515. RealENZ Limited generated a net profit of $48,487 compared with a loss of $561,215. The accumulated funds for the group are $4,523,625, up $332,397 on 2004.

Hammelburg is proud of his work in defending the institute's position in a case in the High Court at Auckland late last year when property information firm RP Data - also called QVRP in the case - failed in its attempt to sue the institute for $996,509 in damages after arrangements between the two collapsed.

He cited the launch of other professional services as a highlight of his four-year term, particularly the institute's tenant data base.