SHANGHAI-The Institute of Real Estate Management, a group dedicated to the property management profession, has approved its first China chapter here. The Shanghai Chapter No. 118 is the third chapter in Asia and the 14th outside of the United States.

The new chapter grew out of an agreement signed in 2008 between IREM and the Shanghai Weston Real Estate Management Institute, a division of Brawman International Group. The chapter’s first president is Qui Liu, head of asset management for Shanghai Land Group Co.

Nancye Kirk, IREM’s chief strategy officer and VP of global services, tells GlobeSt.com that the group had started a teaching program in Beijing, but that the group wasn’t sustained. She says the country is still in a maturing stage when recognizing the benefits of professional property management. “Up until now in China, management has been mostly a maintenance function. In Shanghai, the development has been beyond belief, and now the push is on to manage it well. They’re starting to realize how effective managers can add value to properties.”

She says the group will look to expand further in Asia, Russia and the Ukraine, Poland, Canada and Brazil, and will be soon launching a program in Bulgaria. One-third of all new members are coming from outside the United States, according to IREM data. The group has 80 US chapters, and nearly 18,000 members.