"In his analysis of market sentiment, John Plender (Estates Gazette, 12 May, p52) points an accusatory finger at property market makers and their valuations. He has a point. So long as some agents succumb to the temptation of talking up the market, financial analysts will apply a pinch of salt to anything the property industry tells them about values or trends. This is a shame. It harms the industry, for example, through large discounts to net asset value, low salaries in the profession, schizophrenia about whether a chartered surveyor is a professional, difficulty in recruiting high-flyers, and so on. These are the reasons to support the RICS's Agenda for Change. Too many people still think we can have it both ways. Experience says that we can't".