The Realtors of BC vote on December 6 may result in the biggest change for our Board since its founding nearly a century ago. If you plan to attend, it's important to understand the voting process.

Pre-register

Preparation for the vote begins weeks in advance. We ask all attendees pre-register with Member Services (604-730-3090) to help us prepare. You can still attend if you don’t pre-register.

Leading up to the vote, we’ll send you a meeting agenda package that contains the details of the proposal, as well as a proxy form. A proxy form allows you to assign your vote to a colleague if you're unable to attend. Remember: you can only bring one proxy form. All other forms will be voided.

Voting day

Registration begins at 9 a.m. Please bring your member ID card with you. This is when you hand over your proxy, if you have one.

Once registered, you’ll receive a voting device. The device will enable you to cast your vote. You’ll be taught how to use the device during the meeting. Once the meeting starts, the devices will be tested and the vote will begin.

See you on December 6!

Meeting details

Registration: 9 a.m.
Open forum followed by meeting: 10 a.m.
Rocky Mountaineer Station
1755 Cottrell Street, at Terminal Avenue
(south of Home Depot)

 

What’s the Government Relations Committee been up to?

Board representatives have been busy bringing your voice to all levels of government in recent months. We’ve spoken with politicians at the Canadian Real Estate Association’s Political Action Committee conference in Ottawa, and the Union of BC Municipalities conference.

Learn more here.

Heritage updates from First Shaughnessy and Richmond

The BC Supreme Court has ruled that heritage homes in Vancouver’s First Shaughnessy neighbourhood are protected. The case began in 2015 when five property owners took the City of Vancouver to court over the First Shaughnessy Heritage Conservation Area Official Development Plan.

In Richmond, the Britannia Heritage Shipyard took home the Prince of Wales Prize for heritage conservation.

Learn more here.

Updated Top Grants and Rebates guide now available

We’ve updated our Top Grants and Rebates guide, which is a great resource to share with your clients.

Click here to open a PDF copy.

The Metro Vancouver housing market is grappling with a number of important factors this fall. Two policy changes at the provincial level and one significant change from the federal government are squeezing demand from both the high and low end of the market. These changes are expected to temporarily depress demand and add some uncertainty to the housing market.

The introduction of a third tier to the Property Transfer Tax earlier this year has crimped the budgets of wealthier households. While it’s easy to argue that a progressive tax is for the public good, the impact on our children and grandchildren will be more severe, as the absence of some form of indexing to inflation will mean more and more transactions with be subject to the tax in the years to come.

The second policy change was the sudden implementation of a 15 per cent tax on foreign national homes buyers. According to government figures, the tax could impact as many as many as 10 per cent of home sales in Metro Vancouver and even more in certain communities. While this tax is unlikely to curb all foreign buying activity, it'll have a discernible impact on housing demand, not to mention new construction activity and related employment growth.

Many first time buyers have just experienced the sharpest decline in housing affordability in years as a result of a third policy change. New rules introduced by the federal government on October 17 mean that home buyers securing a high ratio mortgage must now qualify at the five-year benchmark rate, even if they have negotiated a much lower five-year fixed term rate with their lender. This change will cut millennials’ and other first time and low-equity home buyers’ purchasing power by as much as 20 per cent.   

Housing demand isn’t linear. It oscillates, sometimes dramatically. This creates a significant structural problem to housing affordability as the ability of builders and developers to supply the market can either come up too short or else over shoot consumer demand. Over the long term, the housing stock expands in tandem with household growth. However, short-term oscillations in demand can lead to significant under and over supply conditions that have real consequences to home prices, as was experienced earlier this year.    

Home sales in the region reached a cyclical high in the first quarter and have been trending lower ever since. While this trajectory is typical in Metro Vancouver, the reversion back to more average consumer demand is being accelerated by the three policy changes noted above. In addition, public perception of market risk resulting from these policy changes is likely magnifying their impact and may contribute to a larger contraction in demand.

Against this backdrop are the powerful underlying forces of population growth and nation leading economic performance, along with the attendant employment growth and a large contingent of millennials who’re now entering their home buying years. This means that slowing housing demand will be a temporary event. Households will retrench their finances, pent-up demand will once again intensify and another cycle of strong demand will undoubtedly unfold. 

Cameron Muir
Chief Economist, BC Real Estate Association

We’re less than six weeks from one of the most important member meeting in our Board’s history. On December 6, we’ll host an Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) for you to vote on whether the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) amalgamates with the BC Real Estate Association and five other BC real estate boards. Those boards are:

1. Fraser Valley Real Estate Board;
2. Kamloops and District Real Estate Association;
3. Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board;
4. South Okanagan Real Estate Board; and
5. BC Northern Real Estate Board.

These organizations will also hold meetings on December 6 for their members to vote on the proposed amalgamation.

To better understand opinions ahead of this critical meeting, we asked Maple Leaf Strategies to survey members from participating boards. In all, 795 members from all boards, responded. This independent survey is a follow-up to a poll we conducted in June.

Click here to read the results.

The results show that:

• 93 per cent  of members from participating boards are aware of the initiative;
• 91 per cent intend to vote on December 6;
• 56 per cent support the initiative, 13 per cent are opposed and 31 per cent are undecided;
• 75 per cent of REBGV members support the initiative, 10 per cent of REBGV members are opposed, and 15 per cent of REBGV members are undecided.

Opposition to the proposal remains consistent with the June survey, while support has increased. This is because some previously undecided voters have chosen to vote yes. Of the 31 per cent of undecided voters across the participating boards, more than 64 per cent said they’re leaning toward voting yes.

“December 6 will be a landmark day for our profession. I encourage all members to register for this historic meeting and come out and vote on December 6,” Dan Morrison, Board president said.

How to register:

• Call Member Services at 604.730.3090 or email memberservices@rebgv.org. 
• Click here to register online (login required). 

The meeting will take place at Rocky Mountaineer Station, 1755 Cottrell Street at Terminal Avenue, in Vancouver.

For more information on the REALTORS® of BC proposal:

• Visit www.realtorsofbc.ca for the latest news and updates.
• Read our updated backgrounder and FAQ document. 
• Watch this video that imagines what the future would look like if you approved this amalgamation.

The next Paragon update, on November 8, allows you to search open houses and MLS® Tours by sub-area.

Previously, you could only search for open houses and MLS® Tours by area. This change will make it easier for you to find open houses and tours in specific neighbourhoods.

To complete this update, the system will be down from 10 p.m. on November 8 until 6 a.m. on November 9.

If you have questions, contact the Help Desk at 604-730-3020.

Two lawyers I respect tell me they're increasingly frustrated with the deficiency holdback clauses some members have been drafting for resale home contracts.

To be fair, there isn't a deficiency holdback clause for resale homes in the Real Estate Council’s Professional Standards Manual. This is likely because each holdback situation is different. The clause can be tough to draft a “one size fits all” standard clause. There is, however, a “Walk-Through Inspection Deficiency List” clause for new homes. Any clause that causes lawyers to have a conniption should concern us. A poorly drafted clause can lead to problems. You definitely don't want to have problems with Council in the current climate and you, of course, don't want to create a legal problem for your clients.

How should you draft a deficiency holdback clause for a resale home? Start with common sense. Is it clear? Does it have limits? Are the specifics laid out? Are the dates specified? Take your time, read the clause out loud to your client, and ask if that’s what they want.

One lawyer told me: “Poorly worded holdback clauses often result in the conveyancing notary or lawyer having time-consuming, last-minute arguments with the other side about whether money can be held back for the seller's failure to properly repair something. In my experience, these poorly worded clauses are often driven by incompetence, last-minute drafting, the failure of a managing broker to catch the problem, or a lack of english skills.”

Let’s say that a seller agrees to have the dishwasher repaired, the rotten back stair treads replaced, and the loose garage door tracks re-aligned and tightened before completion. You, the buyer’s REALTOR®, would then draft wording to record the seller's obligation, failing which, the buyer would have the right to hold back a sum of money at completion.

My legal friend suggests, “a properly drawn clause will state precisely what work must be done, by when, and to what standard of skill. The clause should also provide for a pre-closing inspection of the work, and failing agreement on the seller's performance, provide for a holdback of a certain sum of money for a specific period so that either the seller or the buyer can complete the repair. If the buyer has to complete the repair, the clause will permit the buyer to use the funds held back.”

If you’re acting for the seller, carefully review the clause and the obligations it places on your client. Make sure the seller understands and agrees to them. If you receive a contract containing a badly worded clause, review your concerns with your client. An option would be to accept the contract with the badly worded clause. This poses a risk for the client. As the Realtor, you would also have to explain to the Council your reasoning if a complaint is made. Another option is to counter with an improved clause. If you’re unsure about the wording, suggest your client get legal advice. There’s a risk the counter containing the new and improved clause could be rejected and the deal collapses. Make sure your client understands which is worse, accepting a contract with a bad clause and hoping for the best, or countering the contract and having the other side walk away.

Yes, I know, a pre-purchase inspection is about as popular with sellers and their Realtor as a skunk at a garden party. It can be risky to let the buyers back in before the closing for fear they’ll have second thoughts about buying the place altogether. It's a legitimate concern, but the risk of that happening is probably small unless the closing comes after a market price drop, in which case, the risk of the buyer getting cold feet is much higher.

Have a conversation with your client about the risks that every deal brings. Buyers and sellers are usually reasonable and do what they said they’ll do. Unfortunately, sometimes they don’t. It's for these situations that we draft carefully worded clauses. Explain everything in detail, ask for your client’s instructions and then make notes in your file about the discussions you’ve had.

Top Tip

Ahem, a reminder to all that Council’s new-found heft is now in effect. This means the big fines and other penalties you’ve read about are now applicable to “any misconduct occurring on or after September 30, 2016.” Click here to read the announcement. Council dryly refers to these as “enhancements to public protection and real estate regulation.”

Reduced home sale and listing activity are changing market dynamics in communities across Metro Vancouver*.

Residential property sales in the region totalled 2,233 in October 2016, a 38.8 per cent decrease from the 3,646 sales recorded in October 2015 and a 0.9 per cent decrease compared to September 2016 when 2,253 homes sold.

Last month’s sales were 15 per cent below the 10-year October sales average.

“Changing market conditions compounded by a series of government interventions this year have put home buyers and sellers in a holding pattern,” Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said. “Potential buyers and sellers are taking a wait-and-see approach to try and better understand what these changes mean for them.” 

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 3,981 in October 2016. This represents a decrease of 3.5 per cent compared to the 4,126 units listed in October 2015 and a 17 per cent decrease compared to September 2016 when 4,799 properties were listed.

Last month’s new listing count was 9.5 per cent below the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 9,143, a 4.5 per cent decrease compared to October 2015 (9,569) and a 2.3 per cent decrease compared to September 2016 (9,354). 

The sales-to-active listings ratio for October 2016 is 24.4 per cent. Generally, analysts say that downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below the 12 per cent mark for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months.

“While sales are down across the different property types, it’s the detached market that’s seen the largest reduction in home buyer demand in recent months,” Morrison said. “It’s important to work with your local REALTOR® to help you navigate today’s changing trends.” 

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $919,300. This represents a 24.8 per cent increase compared to October 2015 and a 0.8 per cent decline compared to September 2016.

Sales of detached properties in October 2016 reached 652, a decrease of 54.6 per cent from the 1,437 detached sales recorded in October 2015. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,545,800. This represents a 28.9 per cent increase compared to October 2015 and a 1.4 per cent decrease compared to September 2016. 

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,178 in October 2016, a decrease of 23.7 per cent compared to the 1,543 sales in October 2015.The benchmark price of an apartment property is $512,300. This represents a 20.5 per cent increase compared to October 2015 and a 0.3 per cent increase compared to September 2016.

Attached property sales in October 2016 totalled 403, a decrease of 39.5 per cent compared to the 666 sales in October 2015. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $669,200. This represents a 25.7 per cent increase compared to October 2015 and a 1.1 per cent decrease compared to September 2016.

Download the complete stats package by clicking here. 

Correction Notice: 

Altus Group, the provider of the national MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI), discovered a calculation error in their September 2016 reporting. This error resulted in variances of between 0.1 and 5 per cent in the benchmark prices the REBGV released for September 2016. Download the corrected September stats package by clicking here. 

For more information check out Stats Centre.

To see statistics for you area check out our Stats Report page.