Member Update May 22, 2020
Here’s the latest real estate news from your Board ahead of this weekend.
Resources to help you understand how to operate in phase two of the province’s re-opening plan
This week marked the beginning of phase two in the provincial government’s plan to gradually re-open our economy and resume certain pre-COVID-19 activities.
To understand how this impacts how REALTORS® and real estate brokerages can operate, WorkSafeBC released re-opening protocols for the real estate industry.
They’ve also released a template for a re-opening safety plan.
REBGV resources
Your Board also created a checklist for real estate offices to be used in conjunction with WorkSafeBC’s guides.
Click here to read the checklist.
To clarify what these new protocols mean for you, watch the below video message from REBGV Chair Colette Gerber. In it, she addresses a number of recent member questions, including whether to resume hosting open houses.
“As a profession, we have a responsibility to continue to do our part to keep our communities safe and to prevent the further spread of illness,” Gerber says in the video. “At this stage, this means not holding open houses or other events that could result in large gatherings. The time is not yet right to resume these activities. We’re relying on all of you to follow through on this recommendation. We must do this for the safety of our clients, the general public and our Realtor community.”
Other resources
- WorkSafeBC’s real estate guidelines
- REBGV’s video on conducting in-person showings
- REBGV’s re-opening office checklist
- BC Restart Plan
Active listings and sales increase in May
Buyers and sellers have become more active through the month of May.
Total active listings sit at just over 10,500 today. On May 1, the active listing count was just under 9,900.
The daily sales average has also risen each week this month.
- For the week of May 4-8, the daily sales average was 61.
- For the week of May 11-15, the daily sales average was 72.
- For May 19-21, the daily sales average was 102.
Watch for our May stats report in the first week of June.
Council announces new mandatory ethics course
The Real Estate Council of BC (Council) released more details on its new mandatory ethics course this week. Click here for an overview.
The course is called Ethics for the Real Estate Professional. It contains an online component that consists of five learning modules, and a virtual classroom component that you attend after completing the online component.
This is a mandatory course that all real estate licensees in BC are required to complete if your license is up for renewal on or after October 1, 2020.
You can register for this course via UBC’s Sauder School of Business website. Click here for details.
Looking for financial aid? These guides will help
Have you been looking for financial aid to help weather the COVID-19 pandemic?
The federal government launched a new tool today that’ll help you find out what benefits you qualify for. Fill out the questionnaire, and the tool will supply information on what benefits you may qualify for.
Your Board also maintains an up-to-date list of available aid on REBGV.ca. This table includes aid for Realtors, Brokers, and clients from all levels of government, and from private industry.