Featured News
REALTORS® raise $130,000 for flood relief during this year’s Blanket Drive!
The 27th annual REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive has wrapped for this year and, together with the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, we’ve raised over $130,000 for the Canadian Red Cross’s flood relief efforts in BC!
And with the provincial and federal governments matching each dollar raised, our donation will result in nearly $400,000 toward the relief and recovery efforts underway across the province.
We’d like to thank every member and office who participated in this year’s Blanket Drive. From our volunteers who collect, sort, and deliver donations to everyone who made a financial contribution, this year’s campaign was a success because of you.
We’re still tallying the amount of clothing donations that we collected, and we’ll release the full results to you and the public in the coming days. Stay tuned!
How has the Metro Vancouver real estate market reacted to COVID-19? Read our latest economic report to find out
As our REALTOR® community can attest, Metro Vancouver’s real estate market has seen heightened, and in some cases record-breaking, sales activity throughout much of the pandemic.
During this period, the supply of homes for sale has struggled to keep pace and we’ve seen inventory levels reach lows not seen in several years.
REBGV Economist Keith Stewart’s latest report takes a deeper look at supply in Metro Vancouver and the factors affecting it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read Keith's report today to learn more about:
- What’s happening with housing supply in our region?
- Competition for housing.
- Emerging trends relating to property types and sub-areas.
Check out Keith's latest videos
In our latest videos, Keith summarizes the trends affecting the housing market in a series of short video conversations.
In our first video, Keith discusses what’s happening with sales and listings in Metro Vancouver:
In this video, Keith looks at price trends:
In the last video, Keith discusses trends in new construction:
We created these videos for you to share with your clients to help them better understand what’s happening in the market today.
Share your thoughts on the proposed cooling off period
Since the provincial government proposed legislation for a cooling off period for all residential real estate transactions, we’ve been working with the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) to gather REALTOR® feedback on this issue.
Share your thoughts and opinions by completing this survey.
The BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA), the regulator of real estate in the province, has compared the proposed cooling off period to the current restrictions on re-selling pre-construction condominiums.
BCFSA has pledged to consult with all stakeholders, including the real estate profession, as they work to develop this legislation. In addition to completing the survey, we recommend you email your feedback to BCFSA at coolingoff@bcfsa.ca and copy us at coolingoff@rebgv.org.
BCREA already met with Housing Minister David Eby, BCFSA senior staff and Opposition Housing Critic Ben Stewart, and will meet with Minister of Finance Selina Robinson and Minister of Municipal Affairs Josie Osborne in the coming weeks to discuss this issue.
Learn more
Check out these resources to learn more about:
It's all about perspective
When acting as a seller’s agent, your view on deposits and when the buyer should make them, probably changes.
If you’re a buyer’s agent, your buyer likely won’t want to put up their money until conditions have been removed, and then only within 24 hours. But if you’re a seller’s agent, your seller will probably want the deposit sooner than later, so the buyer’s feet are held to the fire should they start waffling on the deal.
The Board doesn’t have a specific requirement for when a deposit must be placed in trust, but the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) does weigh in. Remember, the obligation to provide a deposit is referenced in the contract of purchase and sale. Following what the contract says, to the letter, is expected by your clients, the courts, BCFSA and the Board.
Not having a rule for when the deposit has to be made leaves room for seller/buyer preferences. Sellers will want the deposit now; buyers will want it later.
If I were king for a day, and acting for the seller, I’d require all subject offers to be accompanied by a $5,000 deposit on acceptance, with an increase to five per cent of purchase price on subject removal. This would probably weed out triflers and save a lot of grief, and if the buyer starts waffling on a subject removal, there’s $5,000 the seller can lay claim to.
If I were king for a day, and acting for the buyer, I’d want to see a provision for the deposit to be made on subject removal, so the buyer doesn’t have to put up any money until conditions are removed.
Just make sure you talk to your client about their deposit options when you write offers for buyers or present offers to your sellers. This could save you from having a potentially tiresome agent-client conversation later on about what didn’t happen with the deposit.
Top Tip
A few times each year I remind members about the importance of providing accurate property information to the Board. The MLS® system and your colleagues—and their clients— depend on the accuracy of this information to make very big decisions. So, for example, if your listing’s total square footage has been plumped up by, say, adding the garage floor area or other unauthorized living space to the total, you’re exposing yourself to a potential regulatory (BCFSA) and/or Board investigation for misrepresentation or negligence, not to mention possible court action by the person who relied on the information.
We all know this. Perhaps less well known is that an inaccurate floor area comprising unauthorized space may mislead other members downstream who use that information in their CMAs, further multiplying the potential risks for even more folks.
Federal throne speech, Speculation and Vacancy Tax revenues, municipal updates and new initiatives to support first-time home buyers
Federal throne speech promises help for homebuyers
The federal throne speech has key priorities to make market housing more affordable, including a rent-to-own program and a more flexible first-time buyers’ incentive.
BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax revenue. How does your community rank?
The BC government has released data on Speculation and Vacancy Tax revenue collected from owners of vacant homes. Vancouver tops the list, followed by Richmond and Burnaby.
Municipal update
This summary highlights real estate-related activity and opportunities for members to have a say and provide feedback on issues in their municipality.
Langford’s fund will help 250 first-time homebuyers. Could other municipalities follow?
Langford, west of Victoria on Vancouver Island, wants first-time buyers to stay in their community and be able to afford a home. To help, the city is providing partial down payments to 250 potential buyers.
New price analysis feature coming to Paragon on December 8
Black Knight, the makers of Paragon, is adding a new price analysis tool to the system. You’ll be able to use this new feature after Paragon’s next update on December 8.
This tool shows you the number of potential buyers when you set or adjust the list price for your listing. Potential buyers are calculated based on current Paragon and Paragon Connect saved searches that would include the property based on its current price and are assigned to clients set up for auto-notifications.
You’ll be able to access the price analysis tool for your listing from the menu bar at the top of the listing maintenance screen.
Paragon Connect user experience enhancements
The December 8 update also includes updates for Paragon Connect. These enhancements focus on giving you a smoother user experience when performing common tasks to manage your contacts list like adding, deleting, searching for, and composing texts or emails to your clients.
Call the Help Desk at 604-730-3020 if you have any questions.
Other News
Stay vigilant! Thieves targeting lockbox accounts
We’ve learned that criminals have recently hacked two members’ email addresses and logged into their lockbox accounts in an effort to gain access to homes listed for sale.
We believe that this activity led to one home being burglarized and an attempted burglary on another home.
The compromised accounts have been identified and disabled.
We believe, however, that these criminals may attempt to hack other accounts.
We’re investigating this situation with our lockbox provider, IT security experts, and the police.
Take immediate action
In light of these events, we urge all members to:
- Reset your email and Sentrilock account passwords. Don’t use the same password for both accounts.
- Check your email account to see if your emails are being forwarded. If you don’t know how to do this, contact your email provider.
- Ensure the phone number and email address associated with your Touchbase account is correct and reset your password.
- Contact your local police detachment if someone accesses one of your lockboxes unscheduled.
Review the latest decision from your Arbitration Committee
Stay on top of the work your Board does to uphold and enforce professional standards within the profession and resolve disputes between members.
Click here to review the Arbitration Committee’s latest ruling (Case #182).
Register for one of our upcoming virtual events!
We're adding new member events all the time. Register for one of our upcoming virtual member engagements - here are the details:
Money Code and Retirement: What REALTORS® Need to Know
Kelly Fry of Keller Williams Elite Realty has been a REALTOR® for 10 years and a Medallion Club member since 2014. Before starting her career in real estate, she worked as an accountant and ran her own business.
Join us for Kelly’s next Money Code event focusing on retirement and the things you should keep in mind when you’re ready to retire.
Kelly will discuss:
- Mapping out a net worth goal
- Establishing a retirement cash flow through a variety of real estate acquisitions
- Having enough money to invest
- Joint ventures, rent-to-owns, and short-term and regular rentals.
Call Member Services at 604-730-3090 or email memberservices@rebgv.ca to register for this free event!
Let's talk land assembly
Have you ever wanted to learn more about the land assembly process? On December 8, we’re hosting an online discussion on land assemblies. Our panel includes REALTORS® Alana Bertini and Michelle Yu, and Joe Varing, sales director with the Varing Marketing Group.
They’ll discuss:
- The benefits of land assemblies.
- Residential sales versus land assembly sales.
- Calculation formulas, including different techniques and variables.
- Expectations of clients who purchase land assemblies.
- Dealing with sophisticated demographics and x-factors.
- Identifying a good land assembly - where to look and how to qualify.
- Official community plans, neigbourhood community plans, and zoning.
Talk to your clients about radon
Did you know that approximately one in every four new homes built in BC has high radon levels?
Radon is a naturally occurring, odourless, and colourless radioactive gas that forms when uranium breaks down in soil and rock. It travels upward through the ground and can get trapped inside homes and buildings.
Help your clients understand the risks radon poses and their options to deal with radon using these resources.
Watch REBGV’s radon event
Earlier this year, we hosted an event featuring Doctors Aaron Goodarzi and Noah Quastel from Evict Radon, a Canadian organization dedicated to providing solutions to Canada’s radon exposure problems. You can watch a recording of the event with the links below:
- Click here for the Evict Radon PDF shared during the event.
- Click here for information on radon from the Canadian Lung Association.
- Click here for information on how to reduce your exposure to radon.
Other resources
Review the BC Real Estate Association’s (BCREA’s) radon FAQ. This resource helps REALTORS® understand the radon issue and provides information you can use to explain radon and radon issues to your clients.
The BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) has created checklists for you to use when discussing radon with your clients. Checklists have been created for:
Donate your old materials to our archives!
Did you know we archive a diverse range of unique historical materials?
The items in our archive document the business, economic, and social history of the Board, as well as Lower Mainland’s real estate industry and land use over time. Much of this historic material is unavailable elsewhere, including:
- minute books, meeting notes, correspondence, diaries and personal papers;
- newsletters, bulletins, brochures, fliers, drawings, certificates, maps and pamphlets;
- catalogues;
- lockboxes, pens, technological devices, trophies, etc;
- statistical information; and
- photographs of early real estate offices and members, technology, trophies, etc.
Many of these items were donated by members, and we want you to keep us in mind if you come across any of the items listed above.
If you have items to donate, contact Sara Gordo at sgordo@rebgv.org.
Reminder: Deadline for Medallion sales is December 31
The deadline for sales to count toward Medallion 2021 is coming up on December 31. Please review your sales to make sure they’re accurate. Only sales submitted before end of day on December 31 will be considered as part of the 2021 Medallion program.
If you need to reconcile any sales or update any discrepancies please contact sales@rebgv.org.
While the deadline for sales is the end of December, errors or omissions for any sales from 2021 must be submitted by January 15. The 2021 year will be closed after January 15.
Happy Holidays from REBGV!
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver wishes all members a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season!
Please note our holiday hours this year.
- Friday, December 24 – open until 1 p.m.
- Monday, December 27 – closed
- Tuesday, December 28 – closed
- Friday, December 31 – open until 1 p.m.
- Monday, January 3, 2022 – closed