COVID-19 recommendation on open houses lifted. REBGV reaffirms rule that ensures access to MLS® listings for showings

With BC entering step three of the COVID-19 re-opening plan, we’ve removed the recommendation that REALTORS® not hold open houses. We’ve also re-affirmed Rule 3.22 of the Rules of Cooperation that requires members to make active listings accessible for showings.

Since March 2020, BC’s real estate boards and regulators have asked Realtors to refrain from holding open houses. We also relaxed Rule 3.22 to help reduce the risk of Realtors and their clients spreading COVID-19 at in-person showings.

This announcement means two things:

1. You, your brokerage and your clients can decide whether to hold an open house. (Note: We’re re-enabling the Open House feature on Paragon for your use.)
2. You must make your MLS® listings available for members to show to their clients. 

Rule 3.22 says, “any new listing that cannot be shown for an undefined period or a period that exceeds five calendar days from the effective date of the listing will not be acceptable for listing on the MLS® System, and the Listing Brokerage will be advised accordingly.” Click here and scroll to page nine to read the rule in full.

“While it’s an encouraging sign that we can ease these restrictions, remember that the pandemic is not over. Please continue to take reasonable actions to make the health and safety of yourself and those around you a priority,” said Brad Scott, REBGV CEO. 

The Real Estate Council of BC, the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate and BCREA issued a statement June 30 about easing COVID-19 restrictions. Read it here.

During step three, employers can stop implementing their COVID-19 safety plan at their workplace and shift to a communicable disease prevention plan. These plans will continue to include physical barriers at many business and retail settings. However, capacity limits, formal health screening tests and directional arrows, as well as other physical distancing measures will no longer be required, according to the latest government release. 

Brokerages should review WorkSafe BC’s new Communicable Disease Prevention Guide for Employers to know more about what this means for your business.

To learn more about what moving from step two to step three includes provincewide, click here to read the government’s announcement. 

We’ll continue to update you on these changes, and how they could impact your work, as we learn more.

Thousands of members provide feedback in REBGV’s 2021 satisfaction survey

How well are we serving your needs? More than 2,700, 20 per cent, of REBGV’s 13,700 members gave their opinions in our 2021 member satisfaction survey.

The results show that 69 per cent of you are either satisfied or very satisfied with REBGV’s services. This is unchanged from our 2019 survey, is down 10 per cent from 2017 and is up 14 per cent compared to our 2012 survey findings.

Of the remaining responses, 18.5 per cent of members said they’re somewhat satisfied, eight per cent said they’re neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and two per cent indicated that they’re dissatisfied.

"We're always looking for opportunities to improve our products and services," says Brad Scott, Board CEO said. "I'd like to thank the thousands of members who completed the survey. Your feedback gives us rich data and deep insight that we use to create plans and take action to serve you better."

The Board services members identify as most important are MLS® services, government advocacy on behalf of REALTORS®, enforcement of rules, education, and communications.

We also asked you to indicate your satisfaction with these and other core Board services. Here are the top three responses:

1. MLS® services (78.2% satisfied, down 1.6% from 2019)
2. Communication from REBGV (70% satisfied, down 0.7% from 2019)
3. Education and professional development program (67.7% satisfied, down 2.3% from 2019)

Respondents were next asked to indicate the level of importance they place on our core service areas. We then compared the importance you place on a service with your satisfaction to determine the expectation gap.

Expectation gaps narrowed in every category compared to 2019’s survey, except in education, commercial, and MLS® services. The largest improvements in this expectation gap were seen in REBGV’s media relations and public advocacy programs.

The key areas of focus for REBGV, based on this analysis, relate to enforcement of rules, and government advocacy. These are the two categories with expectation gaps above 20 per cent, however, the gap in both areas has come down from over 25 per cent two years earlier.

Frustration with technology tools that you use every day, like CREA’s WEBForms platform, and concerns about the regulator increasing licensing costs and adding to your administrative burden were prominent themes in your feedback.

For example, you indicated a 20 per cent satisfaction decline in the WEBForms service.

“Regardless of whether REBGV provides the service or not, we want to know about the issues you’re facing and the opinions you hold. This helps us advocate on your behalf or take other action to remove barriers that you face in your work.”

The survey asked members to summarize REBGV in one word. The top four responses were:

1. Professional
2. Helpful
3. Good
4. Efficient

The first word that could be construed as somewhat negative was “OK”. It ranked fifth.

Members continue to demonstrate over 80 per cent satisfaction with Board staff. Here’s an overview:

1. Staff courtesy (85.3% satisfaction)
2. Staff responsiveness (81.2% satisfaction)
3. Staff knowledge (81.7% satisfaction)
4. Staff availability (77% satisfaction)

Each of these categories increased by one to two per cent over your 2019 responses with the exception of staff availability, which declined by one per cent.

When it comes to our performance during the pandemic, 68 per cent of respondents were either satisfied or highly satisfied with REBGV’s response.

“The pandemic caused us to convert all of our services to a virtual environment overnight. In those early days, we worried about the long-term financial viability of our members and the organization,” Scott said. “Thanks, however, to your support, new technology and the determination of our people, we met these challenges and persevered.”

Your survey responses also provided key insight into member demographics. For example, we learned that 54 per cent of the membership is male compared to 43 per cent female based on respondents who chose to answer the question.

We also learned that 50 per cent of members have been in the profession for 10 years or less and 24 per cent have been in the business for 25 years or more.

In terms of education, over 60 per cent of members have an undergraduate or graduate degree from university.

When it comes to earnings, 57 per cent of members said they earn $100,000 or less annually.

The most common response, at 23 per cent, was an annual earning of between $50,000 and $99,999. This is down one per cent from our 2019 survey. At the highest end of the income scale, 12 per cent reported earning $250,000 annually or more.

Members also provided more than 400 pages of written feedback that offers opportunities for improvement. Our management team and other staff are poring through these results.

You can read the survey results by clicking here.

We’d again like to thank all members who participated in this year’s survey!

New Data Input Form and updated Paragon reports available July 12

You can access updated Data Input Forms (DIFs), featuring some your most requested changes, starting July 12.

These updates include:

• Expanded REALTOR® Remarks with a 500 character limit, up from the current 300 character limit.
• A new field to report square footage for a second detached residence on a property (i.e., a laneway or coach house).
• Space to add six additional rooms for a total of 36 rooms, up from the current 30.
• A new field called “ABOVE MAIN 2” to report finished floor area square footage for an additional floor above the main floor.

We’re also increasing the number of selections you can include on a variety of fields.

You’ll be able to select a max of:

• two options for foundation type (field 230);
• two options for driveway finish (field 248);
• four options for floor finish (field 272); and
• 10 options for amenities (field 330).

Click here for a full rundown.

More info to share on your Full REALTOR® and Full Public reports

On July 12, you can access newly designed two-page versions of Paragon’s Full REALTOR® and Full Public property reports. Updated one-page versions of these reports will also be available.

Based on member feedback, these form updates will include:

• Keeping all fields in the same place as much as possible.
• Keeping as much information as possible on the first page of the new two-page reports.
• Grouping the strata fields together.
• Highlighting the new laneway/coach house information and making lot acreages more visible.

We’ll share more on the updated Data Input Form and Paragon reports in the coming weeks.

Questions? Contact James Lindow at 604-730-3085.

Mere postings, standard commissions, and other stuff

Once in a while, a member will phone and ask me how to deal with a “mere posting.” This is a listing where the sellers do pretty much all of the work themselves except posting their property information on the MLS® system. And that’s where you come in. As a member of a Canadian real estate board, you’re the only professional who can act as agent for sellers to post their listing on the MLS® system. Sellers can’t just phone the Board and tell us to put their property on the system. If they did, we’d tell them to contact an REBGV member.

With that topic out of the way for the moment, let’s see if I can dip my toe into potentially treacherous waters without getting hit by a rocket from Ottawa. I think members are pretty clear on the notion that, similar to there being no “standard” commission rate or fee for services, there's also no “standard” business model. Meaning, you and your client agree what you will do for them to get them to their destination. In return, they agree to pay you for your services.

Some members have a whole laundry list of services they perform for clients. In the case of sellers, for example, services may only include getting the property on the MLS® system to doing a few more tasks to get the place to market, to offering the “full-meal-deal”, which includes staging the property and hiring a photographer and videographer, painters, cleaners, gardeners, and others. And that’s just to get the property to market. After this, the services might include being present at all showings, giving feedback after those showings, and a lot of handholding. All of this gets everyone to when one or more offers are made. Then the services might include managing the three-ringed circus that multiple offers can become—navigating negotiations, giving advice, more handholding—followed by a whole raft of after-sales services like reminding the sellers not to take down the dining room chandelier, dealing with utilities, and the like. If it were me offering all those services, I’d want to be paid handsomely for my time. But, obviously, “handsomely” means different things to different people, which is a good thing, because I suspect there’s a business model and a price that fits everyone’s needs, both client and agent.

Which brings me back to mere postings. Keep in in mind that a mere posting is a listing. It’s not some kind of special listing that allows other members carte blanche to contact the sellers directly. Treat these listings the same as you would any other. For example, read the listing for information on how to arrange a showing, who to call, and what to do if you have an offer. If it doesn’t say “contact the sellers to arrange a showing” and/or “contact the sellers to present your offer,” then don’t.

The other side of the equation is what you do if you’re dealing directly with a mere posting seller—meaning their agent isn’t there, and the seller wants to direct all the fun. If this is the deal, then go with it, but be careful about getting dragged into situations where the seller may start asking you for advice. This would be a bit of a problem, of course, because giving advice starts you down the agency road, and since June 2018, we’ve not been able to have more than one client in the same deal. If this happens, you could use scripting like, “That’s a good question, and if I were your agent I could take a stab at answering it for you. But since I’m not, can I suggest that you contact your agent to discuss your question? I’d be happy to wait in the car for a while.” Or something similar.

Finally, let’s talk about the related “other stuff.” Members are allowed to advertise what they charge as well as the services they provide. They can follow the well-worn path of saying things like, “I’ll do it for less,” or I suppose they could say, “I charge more than anyone else, but you’ll be so staggered by what I do, you’ll think it was worth it once all the dust has settled.”

If you’re making claims that you will save potential clients money by charging less than your competition, be sure to put your supporting rationale in your ad, following the requirements of REALTOR® Code Article 15. Never make references to a “standard” rate because there is no such thing. All commissions are negotiable, which I’m sure, comes as no surprise to you. I recall getting that look from the seller many a time, after a pregnant pause, when the buyer and seller were $2,500 apart. Or nowadays, $250,000 apart. “You can cut your commission, can’t you? Because I need $X.” “Yes,” says you (while at the same wondering how the client would feel if their boss came in and told them to work for free next Friday). “I could do that but it’s not my practice, so why don’t we go back to the buyer to see if they’ll come up?” But if it is your practice, then, as they say, “fill your boots.” There’s a lid for every pot. And on it goes.

Paragon Connect is here! Check out this new mobile friendly way to access the MLS®

Looking to access MLS® on the go? Check out Paragon Connect!

Paragon Connect is a simplified interface designed to work on your mobile devices. 

The platform is not a app, it’s a web-based interface accessible on any device with a web browser and includes both a residential and commercial version.

How do I access Paragon Connect?

If you’re using a mobile device, like an iOS or Android-based tablet or phone, you'll be able to access Paragon from REBGV.ca or via the direct web address:

Paragon Residential: bcres.paragonrels.com

Paragon Commercial: bccls.paragonrels.com

The system will detect your device and ask you if you’d like to use Paragon Connect. If you select the option to “remember my choice”, you’ll default to the selection you made next time you access Paragon on that device.

If you’d like to access both Paragon Connect and the traditional interface on your device, make sure you leave this box unchecked.

While designed for mobile, you can also access the new interface from your laptop or desktop by choosing the “Resources” button on the navigation bar at the top of the Paragon home screen. On a laptop or desktop, your system will always default to the traditional Paragon interface

What’s different about Paragon Connect?

This new version complements Paragon’s existing interface. It provides a more streamlined mobile experience where you can: 

• search for listings and share them with your clients; 
• view client activity on Collaboration Centre; 
• see activity on your seller’s listings; 
• view and reply to comments;
• search and view hotsheets; 
• save searches and set up Collab Center notifications;
• access your listings cart; 
• access your contact manager; and
• view tour and open house information.

This new interface is not an app. It’s a responsive web app that's accessible on any device.

How can I learn to use Paragon Connect?

The first time you log in to Paragon Connect, you’ll see an overlay that'll show you how to navigate the new interface.

Check out our quick start guide to help you get started!

Questions? Contact Help Desk at 604-730-3020.

REALTOR® Michelle Porter honoured for her commitment to community causes and acts of kindness during the pandemic

In a Facebook Premiere in our Members’ Facebook group on June 22, we honoured Michelle Porter, of Engel & Volkers Vancouver, with our REALTORS Care® Award!

Through this award, we recognize the outstanding charitable work that Michelle has done over many years.

Michelle is a charitable leader in her community. For 25 years, she’s sponsored Christmas hampers for families living in women’s shelters. Last year, her colleagues joined her to sponsor 25 families, providing them with holiday gifts and meals.

The REALTORS Care® Award honours Metro Vancouver Realtors who demonstrate a sustained commitment to charitable, fundraising, or volunteer activities that strengthen communities and support people in need.

Over the last 10 years, Michelle has volunteered on the Gift of Time committee at Canuck Place Children's Hospice, an initiative that has raised millions of dollars for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

After the pandemic began, she partnered with a local business to donate meals for front-line workers. She encouraged her colleagues to join her and, within 24 hours, they raised more than $13,000 to provide over 600 meals.

“Along with her generosity, Michelle’s ability to inspire those around her to give back sets her apart as a charitable leader,” said Taylor Biggar, REBGV Chair. “She embodies the community-first mindset that’s so dominant in the real estate profession.

Watch a video highlighting Michelle's accomplishments below:

About the REALTORS Care® Award

The REALTORS Care® Award recognizes the contributions Realtors and their companies make to our communities. These are the charitable all-stars in our profession who consistently raise funds, volunteer for worthy causes, and do other good deeds in their communities. Past recipients include Debi Pearce, Jody Squires, Laura-Leah Shaw, John Patricelli, Ron Antalek, Sing Yeo, and many more. 

Looking for help with your next CMA? Check out these resources

With elevated demand across our housing market, CMAs can be an important tool to help your clients understand changing home values.

Here are a variety of resources to help you get the most out of your next CMA.

Paragon CMA tutorials

We’ve developed a pre-recorded online version of the Fundamentals of Paragon Module 4 – Paragon CMA course. This video covers the built-in CMA functionality in Paragon at the same level as our three-hour introductory course.

Click below to view the video.

Enhance your CMA with Autoprop

Autoprop is a central hub for your real estate data. It allows you to convert zoning, school catchment, permit, and other property information into comprehensive, branded reports you can add to your CMAs.

Autoprop recently added new data to its database, including floodplain information (where municipalities make it available), and zoning information for the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District.

They’ve also enhanced integrations used to create comparable reports:

• You can now add a property to the comparable using the property’s MLS® number.
• The radius search has been expanded to have an unlimited range.