Featured News
Introducing your new president and Board of Directors
We’re pleased to introduce Phil Moore as your 2018/2019 president.
Phil's been a REALTOR® since 1989. He works at RE/MAX Central in Burnaby. He's served as a director for the Burnaby/New Westminster/Tri-Cities Area in 2009–2010, and was elected to the Board of Directors from 2011–2015. In 2016, he was elected to the position of Vice-President. Before entering real estate, he was a Vancouver police officer.
“I look forward to serving my professional association and representing my real estate colleagues,” Moore said. “Our members believe in protecting their clients and helping to build healthy, prosperous, and sustainable communities. Since 1919, REBGV and its members have been working to advance these goals across the region.”
Supporting the president in 2018 will be President-Elect Ashley Smith, Vice-President Colette Gerber, and Past President Jill Oudil, along with this year’s Board of Directors:
Directors 2018-19
| Taylor Biggar, RE/MAX Westcoast |
| Catherine Boivie, appointed director |
| Barb Burrows, Macdonald Commercial RE Services |
| Doug Dang, Amex Broadway West Realty |
| Lynn Dequanne, RE/MAX Central |
| Logan Eskesen, Keller Williams Elite Realty |
| Brian Friedrich, appointed director |
| Bob Ingratta, appointed director |
| Daniel John, Sutton Group-Seafair Realty |
| Leslie McDonnell, RE/MAX Select Properties |
| Michael Mitsiadis, Royal Pacific Realty |
| Jennifer Quart, RE/MAX Westcoast |
| Deborah Spicer, Sutton Group-West Coast Realty |
Your 2018 annual general meeting recap
Thank you to the over 400 members who attended our annual general meeting (AGM) Tuesday, March 27. With no special resolutions on this year’s agenda, we invited guest speakers to add to the event.
Here’s a rundown of this year’s meeting:
President and CEO messages
The AGM began with addresses from Board President Jill Oudil and CEO Brad Scott.
Oudil addressed the growing government intervention into the market and our profession.
“We’re living in an era of government intervention. Public pressure from rising home prices and allegations of Realtor misconduct got us here. Our challenge is to navigate our profession out of this period with a regulatory environment that protects our clients and makes our profession stronger,” Oudil said. “Your board is fighting for you on these issues every day. We’re assessing every opportunity for ways to get your voice heard.”
CEO Brad Scott gave attendees a sense of the strategic direction your Board is taking this year. He also discussed a new marketing strategy to help form a more positive public opinion of the real estate profession.
"We’ve hired an advertising and marketing firm to take a strategic look at the unique challenges our members face when it comes to defending Realtors reputation. This company is working with our communications team to develop a path forward," Scott said. "The campaign will incorporate a blend of public relations, marketing, and advertising practices."
Watch for more details on this initiative later this spring.
Transportation and housing panel
We also hosted a panel discussion on the future of housing and transportation in our region. The panel featured TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond, District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton, and long-time housing demographer Andrew Ramlo, Vice President of Market Intelligence at Rennie Group.
You can view each panelist’s presentation below:
- Kevin Desmond – Translink’s Next 30 Years
- Richard Walton – The Importance of Regional Planning
- Andrew Ramlo – Population Skyward
CREA open house
The event concluded with an “open house” lunch sponsored by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). CREA representatives gave attendees an update on products, services and key initiatives that your national association is working on. Click here to learn more on CREA services.
Speculation tax changes, affordability plans, and more
How does a tax on small cabins and cottages owned by British Columbians and other Canadians make homes more affordable? It turns out Finance Minister Carole James wasn’t sure. So she’s re-configured her new speculation tax to specifically target speculators from overseas.
Denser neighbourhoods of small townhouses and apartments close to transit, known as transit oriented density, are a key way to make homes more affordable.
On the Heather Lands by the Cambie Corridor, the City of Vancouver is partnering with three First Nations to develop the 21-acre site into a neighbourhood of mid-rise towers and townhouses.
At the same time, Vancouver has enacted rules making it more difficult for property owners and tenants to rent their homes or rooms short-term on Airbnb, VRBO, and Homeaway. The goal is to get more affordable, long-term rentals onto the market.
Metro Vancouver expects to welcome more than one million new residents to the region by 2045. To move them around affordably, Metro Vancouver mayors recently approved the largest transit and transportation investment in history.
“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all”
Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, the professional relationships we have with others sour, for all kinds of reasons. Give me a year and I could write an almost endless list of the damaging things we can do to harm relationships.
Sometimes it’s the other party who causes the problem; sometimes it’s both parties. It cuts both ways. But either way, I suspect the most common reason for a damaged relationship is simply the loss of mutual trust, which is the necessary currency of any good relationship. This is a pity, because once lost, mutual trust is very difficult to regain.
How's trust lost? Let me count the ways. When our promises don’t become a reality. When expectations aren’t managed. When we haven’t clearly laid out what it is we'll be doing. When someone thinks we're not being clear or honest.
All of these represent the “soft” side of professional relationships: namely, what we say, the expressions we use, and the sincerity we apply to the relationship.
There’s a “hard” side, too, which includes the written contracts we use to ensure both parties commit to and know what they’ve agreed to do. But contracts can be complicated, and that means they may not be fully understood. Despite our best efforts to explain a contract to our clients, it sometimes happens that they sign without fully realizing the ramifications of all the terms.
For example, sometimes we hear from a seller who has become unhappy with their REALTOR® and they want to cancel their listing. It may be that they feel they’ve been rebuffed by their Realtor or that their Realtor has been rude or uncommunicative. Or, it may simply be that they want to “shoot the messenger” for a low-ball offer. Whatever the reason, aggrieved sellers sometimes contact the Board to demand a listing cancellation, which at first thought may seem to be a logical response. After all, why wouldn’t a seller contact the organization hosting the property information being posted on MLS® and REALTOR.ca?
In reality though, this behaviour accomplishes nothing, as the Board is not a party to the MLS® listing contract. As we all know, only the parties to a contract can alter it and only when they mutually agree. This means that the Board can’t cancel a contract even if a seller demands it. (Note: The Board can remove a listing from the MLS® in certain cases — for example, for failure to show—but the listing contract remains in effect).
It’s the brokerage who “owns” the listing contract. The seller is the client, and the Realtor is the seller’s designated agent. So, it's the broker we point the angry seller to. Of course, we try to provide some guidance. If, for example, the seller is annoyed that a buyer agent has delivered a “lousy” offer, the best we can do is suggest the seller phone the broker and/or contact their lawyer. Occasionally this type of advice results in a plethora of threats, such as “I’m going to call the media,” or “I’m going to call the Council.”
How do you avoid this potentially messy situation?
Explain the listing contract’s wording to your client. Explain your marketing program. Explain what the seller can expect from other members and their buyers. Let them know what will happen in a multiple offer presentation. Discuss how you'll handle conflicted buyers. Let the sellers know that the first offer they see may not be what they want. And if you do agree to cancel a listing if the seller isn't happy with your service, make sure you specify in writing whether you're prepared to grant a conditional or an unconditional release.
Conflict corner
Do you have an example of a potential conflict of interest you'd like to tell us about? If you do, let us know. We may be able to discuss it in a general way in a future Ethics Guy® column.
Fewer home sales and listings in the first quarter of 2018
Home buyers and sellers were less active in Metro Vancouver* throughout the first quarter of 2018.
Sales
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,517 in March 2018, a 29.7 per cent decrease from the 3,579 sales recorded in March 2017, and a 14 per cent increase compared to February 2018 when 2,207 homes sold.
Last month’s sales were 23 per cent below the 10-year March sales average.
There were 6,542 home sales on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver during the first quarter of 2018, a 13.1 per cent decrease from the 7,527 sales over the same period last year. This represents the region’s lowest first-quarter sales total since 2013.
“We saw less demand from buyers and fewer homes listed for sale in our region in the first quarter of the year,” Phil Moore, REBGV president said. “High prices, new tax announcements, rising interest rates, and stricter mortgage requirements are among the factors affecting home buyer and seller activity today.”
Listings
There were 4,450 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale in Metro Vancouver in March 2018. This represents a 6.6 per cent decrease compared to the 4,762 homes listed in March 2017 and a 5.4 per cent increase compared to February 2018 when 4,223 homes were listed.
There were 12,469 homes listed for sale in Metro Vancouver during the first quarter of 2018, a 0.8 per cent decrease from the 12,568 sales over the same period last year. This represents the region’s lowest first-quarter new listings total since 2013.
The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 8,380, a 10.5 per cent increase compared to March 2017 (7,586) and a 7.1 per cent increase compared to February 2018 (7,822).
“Even with lower demand, upward pressure on prices will continue as long as the supply of homes for sale remains low,” Moore said. “Last month was the quietest March for new home listings since 2009 and the total inventory, particularly in the condo and townhome segments, of homes for sale remains well below historical norms.”
For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for March 2018 is 30 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 14.2 per cent for detached homes, 39.9 per cent for townhomes, and 61.6 per cent for condominiums.
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.
MLS® Home Price Index
The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,084,000. This represents a 16.1 per cent increase over March 2017 and a 1.1 per cent increase compared to February 2018.
Sales of detached properties in March 2018 reached 722, a decrease of 37 per cent from the 1,150 detached sales recorded in March 2017. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,608,500. This represents a 7.4 per cent increase from March 2017 and a 0.4 per cent increase compared to February 2018.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,349 in March 2018, a decrease of 26.7 per cent compared to the 1,841 sales in March 2017. The benchmark price of an apartment property is $693,500. This represents a 26.2 per cent increase from March 2017 and a 1.6 per cent increase compared to February 2018.
Attached property sales in March 2018 totalled 446, a decrease of 24.1 per cent compared to the 588 sales in March 2017. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $835,300. This represents a 17.7 per cent increase from March 2017 and a two per cent increase compared to February 2018.
Click here to download the complete stats package.
Send your feedback on government's proposed rules on conflicts of interest
The Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate (OSRE) is asking for your feedback on proposed rule changes on the handling of conflicts of interest, continuing professional education, language proficiency requirements, and disclosure of remuneration to sellers.
Click here to read the proposed rules.
With respect to concerns about double recusal, the superintendent’s proposed new rules state:
“In the unexpected event that a licensee finds themselves potentially representing multiple clients in a transaction, a licensee has two options:
- The licensee can recuse themselves from all clients in the transaction. In this situation, the licensee cannot continue to work with any of those clients as unrepresented parties for the transaction.
- The licensee can continue to represent only one client in the transaction if they obtain the written agreement of all clients. The written agreement must be obtained at the time the conflict arises using a form developed by Council. It is a licensee’s responsibility to ensure that all clients in the transaction fully understand the risks of entering into the agreement, and to recommend that all clients seek independent professional advice.”
REALTORS® have until April 20 to review the information and provide input. We’re working with the BC Real Estate Association and the other BC boards to analyze these changes, consult with members, and submit feedback.
We're holding focus groups with members this week and speaking with legal counsel to help shape our response.
To give your own input to the OSRE on these changes, you can complete this online survey or email your comments to osrepolicy@gov.bc.ca.
We’ll continue to provide information on these issues as we learn more.
iOS users: Update your operating system to see maps in Paragon
Black Knight, the makers of Paragon, have resolved a bug that was preventing maps from working properly in Paragon on Apple devices. However, your Apple device must be running the latest iOS operating system (iOS 11) for maps to load properly.
You can update the iOS on most Apple devices from the settings menu.
If you have questions or need help, call the Help Desk at 604-730-3020.
Other News
Explore our 2017 annual report
Please take the time to read your Board's annual report for 2017. The report outlines the financial health of your professional association, and it walks you through the work we did and the goals we set to provide you with the best possible products and services. It also summarizes the volunteer and charity work members did last year.
View the report here.
Register for Legal Update 2018 — new dates added!
The Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC) has reformatted its required Legal Update 2018 course to include two components:
- Online: an online course that must be finished a minimum of five business days before you can attend the classroom component. The online component takes about five hours to complete and includes quizzes you must pass to complete the course.
- Classroom: a five-hour in-class session.
Here’s the information you need to know to register for Legal Update 2018:
Register
You can register for the course only via the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) online registration link. When you register, you’ll be asked to select a date for the classroom component. BCREA will then send you a confirmation email and a link for the online component.
BCREA handles all cancellations, transfers, and technology issues related to the online component of the course. If you need help, please email rep@bcrea.bc.ca, or call 604-783-7702 and press 3.
Note: Rental and strata property managers are required to complete a different course. See section below for registration information.
When to register
You’ll need to register at least eight weeks before your licence expires to give yourself enough time to finish both components and submit your renewal application in time. Click here for timelines.
Classroom dates
Current dates for the classroom component held at the Board offices are:
- Tuesday, April 10 – SOLD OUT
- Monday, April 30 – SOLD OUT
- Monday, May 7
- Wednesday, May 9 – SOLD OUT
- Thursday, May 10 (Commercial Legal Update 2018 only) – seats still available
- Wednesday, May 16 – SOLD OUT
- Friday, May 25 – SOLD OUT
- Thursday, May 31 – SOLD OUT
- Friday, June 1
- Thursday, June 7
- Friday, June 15
- Tuesday, June 19
- Thursday, June 28
Additional classes will be added soon.
Rental/strata property managers
If you're a rental or strata property manager, you're required to complete a different Legal Update 2018 course.
Register through UBC’s Sauder School of Business on their Real Estate Division page.
Fee
Legal Update 2018 costs $275 plus tax.
ICYMI: ShowingTime service to be discontinued in April
ShowingTime was recently removed from our suite of MLS® services and Touchbase has once again become our sole member-to-member messaging system.
Over the last three months, we’ve engaged with REALTORS®, Brokers, and office administration staff to help inform this decision. We conducted a member survey and hosted focus groups at our Board and in the Fraser Valley.
Our goal in making this change is to keep REBGV and Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) members on a common messaging platform.
Key dates to know
ShowingTime is no longer visible on Paragon listings. Access to the ShowingTime app will end entirely on April 25. Until then, you’ll only be able to access ShowingTime via the preferences menu on Paragon.
How to adapt to this change
We encourage you to reorient yourself with Touchbase over the next two weeks. Click here for a refresher.
Please don't schedule any more showings in ShowingTime. If you've used ShowingTime to set up an appointment for April 26 or later, you'll have to cancel the request and reschedule it in Touchbase.
You can access your activity reports in ShowingTime up until April 25. If you want to keep them for your records after this date, make sure to save them.
- How to cancel a showing in ShowingTime.
- How to schedule a showing in Touchbase.
- How to disable ShowingTime on your listings before April 4.
- How to save a record of your ShowingTime activity reports.
Background
We launched ShowingTime as a Touchbase replacement on December 4. Soon after, members began expressing concerns about functionality that was missing in the new app.
We were quick to reach out to Realtors and Brokers to better understand these concerns. As a result, we re-enabled Touchbase later that week.
“Eliminating this functionality without providing you with a satisfactory alternative failed to meet the high customer service standards you expect of us,” Brad Scott, Board CEO said. “Since then, we’ve engaged members to help us find the best option going forward.”
Our research also identified improvements that members would like to see on Touchbase. We’ve provided a list of enhancements to the company that provides Touchbase. They’ve expressed a willingness to make these improvements.
Longer term, we’ll continue to assess different products in the marketplace to identify the most effective services for members.
Thank you for your patience during this transition.
If you have comments or questions about this change, email us at feedback@rebgv.org.
Reminder: Economy and housing move in cycles
The economy seldom gets better than what we’ve seen in these last few years. While you could argue that one sector or another isn’t firing on all cylinders, headline growth has been nothing short of phenomenal. The BC economy expanded by three per cent or more in each of the last four years, resulting in strong job growth, low unemployment and more recently, rising wages.
Indeed, more than 87,000 jobs were added to the economy last year, an increase of 3.7 per cent. This is nearly double the national rate of 1.9 per cent, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 per cent, its lowest level since 2008. As the economy nears full employment, wage growth is also beginning to push higher. The average weekly wage in the province increased at an annual pace of four per cent over the last four months. Households are feeling confident and spending their hard-earned dollars. Retail sales in Metro Vancouver climbed by an impressive 10.5 per cent year-to-date in November, compared to the same period in 2016. All great news.
However, I’m reminded of the standard disclaimer on mutual funds: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This applies equally to the economy and the housing market. Most economists expect BC economic growth to slow over the next few years, ending up closer to two per cent than three per cent. Employment growth will also slow as a low unemployment rate limits the pool of available workers, while consumer spending simply can’t continue to grow at its current pace in a rising interest rate environment. And then there’s the housing market.
Apartment prices can’t sustain a 30 per cent annual growth rate for long. The horrendous lack of supply isn’t a new norm, but rather a temporary phenomenon. It takes nearly two years to build an apartment project in Metro Vancouver from the time the parking garage is complete, three years in downtown Vancouver. Add to that the time it takes to plan, secure financing, get the necessary permits and approvals and then build the foundation and parking structure, and the timeline to completion stretches even further. Today’s newly completed units have spent several years in the production process and are a response to demand conditions existing at the time the projects were conceived.
This lag between conception and completion has led to rapidly rising prices in the face of surging demand. However, home builders are catching up. There are now a record 42,000 homes under construction in Metro Vancouver. This is 50 per cent above the previous peak recorded in 2008. Over the next several quarters, a marked increase in new home completions will provide much needed supply and help moderate growth in home prices.
It’s prudent to consider the cyclical nature of economies and housing markets when looking toward the future. As the adage says: History may not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
Meticulous recordkeeping has always been important, not just to manage your legal risk but also to comply with the regulator's requirements. The superintendent’s new forms supporting the new rules are required to be used as of June 15, 2018. Remember, these forms cannot be altered and must be kept on file for seven years. This includes “orphan” forms that don’t relate to a listing or a transaction (e.g., when you’re in a situation that triggers a form, but after getting the party to sign the form they decide not to list or buy a property through you). To paraphrase a line from the movie, Jaws, we’re gonna need a bigger storage device.
Start thinking about the way your files document the professional relationships you have. Are they complete and legible? Do they meet the regulator's requirements? Do they enhance the management of your risk? And, do you protect them and keep them secure?
Congratulations, Thyra McKilligan, Re/Max Masters Realty, West Vancouver! Chris Charles, Royal LePage Sussex Realty, West Vancouver, is sending you a bouquet. Here's what he told us:
"Thyra was the listing representative for a condo and had done a good job getting documents. She also kept everyone aware of offers. In the end, there were two offers, mine and someone else’s. Being 'old school,' I was there in person to present. The other offer was emailed. My offer was fractionally lower, but the owner was impressed I’d shown up. Both offers were so close in price, terms, and dates, the owner thought it was unfair for either to lose. We were both told to get something to break the tie. The second round brought identical prices so the situation worsened. The owner sent us back again. With Thyra’s help and some discussion, he chose the other offer because it was more the first time around. I lost, but I think it was the most fair decision considering the circumstances. I’m sure Thrya was part of this 'fairness.' Happily, my client took the attitude that the next place would be even better. It’s wonderful to work with true professionals you trust."