REALTOR® NEWSREALTOR® NEWS
December 13, 2018
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Featured News

Sale prices and other information available through Virtual Office Websites in January

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You’ll be able to share more information, including sale prices, on your password-protected Virtual Office Website (VOW) starting in January.

These changes are in response to the Competition Bureau’s ruling against the Toronto Real Estate Board that was finalized earlier this year.

Beginning next month, you’ll be able to include the following information on your VOW:

  • previous home sale prices;
  • withdrawn/expired/suspended/terminated listings;
  • pending sold prices where no conditions remain other than closing; and
  • cooperating commissions.

Your Board of Directors approved changes to the Rules of Cooperation last month to accommodate the public display of this information. Click here to view the rule changes in detail.

A VOW is a password-protected area of your website that allows you to share listing information with your clients. These sites require your clients to create a profile before they can see this information.

Starting in January, you’ll need to sign new contracts with us in order to operate a VOW.

You can request a contract online here and we’ll send it to you in January once it’s finalized.

If your website doesn’t have a log-in feature, then you don’t have a VOW. To create a VOW, speak with your website provider. Most companies that supply websites for our members offer a VOW option.

We’re updating our contracts with every company that provides VOWs in preparation of making this new information available next month.

We’ll provide more information on this topic in the New Year. If you have questions in the meantime, email idx@rebgv.org.

Rentals coming to Paragon and REALTOR.ca in January

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Starting in January, you’ll be able to enter and search for rental listings on Paragon. This rental listing information will also display on REALTOR.ca.

To prepare for this service, we researched how rental listings are processed in other Canadian markets and consulted with members with experience in this area. We also worked with Black Knight, our MLS® provider, to develop the rental section within Paragon so you can post rental listings on a platform you’re already familiar with.

You’ll be able to enter the data for your rental listings directly into the rentals section of Paragon. There’ll be no additional cost to post rental listings, but you must comply with the Rules of Cooperation.

We’re finalizing a rental agreement and data input forms you can use to enter rentals on Paragon. (You’ll be free to use your own contracts if you prefer.) These forms will be available in early 2019. Watch our communications in January for more information about this new service.

Questions? Contact Jennie deFoy at jdefoy@rebgv.org.

Preparing for REBGV’s election is a year-round effort

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Voting in REBGV’s Board of Directors election begins next month.

In early January, you’ll receive information about the members running to fill four Board of Directors vacancies for the coming term.

Once the election period opens, you’ll have the opportunity to vote until February 3. The results will be counted and communicated to you on February 4.

While the elections last a few weeks, the preparation occurs all year long. A group of volunteer members serving on our Board Development Committee (BDC) do this work. They’re responsible for ensuring each year that you have knowledgeable and experienced people to choose among.

“The idea is that when it comes time for you to vote for directors, the organization isn’t scrambling to find qualified people to run,” says Phil Moore, Board president. “As members, we must think of the Board as our asset. We’re all responsible for the well-being of that asset. We have to make sure we have a solid process for getting good people to serve on our behalf.”

The BDC links with the Board of Directors throughout the year to identify the current strengths and gaps within the directorate. With that knowledge, the BDC begins work to source, review, and recommend candidates for the next election

“We look for people who have the skills, knowledge and experience that’ll strengthen and diversify the talent on our Board of Directors,” says Randy Ryalls, BDC Chair and General Manager at Royal Lepage Sterling Realty in Port Moody. “The committee is continuously searching for qualified people who’re ready and capable of leading today and in the future.”

The BDC employs robust processes, based on best practices in corporate governance, to identify qualified individuals for our elections. That process includes candidates completing an enhanced nomination form, submitting a resume, completing a skills and competencies form, attending an orientation, meeting with an interview panel, providing references, and being accountable to a Code of Conduct during elections.

From this process, the BDC publishes the names of recommended candidates to raise awareness of the candidates who have the skills and competencies most needed on the Board of Directors.

“This is a rigorous, skills-based approach that strengthens the leadership capacity of our association,” says Ryalls. “The BDC takes great care to ensure impartiality when making these recommendations and hopes it’s helpful for you when you go to vote.”

REBGV’s Board of Directors operates differently today than it did in the past. Through continuous learning and education, they’ve evolved the Board’s governance processes such that they are fully prepared for their responsibilities to govern:

  • Strategic direction;
  • Risk management;
  • Financial oversight;
  • CEO and director succession planning; and
  • CEO and organizational performance.

We ask that you take the time in the New Year to vote for the candidates you believe will most effectively carry out these responsibilities on your behalf.

Watch for more election communications next month.

It's been quite a year

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As I write this and about 15 minutes after Teresa (my editor) reminded me about the dreaded copy deadline (an hour ago), I’ve been trying to find the words to describe what we’ve all just come through this year as REALTORS®. It hasn’t been easy. I thought The Great Upheaval of 2016/17 was unprecedented, but 2018, in my book, wins the prize:

  • It was in 2018 that the superintendent’s new dual agency rules took effect and many new forms became compulsory.
  • It was in 2018 we began encountering a slower market than many members had ever experienced before.
  • It was in 2018 that for the first time in at least a decade REBGV membership numbers declined—slightly.
  • It was in 2018 that the long, expensive, and painful dust-up between the Competition Bureau and the Toronto Real Estate Board came to an end, resulting in significant changes to the kind of data members can provide on their virtual office websites (VOWs).
  • It was in 2018 that our Board, in conjunction with the Fraser Valley and Chilliwack and District Real Estate Boards, amended the Rules of Cooperation. Some were housekeeping changes, but some were much more significant, designed to help members better deal with situations causing friction between them.

In all, it’s been quite the year, and I take my hat off to all of you for seeing it through.

For many members, the regulator’s new rules and forms blew up their business model. At the least, the new rules and forms caused members to significantly change the scripting they’d been happily using to explain who they are and what they do to the many prospects and clients they deal with every day.

If you’re in sales, not having suitable words to say to a potential prospect can be terrifying, not to mention potentially hazardous to your bank account and risk profile. For the most part, I think members worked this change with the four stages of grieving, namely, incredulity; anger (with a side order of push-back); pleading; and, finally, resigned acceptance. You got on with things. You had no choice. Now that the waters are less turbulent, it appears most members are getting back in the groove with new business practices, scripts, and comfort level with the forms.

There’ve been other changes this year that have been more welcome. Members will remember the Council lost its right to self-regulation in 2016. Existing Realtor/managing broker Council members were released and replaced with new Council members from outside the profession. With the exception of two very hard-working broker and Realtor Council members, there’s been no one on Council for the past two years who has done what you do every day. But now, after a successful lobby effort along with the BC Real Estate Association, we have four Realtor/broker members on Council. This is a very positive change.

There’s also been a noticeable change in the temperature from our regulators and the provincial government. In 2016 we were very publicly taken to the woodshed. We often needed to wear a parka to ward off the chill in the room when we met with the regulators. Things have warmed up, and we’re grateful for this. Not only have we been given more seats on Council, the regulators have told us they want to be more consultative about the changes they’re planning. For example, they’ll consult with us before publishing white papers, instead of saying, “Here are the rules and the forms, incorporate them into your business.”

Do you think we’re a stronger profession today than we were three years ago? I do.

Because of the crises we faced, we’ve had to take a long hard look at ourselves. We’ve learned more about agency than ever before. We’ve examined and changed our scripts. We’re more vigilant for conflicts of interest and I think we care even more deeply (if that’s possible) about our collective reputation. These are encouraging changes and I compliment all of you for dealing with them in such a professional way.

As this year closes, I want to thank Barb, my very capable colleague; Teresa, my copy editor; and all the other many REBGV staff for the help they’ve given me this past year. And, most of all, I thank you for making every single day so interesting and fulfilling.

I wish each and every one of you the very best of the holidays and the best of success in 2019.

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Mansions on farmland, cannabis in strip malls, and green bonds on the table to pay for transit

Large mansions are no longer allowed on ALR farmland

New legislation restricts the size of mansions on ALR land to 500 square meters (5,400 square feet) to protect high-capacity farmland for food. Multi-generational farm families needing larger homes can apply for a variance.

Read more.

Cannabis legislation and commercial real estate

The Canadian cannabis market will reach an estimated $9.2 billion by 2025 and entrepreneurs are eager to develop new products and services. Commercial members should be prepared for an increase in business. In the meantime, three levels of government are sorting out the rules.

Read more.

Green bonds to pay for TransLink’s next expansion

Metro Vancouver is in dire need of new transit – buses, SkyTrain, and transit stations – to move our growing population. How will they pay for it? Green bonds.

Read more.

REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive helps 39,000 keep warm this winter

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More than 39,000 Lower Mainland residents will receive blankets and warm clothing this winter thanks to donations collected during the 24th annual REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive.

Between November 13 and 20, over 150 real estate offices served as drop-off locations for donations. Realtor volunteers then collected, sorted, and delivered the donations to local charities.

“Our cold, wet winters can be hard for the most vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver,” Phil Moore, Board president said. “Whether you made a donation, or helped sort and deliver them, thank you – you’ve made a difference for someone who needs it.”

All donations remain in the community in which they were collected. More than 70 Lower Mainland charities received donations from the Blanket Drive this year, including the Budzey, which helps at-risk women and their families find stable, long-term housing

“We’re the only program like us – we have a huge focus on family reunification,” said Nikki Scott, manager of the Budzey. “The suites we offer are sparsely furnished, so we always need blankets and such.”

The REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive is a partnership between the Realtors of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board and their communities.

The program is the largest and longest running blanket drive in British Columbia. Since it began in 1994, it has helped nearly 380,000 people in our communities keep warm and dry during the winter months.

Go to www.blanketdrive.ca for more information. For photos from this year’s campaign, visit www.facebook.com/BlanketDrive.

Commercial real estate sales decline and price activity varies across the Lower Mainland

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Commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland declined in the third quarter (Q3) of 2018 compared to the elevated activity experienced in recent years.

There were 565 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2018, a 19.5 per cent decrease from 702 sales in Q3 2017, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland reached $3.903 billion in Q3 2018, a 0.9 per cent decrease from $3.938 billion in Q3 2017.

“We’re seeing less demand across our commercial market compared to recent years and supply is beginning to ramp up with a number of projects expected to complete in our region over the next year,” said Phil Moore, REBGV president.

Q3 2018 activity by category

Land: There were 199 commercial land sales in Q3 2018, which is a 34.8 per cent decrease from the 305 land sales in Q3 2017. The dollar value of land sales was $2.007 billion in Q3 2018, a 14.8 per cent decrease from $2.356 billion in Q3 2017.

Office and Retail: There were 229 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2018, which is down 4.2 per cent from the 239 sales in Q3 2017. The dollar value of office and retail sales was $1.377 billion in Q3 2018, a 45.5 per cent increase from $946 million in Q3 2017.

Industrial: There were 118 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2018, which is down 12.6 per cent from the 135 sales in Q3 2017. The dollar value of industrial sales was $290 million in Q3 2018, a 30.1 per cent decrease from $414 million in Q3 2017.

Multi-Family: There were 19 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2018, which is down 17.4 per cent from 23 sales in Q3 2017. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $230 million in Q3 2018, a 3.9 per cent increase from $221 million in Q3 2017.

Download the full stats package here.

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Other News

REBGV dues increase effective January 1

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Beginning January 1, 2019, your monthly REBGV dues will increase $10 to $49 a month.

These additional funds will help support the cost of our REALTOR® advertising campaign which launched last month.

The campaign will ramp up in January with the addition of online video and television advertising.

REBGV's Board of Directors approved the increase after consulting and polling members on this subject at our fall member meetings, held across the region in October.

To learn more about this change, you can read REBGV President Phil Moore’s message which was published in the October 31 edition of the REALTOR® News or you can watch this video message from Phil.

If you have questions or feedback, please email us at feedback@rebgv.org.

One month left to nominate a colleague for one of our awards

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Our Professional Excellence Award and REALTORS Care® Awards aren’t for just anybody. They’re for members who epitomize professionalism and dedication to their clients and profession. They’re for members who embody the charitable spirit that makes a difference in other peoples lives.

The nomination deadline for these awards is one month away. Don’t let this opportunity to recognize an exceptional REALTOR® pass you by. Here are the details.

The Professional Excellence Award

The Professional Excellence Award recognizes a member who has helped raise our profession throughout their career. Professionalism is about putting your clients’ interests first, making a commitment to lifelong learning, and volunteering your time and expertise. These qualities are what the Professional Excellence Award stands for.

Previous recipients include Sandra Wyant, Judi Whyte, and Sheila Francis. It takes only a minute to nominate a colleague for this award.

The REALTORS Care® Awards

These awards celebrate Realtors or real estate offices that help others by raising funds, volunteering, or doing other good deeds in the community.

You probably know a colleague or an office that fits this description. Nominate them today for our 2018 REALTORS Care® Award.

The nomination deadline for both awards is January 15, 2019. For more information, contact Fiona Youatt at fyouatt@rebgv.org or 604-730-3068.

Data Input Form updates moved to January

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Updates to the Residential Data Input Form due to take effect in December have been moved to January. An exact date has yet to be determined.

The updates are based on member feedback and designed to include more relevant details about your listing.

Some fields are being moved to more closely align with the way data is entered in Paragon, some fields are being renamed for clarity, and some will get new options – here are a few examples:

  • Type of Dwelling field will be expanded to specify detached, attached, and multi-family options.
  • The Rooms and Bathrooms fields will be expanded to include a higher room total.
  • New fields for Sewer Type and Metered Water.
  • New options in the Style of Home, Title to Land, Amenities, and Maintenance Fee Includes fields.
  • A new View field with more options for the view description.

We’ll let you know when the updated form is available.

REBGV’s title search service to be discontinued

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The Board’s title search service will be discontinued on December 31, 2018.

This decision is based on two factors: First, usage of the service has been declining over the last several years. Fewer than 25 per cent of the listings we entered in 2017 received a title search. 

Second, the recent changes to the Rules of Cooperation require a copy of the title search to be attached to each listing within 24 hours of it being posted on Paragon. Our service doesn’t allow members to meet this new deadline.

Use LTSA to get title searches

The Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) is the best way to obtain title searches. Ask your Broker if your brokerage has an account with LTSA. If not, you can set up your own account.

Questions? Contact Jennie deFoy at jdefoy@rebgv.org.

Medallion reminder: Start reviewing your sales

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It’s that time of year again! Log on to www.rebgv.ca/medallionclub and click My Medallion Points to review your sales information for 2018.

To help us finalize the Medallion standings, please be sure to submit all of your 2018 sales to us by 5 p.m. on Monday, December 31.

If you notice discrepancies, first check that the sale has been processed on Paragon. If it hasn’t, ask your conveyancer to submit it to us for processing as soon as possible.

If you’re not the listing broker, have your conveyancer contact their counterpart at the listing brokerage to submit it. If the sale has already been processed and you still don’t see the points in your total, please email sales@rebgv.ca as soon as possible with the details.

The Medallion Gala will be held on March 21, 2019, at the Vancouver Convention Centre East.

Everyone’s got a real estate story. What’s yours?

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Next year your Board is turning 100! To help celebrate this milestone, we want to share your stories about the profession.

Every REALTOR® has a good story—it might be humorous, it might be sentimental, it might be downright unbelievable. But we need your help to share them.

What are we looking for? Anything related to the profession, including stories about:

  • giving back to the community;
  • how the profession has changed over your career; and
  • fun, interesting, or bizarre events that can only happen in this business.

If you have a story to tell, share it by posting it on our members’ Facebook page, or send it to Jesse Lalime at jlalime@rebgv.org.

Volunteer to help youth and moms in need at Aunt Leah’s Tree Lots

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Saturday, December 15, is REALTOR® Day at Aunt Leah’s Tree Lots. We’re looking for Realtors to get involved and volunteer their time to help sell Christmas trees and raise money for a great cause.

We’ve again partnered with Aunt Leah’s Place both for this initiative and for our REALTORS Care® Shelter Drive. Last year, Aunt Leah’s Tree Lots raised approximately $500,000 for local youth and mothers in need!

Event details

Where: At any one of Aunt Leah’s five tree lot locations: Vancouver-Granville, Vancouver-River District, North Vancouver, Burnaby, and Coquitlam.

When: Saturday, December 15. Two time slots are available at each location: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

How can I volunteer?

Visit our volunteer website and fill in an application to set up your profile. You can then select the tree lot location and time that works best for you.

Spread the word

Share our flyer with your clients to help spread the word. Maybe you’ll end up selling them a home and a Christmas tree!

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Please note that the Board office will be closed on the following dates during the holiday season:

  • Monday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)
  • Tuesday, December 25 (Christmas Day)
  • Wednesday, December 26 (Boxing Day)
  • Monday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve)
  • Tuesday, January 1, 2019 (New Year’s Day)

We’ll also close at 3 p.m. on Friday, December 21, for our staff holiday celebration.

We wish a happy and safe holiday season to all our members and their families and friends!

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