Featured News
Register for Legal Update 2018
Course format
The Real Estate Council of BC’s new blended format Legal Update 2018 has two components:
- Online, with quizzes. Must be finished a minimum of five business days before you can attend the classroom component.
- Five-hour classroom session, held at the Board.
You’ll need to register at least eight weeks beforehand to have enough time to finish both components and submit your license renewal application before your license expires.
Date and location
There are currently seven classes scheduled at the Board:
- Wednesday, March 28
- Tuesday, April 10
- Monday, April 30
- Wednesday, May 9
- Thursday, May 10 (Commercial Legal Update 2018 only)
- Friday, May 25
- Thursday, May 31
More classes will be added.
Rental/strata property managers
You’ll have a separate Legal Update 2018 course to complete specific to those license categories instead of the Residential or Commercial Legal Update 2018.
These registrations are done via UBC’s Sauder School of Business — click here to register.
Fee
Legal Update 2018 costs $275 plus tax.
To register
You can only register online for the course with BCREA, not the Board.
You’ll get a confirmation email from BCREA telling you when you can access the online component.
Questions?
This course is administered by BCREA.
Please contact them at:
- rep@bcrea.bc.ca
- 604-683-7702 and press three
Advocacy update: Productive meeting held with Superintendent of Real Estate
As part of our ongoing advocacy work, CEO Brad Scott and representatives from BCREA and the BC real estate boards recently met with Superintendent of Real Estate Micheal Noseworthy and his colleagues. The meeting was a follow-up to the over 4,100 letters sent by you and your colleagues regarding the new rules on dual agency and disclosure.
At the meeting, we shared our concerns about how new rules are created and interpreted without sufficient industry input. BCREA’s legal counsel, Brian Taylor, shared his ideas on how the superintendent can deal with double recusal.
As Mr. Noseworthy said, “In ending dual agency, it was OSRE’s (Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate) intent that a licensee be able to continue to work with only one party to the trade in real estate where there is a conflict relating to client representation — as long as they receive consent from all parties involved in the transaction.”
The superintendent welcomed our feedback and will publish new draft rules in the coming weeks to deal with the double recusal issue. There’ll be a 30-day consultation period and he encouraged feedback from boards, Realtors, and your clients. He also confirmed that there’ll be a mandatory online education course on the new rules, currently being developed by the Real Estate Council and expected to be available in May.
Moving forward, BCREA will arrange a meeting between Mr. Noseworthy, Council, and organized real estate representatives to discuss how to better collaborate on new rules and their implementation. The superintendent committed to sharing a draft version of his new rules with a small group of people — in confidence — to get initial feedback on any unintended consequences.
It was a productive meeting. We agreed to continue meeting to ensure your voice is heard. We’ll share updates as we have more information.
Translink CEO and North Shore mayor to headline our AGM
We’ll host our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 27 at the Delta Burnaby Hotel and Conference Centre at 4331 Dominion Street, Burnaby.
At the event, you’ll hear updates from Board CEO Brad Scott and President Jill Oudil on the latest issues and initiatives involving your Board and profession.
We’re also hosting a panel discussion with Translink CEO Kevin Desmond, District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton and long-time housing demographer Andrew Ramlo. They’ll talk about how transportation and regional planning decisions made today will impact the long-term development of our region.
“There are no special resolutions on this year’s agenda for members to vote on, so we thought this year’s AGM was a great opportunity to bring in some diverse perspectives and have a forward-looking conversation about the future of our region,” Board President Jill Oudil said.
The event will conclude with a sponsored lunch from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Hear updates from your national association on REALTOR.ca, WEBForms, CREA’s advertising campaign, federal lobbying and more.
Preregister for our AGM
Confirm your attendance with Member Services by calling 604-730-3090 or emailing memberservices@rebgv.org. You can also register online here.
Meeting time
Registration and breakfast starts at 9 a.m., and the meeting begins at 10 a.m.
Location
Our AGM will take place at the Delta Burnaby Hotels and Conference Centre by Marriott in the Grand Villa Ballroom, 4331 Dominion Street, Burnaby.
Package
Click here to download the 2018 AGM package. If you have questions, contact Tina Creed at tcreed@rebgv.org.
The Ethics Guy®: Trigger warnings
No, I’m not talking about micro-aggressions or feeling triggered by what someone may have said to you. I’m talking about the triggers and red flags we should watch for in our professional relationships. By this, I mean the things that can happen during our real estate relationships. For example, new information comes to light or a conflict of interest is revealed. What then? These situations require that we pause, consider, consult, and decide what, if anything, needs to be done to deal with the new information or conflict.
I hope we’ll soon see the new forms our regulator has promised us. It’s difficult to prepare without seeing the forms or knowing how they’ll be used. The Real Estate Council of BC (Council) is reviewing the forms. We hope Council will provide details about when and under what circumstances the new forms will be triggered. We also hope Council will provide more FAQs. The forms will live on WebForms and, perhaps, other places. What’s most important, I think, is understanding when and under what circumstances the forms must be used.
We understand the new forms can’t, under any circumstances, be altered. All the blanks must be filled in and the forms must be kept on record for seven years as required by the Real Estate Services Act.
Even when a form doesn’t lead to a relationship or a deal, it must be kept on file. Start buying large storage devices. Backups and security will be important, too. With all the forms and the confidential information they contain, we’ll have to ensure this information is carefully protected.
Paperwork storage and security considerations aside, what kinds of situations will trigger us to do something new? By new, I mean what new paperwork and actions will be required on June 15 by the things that happen when we deal with clients?
REALTORS® have always had an obligation to disclose all material information to clients. Commissions, for example, referrals received, paid, and more. We’ve always been obligated to reveal conflicts of interest because we have a duty of loyalty to clients. We’ve been meeting these obligations for decades, but now these new forms may require us to document this information and keep it on file. It may be that these written disclosures will now extend to “unrepresented parties.”
Now is the time to think about the changes awaiting us so we’re ready to fire away with new procedures on June 15. Here are a few examples.
Teams
Do you have a team? Since every team member is likely the designated agent of every client being represented by the team, how will the clients they have dealt with in the past be dealt with after June 15? Since we can’t have more than one client in a transaction (even with consent), we may need to refer some of our clients to someone else or, heaven forbid, fire them if the relationship puts us into an irreconcilable conflict. What you decide to do will be affected by what you know about them, the relationship you’ve had with them previously, and things like the elapsed time since you last dealt with them.
Documenting the relationship
Are you representing someone or not? Have you both made this choice based on a good conversation about the merits of this relationship? Obviously, this conversation must take place sooner than later. We hope Council will go into detail about the kinds of interactions that would trigger this conversation, as well as the appropriate form to use. Will a form be needed when you give someone a feature sheet at an open house? I hope not. Will a form be required when you prepare a CMA, explain the market, or give a presentation to a prospective seller or buyer? Probably. Will a form be necessary when you and a buyer start talking about the market, what that buyer wants, and what they can afford? I should think so.
Unrepresented parties
Will dealing with an unrepresented party (an open house walk-in, for example) trigger a new form? Yes. If you’re assembling some lots for your developer client, are you dealing directly with the sellers? Will this require the sellers to acknowledge on a form that you aren’t representing them? I think yes. Or, you encounter a buyer who is hell-bent on not being represented because the buyer hopes to gain a financial benefit by dealing directly with you. In other words, that the buyer is prepared to sacrifice agency for money. Is this a trigger? Yes. The new form will document that the buyer understands this. It’s kind of like the “are you really, really, really sure you want to delete this?” dialogue box popping up on your computer screen. The form is designed to ensure the person understands they’re not being represented. What will the new form look like? It wouldn’t surprise me if it were bright orange, with red flashing lights around its edge.
Conflicts of interest
I haven’t heard about a “conflicts of interest form” per se, but make no mistake, conflicts of interest must be disclosed and documented, and appropriate action must be taken to deal with them. This has always been the case, but now the spotlight is on us to make sure there isn’t even a whiff of an undisclosed conflict. Dot your i’s and cross your t’s. Some examples of conflicts of interest triggering deep thought, a disclosure, and/or remedy to the potential conflict are:
- A former client is sniffing around your new listing. She’s interested in making an offer. Think about whether you should deal with her yourself or whether you should refer her to a trusted colleague. Maybe it’s possible, under some circumstances, to treat her as unrepresented. But there are risks and we are not going there until Council weighs in with more information.
- A buyer you don’t know wants to make an offer on your listing and says, “By the way, if you can get my offer accepted, I will list my house with you.” (This scenario, by the way, was my first two deals.) Listing the buyer’s property puts you in a potential conflict with your duty of loyalty to your seller and you must disclose this information to your seller.
- You have three buyers looking for a Yaletown condo. All three like the same building. What will you do when the developer has a grand opening frenzy? If you’re the agent for all three and each wants the same type of unit at the same price point, will this elicit some careful thought by you before you act? I sure hope so. This last scenario likely requires a disclosure of conflict to each buyer. (Our REALTOR® Code’s Article 3, Primary Duty to Client, (3.8) has said this for years). What will be the result? You may have to refer two of the buyers to trusted colleagues.
There’s lot to think about here. When Council provides more information on the new forms, it’s your responsibility to learn about them and how to use them until dealing with them becomes second nature. You’ll have to adjust your scripting and workflow. You’ll need to be obsessive about getting the forms accurately completed and logged. And, of course, through all business relationships, you’ll have to be vigilant for any situation or thing that puts you into a conflict of interest. This has always been the case. But now, more than ever, your regulator is determined to ensure there’s no flinching from this.
The federal and provincial budgets, goodbye HOME, and the importance of real estate employment
The recent federal budget includes funding for rental and Indigenous housing, cannabis education, cyber security, and measures to combat tax evasion and money laundering. There are also new taxes.
The recent provincial budget wasn’t entirely clear on whether the new school tax on homes worth more than $3 million also applies to rental apartment buildings. It doesn’t, with some exceptions. We’ve also clarified a few other budget tax issues.
Two years ago, the provincial government rolled out the BC Home Owner Mortgage and Equity (HOME) Partnership program to help home buyers come up with a down payment by providing interest-free loans of up to $37,500. The government is now winding down the program. Potential home buyers have until March 31, 2018 to apply.
Will new provincial taxes and the loss of the HOME program stall the real estate market? Governments need to proceed with caution given that real estate is a top job creator, according to the Business Council of BC.
REBGV CFO Mary Galaugher honoured with Fellowship in the accounting profession
Mary Galaugher, our Chief Financial Officer, was honoured with a Fellowship from Chartered Professional Accountants BC (CPABC) in February.
The title of Fellow “recognizes CPAs who have rendered exceptional services to the profession, and whose leadership and achievements in their careers and/or contributions in the community have earned them distinction and brought honour to the profession.”
Mary began her career as a junior accountant with Block Bros. Industries Ltd. in 1978. Over the years, she rose through the ranks at Block Bros., becoming a senior accountant in 1986 and finally a corporate controller in 1989.
Since she joined REBGV in 1995, Mary’s expertise has benefitted us in numerous ways. She developed a risk management model and created a funding model that’s increased the Board’s financial stability. She’s also been a key contributor to our excellence program.
Outside of her work at the Board, Mary’s served as a member of her provincial legacy body’s (Certified General Accountants of BC) Burnaby/Royal City Chapter board, including a term on their board of governors.
Mary’s passionate about dance and the performing arts. She provides her knowledge and expertise to a wide range of dance organizations. She’s served as treasurer for the Cross Culture Dance Society and the Canadian Dance Teachers Association’s BC branch. She also works closely with the New Westminster dance studio co-owned with her daughter Lindsey and her sister-in-law Helen.
Please join us in congratulating Mary on this achievement!
Home buyers were less active in February
Metro Vancouver home sales dipped below the long-term historical average in February.
Sales
Residential property sales in the region totalled 2,207 in February 2018, a nine per cent decrease from the 2,424 sales recorded in February 2017, and a 21.4 per cent increase compared to January 2018 when 1,818 homes sold.
Last month’s sales were 14.4 per cent below the 10-year February sales average. By property type, detached sales were down 39.4 per cent over the same period, attached sales were down 6.8 per cent, and apartment sales were 5.5 per cent above the 10-year February average.
“Rising interest rates and stricter mortgage requirements have reduced home buyers’ purchasing power, particularly for those at the entry level of our market,” Jill Oudil, REBGV president said. “Even still, the supply of apartment and townhome properties for sale today is unable to meet demand. On the other hand, our detached home market is beginning to enter buyers’ market territory.”
Listings
There were 4,223 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver in February 2018. This represents a 15.2 per cent increase compared to the 3,666 homes listed in February 2017 and an 11.2 per cent increase compared to January 2018 when 3,796 homes were listed.
The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 7,822, a three per cent increase compared to February 2017 (7,594) and a 12.6 per cent increase compared to January 2018 (6,947).
“The spring is traditionally the busiest time for home buyers and sellers in our market. We’ll wait to see how they react to the taxes and other policy measures that our provincial and federal governments have introduced so far this year,” Oudil said. “To help you navigate these changes in today’s housing market, it’s important to work with your local REALTOR®.”
For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for February 2018 is 28.2 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 13 per cent for detached homes, 37.6 per cent for townhomes, and 59.7 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 $1,071,800. This represents a 16.9 per cent increase over February 2017 and a 1.4 per cent increase compared to January 2018.
Sales of detached properties in February 2018 reached 621, a 16.6 per cent decrease from the 745 detached sales recorded in February 2017. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,602,000. This represents an 8.2 per cent increase from February 2017 and is virtually unchanged from January 2018.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,185 in February 2018, a 7.1 per cent decrease compared to the 1,275 sales in February 2017. The benchmark price of an apartment property is $682,800. This represents a 27.2 per cent increase from February 2017 and a 2.6 per cent increase compared to January 2018.
Attached property sales in February 2018 totalled 401, a 0.7 per cent decrease compared to the 404 sales in February 2017. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $819,200. This represents an 18.1 per cent increase from February 2017 and a 1.9 per cent increase compared to January 2018.
Download the February 2018 stats package.
Other News
ICYMI: Boards to vote on Three-Way Agreement changes at CREA’s AGM
Representatives from real estate boards and associations across Canada will vote in April on whether local boards can become direct members of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) without also having to belong to their provincial association.
At issue is something called the Three-Way Agreement. This Canada-wide agreement was signed in 1974. It requires that, to be a REALTOR® in Canada, you must belong to the local, provincial, and national levels of organized real estate.
Your Board has been working with the Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton boards to create a process for boards to not belong to their provincial associations and still belong to CREA should they, and their members, vote to do so.
At CREA’s AGM on April 16, representatives from the more than 100 real estate boards and associations in Canada will vote on this amendment. CREA’s Board of Directors supports the proposed change.
“Opportunities to modernize the structure of our profession have been inhibited over the years, in part, because of the inflexibility of the Three-Way Agreement,” Jill Oudil, Board president said. “This vote is about building greater accountability and choice into the structure of organized real estate in our country.”
Some associations are concerned this change would result in boards immediately leaving their provincial associations. Not so, according to Board CEO Brad Scott.
“The driving force behind this change is not to withdraw from our provincial associations,” Scott said. “We believe organized real estate is stronger together so long as Realtors are receiving sufficient value from the associations created to serve them. If this isn’t the case, there should be a mechanism for accountability and change. This is what we’re striving to achieve.”
The proposed amendment includes a process for boards to apply to CREA for direct membership.
The process would require that:
- The membership of the applicant board in CREA and the provincial association be in good standing.
- The applicant board can satisfy CREA that it’s been in compliance with CREA’s Core Standards for at least three years prior to the application, and can continue to be in compliance if it were to withdraw from the provincial association.
- The board must have provided its members with a business plan setting out all relevant information the members would need to make an informed decision in terms of withdrawal from the provincial association.
- The membership of the applicant board must vote to withdraw. That vote must pass by at least a two-thirds majority.
- The board must satisfy CREA that it has made reasonable efforts to resolve any outstanding issues with the provincial association.
- Once a decision has been approved by CREA’s board, the withdrawing board will provide one year’s notice to the provincial association and pay full dues for the following 12 months.
If you have feedback, email us at feedback@rebgv.org.
Obituary: John Abel
REALTOR® John Robert Abel passed away in February. He was 79.
Originally from England, John was a Realtor for approximately 45 years. He was first licensed with Fullbrook Bertram and Brown Ltd. in 1972. He worked at several firms over his career, including Ker and Ker Ltd., Sutton Group Heritage West Realty Ltd., and New World Realty Ltd. He was most recently licensed with One Percent Realty Ltd.
He is survived by his wife Kathy and her family; his children Carolyn (Joe), Dan (Julie), David (Corilea), and their mother Barbara; his grandsons Will, Samuel, Dylan, Hunter, and Ryan; his brothers Alan, Tom, and Dere; and other family members and friends across Canada and England.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Diabetes Association or a charity of your choice are appreciated.
Obituary: Phillip Van Der Veen
Former REALTOR® Phillip Van Der Veen passed away in February. He was 83.
Phillip was born in the Netherlands. His family moved to Pitt Meadows when he was 12. After high school, Phillip worked as a general contractor and drywaller. It didn’t take him long to realize he’d rather sell houses than work on them, so he got licensed in 1974 with the Canada Permanent Trust Company.
Over his 37 years in real estate, Phillip worked at other firms such as Block Bros. Realty Ltd. and Ford Realty. He was most recently with Macdonald Realty. He retired from the business in 2009.
Phillip is remembered as a Realtor whose greatest qualities were his ‘handshake honesty’ and integrity. He made fast friends with clients and colleagues alike. He was an avid salmon fisherman and loved to take people out on his boat for fishing trips.
He is predeceased by his wife Janet, and survived by his four loving children, 11 grandchildren, and three siblings.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 10, at the Maple Ridge Christian Reformed Church, 20245 Dewdney Trunk Road, Maple Ridge.
REALTOR.ca and WEBForms updates
New CREA WEBForms now available
The new CREA WEBForms (previously WEBForms 5) is now available. It features a new interface that lets you fill out forms faster and provides an enhanced mobile experience.
Click here to access CREA WEBForms. You can switch back and forth between the two versions at any time via the navigation menu at the top of the screen. All previously created kits, forms and clauses are also available in both the new and old WEBForms.
Click here to learn more about what’s changed in CREA WEBForms.
REALTOR.ca has a new responsive website
REALTOR.ca has launched a new responsive website that provides a better mobile experience. The new ‘Near Me’ feature allows quick access to browse listings close by.
Other enhancements include the ability to share listings on social media platforms, a more prominent display of contact information on listing pages, and more neighbourhood information on property detail pages.
Try the new REALTOR.ca mobile site on your phone or tablet today.
Data Distribution Facility® adds Kijiji
CREA’s Data Distribution Facility® (DDF®) has added Kijiji to its list of approved third-party websites. The DDF® enables you to display listing content on your own website as it appears on REALTOR.ca.
It also enables you to contribute your listings to a national pool, so that your listings can be displayed on other Realtor’s websites, as well as third-party websites of your choosing.
Click here to learn more about CREA’s DDF®.
For more information on CREA’s products and services, email info@crea.ca