Sep 9, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
Real estate lawyer Mark Weisleder offers the following information about Bill 55 and bidding wars. This information was published in Mark’s newsletter and is reprinted with permission.
There is already confusion with respect to how real estate brokerages are to comply with Bill 55 and use the new Form 801 in a bidding war. Here are 5 things to know:
What was the main purpose behind Bill 55 in the first place?
The main purpose was to stop unethical practices when conducting bidding wars. For example, saying that you had another offer in order to trick a buyer into offering more than they intended to bid. You should keep this in mind when you say or do anything in a bidding war.
Why do we have Form 801?
The main purpose of completing Form 801 is so that the listing brokerage can keep a record of every offer that is presented by a buyer brokerage and not accepted by the seller without having to keep a copy of the actual offer itself. This form can then be used as proof later if someone claims that you misrepresented having received another offer.
Can a buyer brokerage still register an offer?
The answer is yes. However, in order to register an offer, the buyer salesperson must know that the offer exists. In my opinion, this means that the buyer brokerage must have the original agreement signed by the buyer in their possession when they register an offer.
Can a buyer still change their mind once an offer is registered?
The answer is yes. Until the offer is communicated to the seller by personal delivery, fax or email, it can be withdrawn by the buyer.
Can the listing brokerage ask a buyer brokerage to complete and send Form 801 if they want to register an offer?
The answer is no. This is what is causing the most confusion. It is not appropriate for a buyer brokerage to complete Form 801 and send it in to a listing brokerage BEFORE they intend to actually submit the offer. By doing so, they would be telling the listing brokerage in advance the identity of the buyer. In my opinion, it is sufficient for a buyer brokerage to just send something in writing to the listing brokerage confirming that they have an offer which they intend to present later. They can identify the property but not the buyer name. For a listing brokerage, if you have this information in writing from a buyer
brokerage, you can then inform others that you have received a registered offer. However, be careful to also state that no actual offer has been received.
Aug 14, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity edged slightly lower on a month-over-month basis in July 2015.
Highlights:
- National home sales edged back by 0.4% from June to July.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 3.4% above July 2014 levels.
- The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.2 per cent from June to July.
- The Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.9% year-over-year in July.
- The national average sale price rose 8.9% on a year-over-year basis in July; excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 4.1%.
The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations declined by 0.4 per cent in July 2015 compared to June. While this marks the second consecutive monthly decline in activity, sales activity in May, June and July reached their highest monthly levels in more than five years.
Read the full report.
Jul 20, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity edged slightly lower on a month-over-month basis in June 2015.
Highlights:
- National home sales edged back by 0.8% from May to June.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 11% above June 2014 levels.
- The number of newly listed homes edged down 0.2% from May to June.
- The Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.43% year-over-year in June.
- The national average sale price rose 9.6% on a year-over-year basis in June; excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 3.1%.
The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations declined by 0.8 per cent in June 2015 compared to May. Sales levels in May and June marked the strongest monthly readings in more than five years.
Read the report.
Jun 17, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity posted a fourth consecutive month-over-month increase in May 2015.
Highlights:
- National home sales rose 3.1% from April to May.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 2.7% above May 2014 levels.
- The number of newly listed homes was little changed from April to May.
- The Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.17% year-over-year in May.
- The national average sale price rose 8.1% on a year-over-year basis in May; excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 2.4%.
The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations rose 3.1 per cent in May 2015 compared to April. This marks the fourth consecutive month-over-month increase and raises national activity to its highest level in more than five years.
May sales were up from the previous month in about 60 per cent of all local markets, led by increases in the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal.
Read the whole report.
May 19, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity posted a third consecutive month-over-month increase in April 2015.
Highlights:
- National home sales rose 2.3% from March to April.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 10% above April 2014 levels.
- The number of newly listed homes was little changed from March to April.
- The Canadian housing market overall remains balanced.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 4.97% year-over-year in April.
- The national average sale price rose 9.5% on a year-over-year basis in April; excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 3.4 %.
The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations rose 2.3 per cent in April 2015 compared to March. This marks the third consecutive month-over-month increase and raises national activity back to where it was during most of the second half of last year.
Read the entire report.
May 7, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
Have you joined the REALTOR® Action Network (RAN) yet?
The REALTOR® Action Network is the Canadian Real Estate Association’s online interactive platform that connects REALTORS® with federal government decision makers who affect your business.
Be a part of the REALTOR® Action Network to:
- Change the outcome of political decisions that affect you, your business, your clients and your community.
- Shape and direct the focus of REALTOR® advocacy, ensuring political issues that are important to you are given the attention they deserve at the federal level.
- Get the inside track on political decisions as they are happening to more effectively adapt your business to possible change and help your clients understand how new legislation might affect them.
- Gain the recognition of peers for your advocacy work and commitment to your profession.
Joining is easy! Log in using your REALTOR Link® ID at www.REALTORActionNetwork.ca.
May 7, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
How great would it be to have a website address like www. JaneDoe.REALTOR, or an email address like JohnDoe@JohnDoe.REALTOR? Or info@JohnDoe.REALTOR?
Now you can! Register for your own .REALTOR domain and join other REALTORS® across Canada and the U.S. in declaring that you are a REALTOR® – that you work to a high ethical standard and you are entitled to use the trademarked term REALTOR®.
Here’s more information about the .REALTOR domain and how to claim your own .REALTOR domain.
Check out the video
Get more information
Rules for claiming and using a .REALTOR TLD
Claim your .REALTOR domain
May 7, 2015 | Member Services |
RAHB members Charlotte Freeman (Ken Gies Real Estate Limited) and Todd Martin (RE/MAX Escarpment Realty) came up winners just for responding to the Canadian Real Estate Association’s 2015 member survey.
Charlotte and Todd each won a mobile power bank for completing the survey.
(left to right: RAHB CEO Ross Godsoe, Charlotte Freeman, Todd Martin, RAHB President Donna Bacher)
Apr 15, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity was up on month-over-month basis in March 2015.
Highlights:
- National home sales edged up 4.1% from February to March.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 9.5% above March 2014 levels.
- The number of newly listed homes rose 1.8% from February to March.
- The Canadian housing market remains balanced.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 4.95% year-over-year in March.
- The national average sale price rose 9.4% on a year-over-year basis in March; excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 2.4%.
The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations rose by 4.1 per cent in March 2015 compared to February.
March sales were up from the previous month in nearly two-thirds of all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Calgary and Edmonton. Despite the monthly rebound, Calgary and Edmonton sales came in below the 10 year average for the month of March.
Read the entire report.
Mar 13, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has updated its forecast for home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations for 2015 and extended it to 2016.
Read the full report.
Mar 13, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity edged up slightly on a month-over-month basis in February 2015.
Highlights:
- National home sales edged up 1.0% from January to February.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 2.7% above February 2014 levels.
- The number of newly listed homes fell 2.5% from January to February.
- The Canadian housing market remains balanced.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.01% year-over-year in February.
- The national average sale price rose 6.3% on a year-over-year basis in February.
Read the full report.
Mar 6, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
Did you know that among practitioners in Canada that responded to a recent survey, 45 percent note an increase in international investors? Or that 55 percent of Canadian respondents noted a decrease in per worker office space in 2014?
See the latest research report on commercial real estate from the National Association of REALTORS’ (NAR) REALTOR University, in collaboration with CREA, the Certified Commercial Investment Member(CCIM) Institute and the Institute of Real Estate Management.
Find out more by downloading the full report from REALTORlink.ca.
