Competition Tribunal decision with respect to TREB’s VOW policies
You are most likely aware that on April 27, 2016, the Competition Tribunal released its anxiously awaited decision with respect to the Commissioner of Competition’s claim against TREB. The decision was that certain aspects associated with TREB’s Virtual Office Website (VOW) policy include restrictions that constitute an abuse of dominant position under section 79 of the Competition Act. The full decision remains confidential pending the outcome of further submissions requested by the Tribunal. Those further submissions will assist the Tribunal to determine the appropriate remedy, at which time their ruling is expected to be made public, and at RAHB we will be in a position to fully understand the decision and determine implications for our members. As soon as we have that information, we will share it with you.
With just about perfect timing, Paul Feuer, Senior Competition Council from CREA, will be in Hamilton on May 10, 2016 to meet with our members to discuss competition issues and what is known about the TREB ruling. You can sign up for this free, joint RAHB-OMDREB two-hour session by contacting Sheila at 905.529.8101 x234 or sheilas@rahb.ca.
Regional Matrix MLS® System update
After May 10, RAHB is expected to be the only association of the original eight founding regional boards/associations in the regional MLS® System not fully cut over to Matrix. As communicated previously, we would not risk MLS® service interruption to our members during the busy spring market; therefore, we are currently considering a suitable cut over date later this summer. This assumes the remaining business/governance issues discussed at the March RAHB AGM are either resolved or are well on their way to being resolved with ORTIS, the company established to manage the regional MLS® System.
Because the other STARRS boards (Brantford, Niagara and Simcoe) are scheduled to cut over to Matrix on May 10, listings their members take within RAHB’s trading area will no longer be displayed in Fusion after that date. Therefore, if you are not already doing so, use Matrix for all search activities, and Fusion just to load and edit listings. Note that Fusion listings are automatically uploaded to Matrix every fifteen minutes (but Matrix listings are not downloaded to Fusion), and this parallel period will continue until RAHB fully cuts over to Matrix.
To access Matrix, visit http://onregional.ca or click the link from your SSO dashboard. Just remember – even though you can access Matrix through your dashboard, you will still have to sign in with your Matrix user ID and password. Your Matrix user ID is the same as your Fusion user ID with “HB” at the beginning.
For additional information about using Matrix, be sure to review past issues of The Shift, which are posted on REALTOR Link®, under the MLS® tab. You can also call RAHB’s MLS® department at 905.667.4650 with your questions.