Upon review of the current Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) policy, RAHB’s Board of Directors determined the policy did not provide value to the membership. Therefore, effective February 1, 2017, RAHB is no longer providing AD&D coverage for members. Alternate benefits will be investigated.
If you have any outstanding claims, please contact Camryn in the Membership department at camrynh@rahb.ca or 905.529.8101 x251.
Designation courses
SRS – Seller Representative Specialist – Gareth Jones
Tuesday and Wednesday, February 7 and 8, 2017
9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
$325+HST
PSA – Price Strategy Advisor Certification – Gareth Jones NEW
Thursday, February 9, 2017
9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
$199+HST
REIC 2600 – Ethics and Business Practice – Mary Jones
Tuesday – Thursday, April 18 – 20, 2017
9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
$625+HST – RAHB members
$825+HST – Non-RAHB members
Professional Development courses
Calculating Square Footage – Mary Jones
Friday, February 10, 2017
10 a.m. – Noon
$30 +HST
Understanding Newer Homes – Andrew McCarthy NEW
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
10 a.m. – Noon
Free
Spot the Fraud – Lou Piriano NEW
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
10 a.m. – Noon
Free
New GeoWarehouse – Theresa Corindia
Friday, March 24, 2017
10 a.m. – Noon OR 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Free
Power of Sale – Lou Radomsky
Thursday, April 13, 2017
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
$30 +HST
All courses will be held in McCullough Room at the RAHB office (lower level). To register, or for more information, contact Angela at 905.529.8101 x233 or angelam@rahb.ca.
RAHB’s annual Appreciation & Awards Gala was an evening to celebrate members for their 40- and 25-years of RAHB membership, to recognize RAHB members who served on RAHB committees and task forces in 2016, and to award members who have gone above and beyond to serve the association and their community.
The Gala took place on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at Michelangelo Event Venue and Conference Centre.
RAHB Volunteers
RAHB President Lou Piriano recognized the three 2016 Directors who completed their terms on the Board – Kim Alvarez, Gary Herron and Paul Martindale. He also recognized the 101 RAHB members who served on committees, task forces and the Board.
Long Service Awards
Long service pins were presented to the newest members of the Long Service Club. 10 members reached the 40-year milestone in 2016 and 42 reached the 25-year milestone!
(l-r) Robert Schinkel, Tamer Fahmi, John Goritsas, Drago Saric
Front row (l-r): Richard Deverson, Mike Cusano, Jim Griffen
Back row (l-r): Carol DiStefano, Janet Bedford
Front row (l-r): Louis Volk, Rob Cecchetti
Back row (l-r): Alison Walsh, Lois Simpson, Tina Nixon
Front row (l-r): Louie Fabbroni, Darren Van Leeuwen, Mike Mattina
Back row (l-r): Alice Liu, Catherine Poirier
RAHB Service Awards
Congratulations to the following RAHB award recipients!
Margaret Reid
(Royal LePage State Realty) received the Volunteer of the Year Award, which recognizes a member who has demonstrated exceptional qualities, enthusiasm and perseverance or has gone above and beyond to serve their fellow members.
Margaret has served on various RAHB committees and task forces since joining RAHB and, in fact, has worked on a committee or task every year with only one exception. She is active on not only RAHB committees and task forces, but in community committees and initiatives as well. Margaret is described as a “true example of leadership and giving”, a mentor with phenomenal patience and as “always available to lend a hand”.
Bonnie Dowling
(B. Dowling Real Estate Ltd.) received the Outstanding Community Service Award, presented to a member who has shown outstanding dedication to the real estate profession and exceptional volunteer service to his or her community.
Bonnie is a 33-year member of RAHB, a past president of the Association and an Honorary Life Member. She also received the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2012.
Bonnie has been active in the City of Hamilton Public Health “Community Food Advisors” program for over 20 years. She has served as Chair of the program, and continues to actively participate in a monthly seniors’ lunch program. As well as these current activities, Bonnie has been involved in lunch and children’s food programs, performed cooking demonstrations for seniors and Aboriginal men and others, and promoted healthy lifestyles in the community. Her infectious enthusiasm has made the learning experience enjoyable for others.
Entertainment
Entertainment during the cocktail hour and again during the gala program was provided by magician Mike D’Urzo.
Musical entertainment following the Gala program was provided by the George St. Kitts Band.
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington extends a warm welcome to its newest members from December 15, 2016 to January 23, 2017!
Sean Ferney
Ambitious Realty Advisors Inc.
Tyler Misener
Century 21 New Age Realty Inc.
Mir Rahimi
Marck Daood
Harun Shaheri
Homelife Professionals Realty Inc.
Darren Stewart
Sean Dawson
Judy Marsales Real Estate Ltd.
Glenda Cavan
Brad Aitchison
Keller Williams Complete Realty
Cherylene Stimers
David Maurice
Keller Williams Edge Realty
Jim Tatti
Christina Musacchia
RE/MAX Real Estate Centre Inc.
Loren Gindl
RE/MAX Escarpment Lisa Weber Realty Inc.
Julie Tamayo Field
RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc.
Joe Bandula
RE/MAX Realty Enterprises Inc.
Christopher Climie
Deanna Bodden
Royal LePage State Realty
Nanthadeth Keochanh
Royal LePage Macro Realty
Alex Brott
Sage Real Estate
Danielle McKirgan
Lorraine Hughes
Sutton Group Innovative Realty Inc.
Dev Brar
Roy La Chappelle
Lexx Varghese
Lucie Brusse
Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services
Emese Zaduban
Royal LePage Niagara Real Estate Centre
RAHB will soon be participating in CREA’s MLS® Home Price Index!
What’s the MLS® Home Price Index?
The MLS® Home Price Index, or HPI, is a tool for gaining a better understanding of the market trends in the residential market in our area, and how those trends compare to the rest of the country.
When we talk about housing prices, we usually refer to trends in average and median sale prices. These measures are readily available and easily understood. However, averages and medians do not always accurately determine trends because:
The MLS® HPI provides a better measurement of price and price trends for residential properties. It is based on real MLS® listing content from RAHB – that is, the attributes of the listed properties: number of bedrooms, number of baths, number of storeys, etc. The HPI uses that information to calculate what is the average home in an area, and then it can track how that average home price changes over time.
How does it work?
The HPI uses a base – or benchmark – year as a starting point for price comparison. The index base is always 100.
In RAHB’s case, the benchmark year is 2005, so the HPI value for, say, January 2005 is 100. If the HPI value for a single-family home in January of 2011 is 167.1, you know that the value of a typical single-family home is up 67.1 per cent compared to 2005.
What’s in it for you?
The real value of the HPI comes with the depth of information available to members. The HPI drills down into areas as well as types of properties – single family, townhouse and apartment. For each area, the HPI defines what the “average” house, townhouse and apartment is. In one area the average single family home might be a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, double garage home, while in another area it is a 2-bedroom, 1-bath home with no garage. Likewise for the townhouse and apartment categories – the HPI definition is determined by the mix of properties and their features in that area. This allows you to see trends that average or median sale prices just can’t provide.
RAHB will be publishing general information about the HPI, the same way it publishes general statistics, so the public will see what the general trend is. However, RAHB members will have access to much more detailed information, so you will be able to:
What the MLS® HPI doesn’t do
The HPI will not predict future price trends. It can only be used to track what the trend has been and what it is at the present time.
What’s the next step?
Once RAHB starts reporting the MLS® HPI trends for our area, you will have access to an HPI dashboard via REALTOR Link®. That’s where you will find the more detailed information the public doesn’t see. You will find information about housing trends in our area, as well as trends in other cities where HPI is reported.
How did the MLS® HPI come about?
It was pioneered by six founding partners: the real estate boards of Calgary, Fraser Valley, Greater Montreal, Greater Vancouver, and Greater Toronto and the Canadian Real Estate Association. In 2009, the partners contracted with Altus Group to develop the MLS® HPI, which subsequently launched in February 2012.
Since its founding, CREA’s Home Price Index has grown to include data from Regina, Saskatoon, Ottawa, Vancouver Island, Victoria and Greater Moncton, and will soon include some regional MLS® boards and associations, as well as RAHB.
Want more information?
Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist, will be presenting two knowledge pods on the HPI at REALTOR® CONNECTIONS AGM, Conference and Trade Show on March 9, and will return to RAHB after we launch the HPI to do more information sessions. Watch for more info about the date, time and location of the presentations.
You can also find more information about the MLS® Home Price Index.
RAHB was gold sponsor of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce “Mayor’s State of the City Address” on Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at the Burlington Convention Centre. Mayor Rick Goldring spoke about the city’s “Grow Bold” plan, Innovation Centre, Joseph Brant Hospital expansion and “Love My Hood” the City’s Canada 150 initiative.
Follow #MSOTC17 for event highlights!
Where can you go to buy lockboxes; open house frames and inserts; door hangers; feature sheet stands; riders and clips; stickers; REALTOR®-branded merchandise; Association maps and even office basics like business card holders, pens, paper and paper clips? The RAHB Realty Shoppe, of course!
Located on the lower level of the RAHB office, the Realty Shoppe carries what busy REALTORS® need in theirday-to-day real estate businesses. Our products are available to you at very affordable prices because we buy in large enough quantities to allow us to offer the products to you at a very advantageous price.
The Realty Shoppe is a REALTOR®-only store, proudly the first of its kind in Canada. Watch for some exciting developments in 2017 that will make your shopping experience even better!
Come visit us at REALTOR® CONNECTIONS 2017 AGM, Conference and Trade Show at the Grand Olympia Convention Centre in Stoney Creek – we will be introducing some new products, and you can enter your business card to win some great prizes.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
We appreciate your business! On January 30, 2017 we held our annual Member Appreciation Day, with refreshments, giveaways and prizes – Congratulations to Hank Balfoort (RE/MAX Escarpment Golfi Realty Inc.), winner of the Realty Shoppe’s Member Appreciation Day draw for a gift basket valued at $50.
As of January 24, 2017, Fusion is no longer accepting For Lease or Sale listings on a single MLS® number. If you have a listing that is for either sale or lease, enter your listing twice – once as a For Sale Only and once as a For Lease Only – so your listing has two listing numbers.
When the property sells, report the sale or lease as appropriate, and then cancel the other listing so that it is no longer active.
PRESS RELEASE – For immediate release
January 5, 2017 (Hamilton, Ontario)
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 904 sales were processed through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in December. Sales were 13.1 per cent higher than the same month last year and set a new high for the month of December. This was the sixth month in 2016 to see a new monthly sales record.
There were 714 properties listed in December, an increase of 3.8 per cent compared to December of last year and right on the 10-year average for new listings in the month.
“Consumers were shopping for more than Boxing Day sales this year,” said RAHB CEO George O’Neill. “December sales broke the record for December set only last year. The record sales for the month coupled with an average number of new listings means we are going into the new year with low inventory.”
Seasonally adjusted* sales of residential properties were 5.5 per cent higher than the same month last year, with the average sale price up 13.7per cent for the month. Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings were 1.1 per cent lower than December of 2015.
Overall residential sales of 849 units were 13.4 per cent higher than the same month last year. Residential freehold sales were 7.9 per cent higher than December of 2015 while sales in the condominium market were 36.9 per cent higher than the same month last year.
The median price of freehold properties increased by 18.4 per cent over the same month last year while the median price for condominium properties decreased by 15.7 per cent compared to the same period.
The average price of freehold properties showed an increase of 15.5 per cent compared to December of last year; the average sale price in the condominium market decreased by 5.6 per cent when compared to the same period.
Average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold through the RAHB MLS® System. Average sale price can be useful in establishing long-term trends, but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. Contact a REALTOR® for information about your area or property.
The average number of days on market decreased from 41 to 30 days in the freehold market and from 36 to 17 days in the condominium market, compared to December of last year.
“Clearly, home buyers – whether they are local or from outside our market area – are finding the Greater Hamilton-Burlington area an excellent place to invest their home-buying dollars,” added O’Neill.
Every community in RAHB’s market area has its own localized market. Please refer to the accompanying chart, and contact a REALTOR® for more information.
*Seasonal adjustment removes normal seasonal variations, enabling analysis of monthly changes and fundamental trends in the data.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
About the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington
Established in 1921, the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) represents more than 3,000 real estate brokers and sales representatives from Hamilton, Burlington and outlying areas. Members of the Association may use the REALTOR® trademark, which identifies them as real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics. The Association operates the local Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System and provides ongoing professional education courses for its members. Advertisements of local MLS® property listings and information about the services provided by a REALTOR® can be found at REALTOR.ca. More information about RAHB is available at rahb.ca.
RAHB Average Price by District – (#) Residential Unit Sales
Hamilton
Hamilton West, 10 – 12
Hamilton East, 23, 24, 27 – 29
Hamilton Centre, 13, 14, 20 – 22
Hamilton Mountain, 15 – 18, 25 & 26
Burlington 30 – 36, 38
Outlying
Flamborough, 40, 43 – 45
Dundas, 41
Ancaster, 42
Waterdown, 46
Stoney Creek, 50 – 52
Glanbrook, 53
Grimsby, 54 -55
West Lincoln, 56
Smithville, 57
Dunnville, 61
Cayuga, 62
Calendonia/Hagersville, 63 & 70
Onieda/Seneca, 71 & 64
Rainham, 65
Canborough/Dunn, 60
Held at RAHB – 505 York Blvd.
Lower Level room: C – Chambers M – McCullough
First floor room: T – Thompson P – Purnell
Computer
Register with angelam@rahb.ca
Board of Directors, Committee and Task Force Meetings
Professional Development
See page 10 for a list of courses.
Upcoming Events
