Jan 11, 2016 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
The federal government announced in December that it intends to raise the minimum down payment requirements on homes valued over $500,000. This will be in effect for homes insured by CMHC.
Requirements will remain at 5 per cent down payment for homes under 500,000. Any amount over $500,000 will require a 10 per cent down payment. For example a $700,000 home will require a $45,000 down payment – 5 per cent on $500,000 and 10 per cent down on the remaining $200,000. The announced changes will take effect on February 15, 2016.
CREA has opposed increasing the minimum down payment since 2011, and will continue to advocate on behalf of home buyers, sellers and members on this issue. Watch your inbox and the REALTOR® Action Network (RAN) for new developments.
Jan 11, 2016 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
OREA recommends that brokerages considering preparing an internal policy regarding the use of electronic documents and signatures. The policy should set out how the brokerage will administer electronic documents and signatures in a way that satisfies legal requirements.
For more information about what your policy should contain, go to https://orea.com/~/media/Files/Members/OREA-Standard-Forms/
Announcements/v220150915BrokerCommuniquereECAElectronic
SignaturePolicies.pdf?la=en (you will have to log in to the member part of the OREA website)
All members: Do you know what’s involved when you use
electronic signatures?
OREA provided information about using electronic signatures to members in a communiqué in June. In case you missed it, you can read it https://orea.com/~/media/Files/Members/OREA-Standard-Forms/2015-06-25-ECA-Announcement-for-Members.pdf?la=en (you will have to log in to the member part of the OREA website).
Jan 11, 2016 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
OREA recently released the 2016 Standard Forms and Clauses Summary of Revisions. Full details regarding the new and revised forms for 2016 are outlined in a summary prepared by OREA, and all members and support staff are encouraged to review this document. The Summary can be found at https://orea.com/ (log in as a member, click on ‘Download Free Standard Forms and Clauses’ under Member Benefits, scroll down to 2016 Standard Forms and Clauses – Summary of Revisions under “Standard Forms”).
Note that OREA Form 200 “OREA Listing Agreement – Authority to Offer for Sale”, has not been changed; therefore, there is no cut-off date to discontinue use. Members may continue to use the OREA Listing Agreements dated 2015. On the OREA website, this document appears as follows on the bottom of the page:
The 2016 Forms and Clauses can now be downloaded from www.orea.com, via the Members Only section. The updates to WebForms® were to have been completed in December, 2015.
The forms, with changes for 2016, will be available in the Realty Shoppe in early January.
Jan 11, 2016 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
The annual election for the CREA Board of Directors will be held on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at the 2016 CREA Annual General Meeting in Ottawa. Any qualified REALTOR® who has an interest in serving as a Director of CREA is strongly encouraged to run for a position on the Board of Directors.
The following positions are open:
- Three Director-at-Large positions, each for a two-year term
- Four Regional Director positions, each for a two-year term, one from each of the following regions:
- Alberta/Northwest Territories
- Saskatchewan
- Ontario
- The Atlantic Region
Qualifications of Directors
- Be a REALTOR® member
- Have been a REALTOR® member for at least five years
- Have a minimum of three years experience as a director of a member real estate board or association
- Not be otherwise disqualified by the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act
- In the case of a Regional Director, be licensed in that region
The deadline for candidate submissions is Tuesday, January 19, 2016.
If you need further information, contact CREA’s General Counsel,
Bill Harrington, at 613-237-7111 or at [email protected], or go to http://www.realtorlink.ca/content/realtorlink/crea/en_CA/about/
governance/elections/CREA_Board_of_Director_Elections/
Director_Recruitment_Information.html/Fo to read more about
CREA’s vision, strategic leadership and accountability policies.
Jan 8, 2016 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
From the Registrar’s office
In response to registrant feedback, RECO is making changes to further help registrants comply with regulations, starting with a new process to review advertising before it is published.
A new Registrar’s Bulletin describes a new procedure whereby RECO will review registrant advertising before it is published. RECO will review the advertisement when asked to do so by a Broker of Record. The bulletin also introduces a new process for registrant-based complaints about advertising.
All registrants should review the bulletin as soon as possible.
The changes are intended to:
- Elevate advertising compliance;
- Promote accountability for brokerage advertising among brokers of record; and,
- Encourage registrants to settle more disputes amongst themselves before taking a complaint to RECO.
The changes took effect January 1, 2016.
Oct 14, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will present its annual Housing Outlook Seminar on Thursday, November 12, 2015.
CMHC Regional Economist Ted Tsiakopoulos will speak on the topic of Will I Move or Renovate, Senior Market Analyst Abdul Kargbo will offer an in-depth analysis of Hamilton’s new home, resale and rental markets and Arlene Etchen, Knowledge Transfer Consultant will address the topic of Will Secondary Suites Trend Up?
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Michelangelo Events & Conference Centre
Breakfast: 8 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Seminar: 9 a.m. – 12 noon
Cost
Individual: $50
Table of 6: $225
Hot breakfast, conference materials and HST included.
Educational credits for CAAMP, IMBA, AIC and RECO are available.
For more information or to register, call 1.800.668.2642 or go to www.cmhc.ca/conferenceregistration.
Oct 14, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reports that Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada Justin Trudeau has pledge to modernize the Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP) if elected, by enabling Canadians impacted by significant life changes to access the program and use money from their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSPs) to buy a house without tax penalty.
The HBP is a REALTOR®-driven initiative, introduced by the government as a short-term stimulus measure in 1992 and made a permanent program in 1994. Since its inception, over 2.8 million Canadian have used the HBP to help make home ownership more affordable. The program allows Canadians to borrow, on a repayable basis, from their own RRSPs to purchase a home.
For more information on the Liberal Party of Canada’s announcement, please review the Affordable Housing for Canadians backgrounder on the party’s website.
For more information on CREA’s proposal on this topic, please review CREA’s Support Canadian Workers Through Job Relocation infographic on REALTOR Link®.
Oct 14, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
The CREA Board of Directors approved a series of changes to the rules governing the use of the REALTOR® trademarks at its meeting on August 25, 2015. The purpose of this initiative is to make the use of the marks easier, with a view to increasing proper use and reducing improper use. The changes to CREA’s Rules and Policies will make the use of the REALTOR® trademark simpler and easier to understand. The changes are also intended to reflect the reality of how CREA’s trademarks are used on the Internet. (more…)
Sep 9, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
The Canadian Real Estate Association has updated its FINTRAC (money laundering) resource materials. Changes include
- Clarification on the types of records that need to be kept to satisfy the obligation to keep records of measures taken to monitor a broker’s business relationships.
- Revisions to reflect FINTRAC’s recently published Guidance on the Risk-Based Approach to Combatting Money laundering and Terrorist Financing and the recent Supreme Court of Canada FINTRAC decision with respect to lawyers.
- More information on suspicious transaction records and reports.
- Minor formatting changes to CREA forms.
Revised CREA forms, which incorporate the changes, are available for download now on REALTOR Link® and are now available on WEBForms®.
*****
As a result of a new FINTRAC course developed by the Real Estate Knowledge Network (REvia), CREA will be discontinuing its own Money Laundering 101 course, currently offered by a third party and accessible via REALTOR Link®, as of December 31, 2015.
The new REvia course represents a significant improvement over CREA’s existing course as it is available in both English and French, contains broker and agent streams so that the law is explained in light of specific responsibilities, is more user-friendly, and contains numerous quizzes and helpful examples to help ensure that information members need to know is retained.
For more information about the new REvia course, go to http://www.revia.ca.
Sep 9, 2015 | CREA/OREA/RECO News |
As part of his election platform, Prime Minister Steven Harper announced his intention to increase the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) withdrawal limit from $25,000 to $35,000.
Since its inception in 1992, the HBP has helped 2.8 million Canadians to purchase their first home. Over the 23 years the program has been in place, however, the purchasing power of the HBP has been steadily eroded by inflation. CREA, through it’s annual PAC meetings with MPs, has lobbied for an increase to the withdrawal limit.
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.
