RECO has a new app
RECO unveiled its new mobile app, MyRECO Certificate, at its annual general meeting on June 19. (more…)
Real Estate News – National Association of REALTORS® looking for Canadians
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is inviting Canadian REALTORS® to attend the 2014 REALTORS® Conference & Expo from November 7-10, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (more…)
OREA News – “Emerge” into the future!
OREA’s Emerge “Moving you Forward with the Tools for Tomorrow” is a dynamic conference series aimed at REALTORS® engaged in improving their business. Bolstered by its success in 2013, OREA is offering EMERGE in six locations across the province in 2014: (more…)
CREA Updates Resale Housing Forecast
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 2014 and 2015.
Extraordinarily bleak winter weather made for a slow start to 2014 national sales activity. As the first quarter ended, sales momentum heading into spring was constrained by a continuing shortage of listings in a number of local markets. The rise in newly listed properties in April and May supported an increase in sales activity.
The deferral of sales and listings reflects a delayed start to the spring home buying season, with combined sales for the period from March to May coming in largely as anticipated and at average levels. These deferrals are now likely to have been largely depleted, which suggests that the strength of sales momentum heading into the summer may be transient.
Read more.
Canadian home sales up in May
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity posted a sizeable month-over-month increase in May 2014.
Highlights:
- National home sales rose 5.9% from April to May.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 4.8% above May 2013 levels.
- The number of newly listed homes climbed 3.8% from April to May.
- The Canadian housing market remains in balanced territory.
- The national average sale price rose 7.1% on a year-over-year basis in May.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.0% year-over-year in May.
The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations rose 5.9 per cent from April to May 2014. This marks the largest month-over-month increase in nearly four years.
Read more
OREA News – “Emerge” into your future!
OREA’s Emerge “Moving you Forward with the Tools for Tomorrow” is a dynamic conference series aimed at REALTORS® engaged in improving their business. Bolstered by its success in 2013, OREA is offering EMERGE in six locations across the province in 2014:
Friday, June 20 Northern: Thunder Bay
Monday, September 8 Northeastern: Muskoka
Thursday, September 25 Central: Markham
Thursday, October 9 Southern: St. Catharines
Wednesday, October 29 Western: London
Thursday, November 13 Eastern: Kanata
Registration is now open and the fees are as follows:
- Early bird pricing (3 weeks before the event)
o Members: $59 +tax
o Non-members: $89 +tax.
- Regular pricing
o Members: $79 +tax
o Non-members: $109 +tax.
For more information on EMERGE, go to https://www.orea.com/emerge or contact OREA at [email protected].
Government Relations Update – CREA PAC Days
RAHB volunteers and staff travelled to Ottawa in May to meet with local MPs to discuss issues that matter to REALTORS®. This year’s conference focussed on making housing more affordable by indexing the Home Buyers’ Plan and extending it to people going through major life changes. RAHB representatives met with Chris Charlton, Wayne Marston and Mike Wallace, and received positive feedback about the proposals. (more…)
RECO News
Congratulation to RAHB past president Rebecca Ryder on her acclamation as the Region 2 Director to the RECO Board.
Canadian home sales edge slightly higher in March
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity edged up on a month-over-month basis in March 2014.
Highlights:
- National home sales rose 1.0% from February to March.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 4.9% above March 2013 levels.
- The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.5% from February to March.
- The Canadian housing market remains in balanced territory.
- The national average sale price rose 6.0% on a year-over-year basis in March.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.2% year-over-year in March.
The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations edged up one per cent from February to March 2014. This builds on the monthly gain of 0.6 per cent the previous month, but leaves activity closer to the low reached in January 2014 than to the most recent peak reached in August 2013.
Read more
In the News — Anti-spam legislation
Canada’s anti-spam legislation will take effect July 1, 2014. (more…)
CREA News
Have you seen the new CREA television ads?
See all three versions of this year’s television ad campaign:
http://www.realtorlink.ca/portal/server.pt/community/tv_campaigns/
1066/television_ads/154234
New CREA FINTRAC resource materials help simplify compliance
New resource materials are available to help members more easily comply with FINTRAC obligations, including the new regulatory requirements that took effect on February 1, 2014.
CREA’s resource materials include the new comprehensive Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and Regulations 2014 Compliance Regime manual that explains obligations – both existing and new — in a user-friendly, fill-in-the-blank format. Of note, section 3.1.2.11 of the manual specifically pertains to the new regulations. Once completed and tailored to the brokerage’s business, this manual can be used to satisfy FINTRAC’s requirement for documentation of a brokerage’s policies and procedures.
Revised CREA forms, which incorporate the new requirements, are available for download on REALTOR Link® and will be available shortly in WEBForms®. CREA’s FINTRAC FAQ has also been updated with instructions on how brokers may wish to implement the new forms into their brokerage. Through an easy-to-implement format, these new materials complement the over two years of lobbying, which resulted in ten changes and clarifications that significantly and substantively reduce the administrative burden of the new regulations.
All new FINTRAC material is available in REALTOR Link®
– http://realtorlink.ca/portal/server.pt/gateway/
PTARGS_0_138284_3837_597_87480_43/http%3B/
wcipublisher%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/
national_shared_resources/compliance__centre/money_laundering.htm
RECO News
RECO elections
Voting for RECO directors will begin the week of April 7. Members should watch for an email from “@cpucommunications.com” with the subject line “RECO Election of Directors – Online Voting” for their voter control number and a link to the virtual ballot centre. Members who have trouble finding the email or logging in to vote should contact Shirley Tom at Computershare – 1.800.564.6253; be sure to mention you are a voter in the RECO election.
Candidates’ bios and videos will be available on www.reco.on.ca.
This just in!
Rebecca Ryder, Broker of Record of Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services, is seeking re-election as Region 2 Director on the RECO Board. Rebecca is a past president of RAHB and is asking for RAHB members to support her in her bid for re-election.