Area Maps – RAHB Average Price by District for June
MLS® In Brief
“PENDING SALE” STATUS CHANGED TO “SOLD” STATUS
– Effective August 1, 2012
When MLXchange was introduced in December 2004, “Pending Sale” status (a firm sale that has not closed) was adopted by RAHB as the new status default. Listings where a firm sale has been accepted are reported as a “Pending Sale” until the closing date at which time the system automatically changes the status to “Sold”.
With the introduction of Fusion and the joint MLS® database for RAHB and Niagara, and in an effort to offer consistent reporting methods for both Associations, “pending sale” status will be removed and all sales will be reported as “sold”.
This change becomes effective August 1, 2012, at which time all firm sales are to be reported as “SO” (SOLD) under the Status field.
Area Maps – RAHB Average Price by District for May
Low inventory of listings; average residential sale price still higher than one year ago
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1552 property sales through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) for the month of May. RAHB also reported an 8.6 per cent increase in average sale price for the month compared to May of last year.
Seasonally adjusted* sales of residential properties were one per cent lower than the same month last year, with the average sale price increasing 6.1 per cent for the month. Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings, however, were 16.3 per cent lower than the same month last year.
Listing inventory continues to be down across the board when compared to the same month last year. The number of active listings at month end is almost 900 fewer than were active at the same time last year.
“This is almost exactly the same market we reported last month,” said RAHB President Cameron Nolan. “with less inventory, higher average sale prices and listings that move more quickly than last year at the same time.”
The condominium market is the only sector that saw a small decrease in average sale price for the month. The same market also experienced the most significant decrease in listing inventory compared to the previous year: the 526 active listings represent a 27.6 per cent decrease from May of last year.
“The residential resale market is strong in our market area,” added Nolan. “and we expect to see the same kinds of results while interest rates remain low.”
Year to date, residential listing inventory is just over 20 per cent down from the same January-to-May period last year. Sales are just over one per cent higher year to date, and average sale prices have risen 7.7 per cent over the same five-month period.
Every community in RAHB’s marketing area has their own localized residential market. Please refer to the accompanying chart for residential market activities in select areas of RAHB’s jurisdiction.
*Seasonal adjustment removes normal seasonal variations, enabling analysis of monthly changes and fundamental trends in the data.
MLS® Updates
Report sales promptly
RAHB has received a number of reports from members that when they attempt to make appointments to show listed properties, they are advised that the property has sold, even though the MLS® listing is still shown as being active.
Members are reminded that RAHB MLS® Rules and Regulations require that sales be reported within two business days:
Section 9 – Reporting of Sales
9.01… Accordingly, the Listing Brokerage will report by Broker Load all sales and conditional sales for Broker Loaded MLS® Listings effected during the Listing term and during the holdover period of an MLS® Listing, within two (2) Association business days following written acceptance of any Offer by the Seller. If the MLS® Listing is Board Loaded, the sale or conditional sale must be submitted in writing within two (2) Association business days following written acceptance of any Offer by the Seller…
The penalties for failure to report sales, per calendar year, are as follows:
First offence in a year – warning letter
Second offence – $100 fine
Third offence – $250 fine
Subsequent offences – $400 fine per occurrence
Part of the value of the MLS® system is that it contains up-to-date, accurate information about sales of listed properties. When members fail to report sales promptly, it affects other members’ ability to perform searches and receive reports which provide the most current information.
New Features in GeoWarehouse
GeoWarehouse has launched three new features that will enhance your GeoWarehouse experience:
- New Google Maps™ Street View Address overlay and Street view PIN navigation;
- New GeoWarehouse Communications and Resources website. This will give you easy access to a new resource section, new instructional videos, new FAQs and a host of new online training and data resources; and
- New extended GeoWarehouse Store hours. You will now be able to access Parcel Registers, Instrument plans and Image plans during these hours:
Monday to Thursday – 4 a.m. to 12 a.m. (midnight)
Friday – 4 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday- 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday – 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Access to GeoWarehouse and OpenHouses.ca for Members Only
According to RAHB’s agreement with Teranet, only licensed members of the association may access GeoWarehouse.
Members who share their login credentials with their assistants or office administrators to allow them to conduct searches on the member’s behalf are both violating the terms of use of GeoWarehouse and contravening RAHB’s Rules and Regulations about sharing login credentials.
Likewise, only members are authorized to access OpenHouses.ca, and sharing login information with office assistants or administrators is a violation of RAHB’s Rules and Regulations
Area Maps – RAHB Average Price by District for April
Low Inventory of Listings; Average Sale Price Continues to Rise
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1454 property sales through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) for the month of April. RAHB also reported a 9.6 per cent increase in average sale price for the month compared to April of last year. (more…)
MLS® In Brief
What is Considered Contact Information?
There seems to be some confusion over what is considered personal contact information. The MLS® Policies state:
MISCELLANEOUS
5. No personal contact information relating to the REALTOR® may appear in the REALTOR® remarks section of a listing. If the REALTORS® personal contact information is included, MLS® staff is to remove it and a $50 fine levied to the Brokerage.
Where the seller directs the listing REALTOR® in writing to do so, the seller’s contact information may appear in the REALTOR® only remarks (non-public) section of the listing on the Association’s MLS® system.
6. No personal contact information relating to the REALTOR® with the exception of a direction to visit the REALTOR®’s website to obtain more information may appear in the internet ad copy/public remarks. If the REALTORS® personal contact information or specific website address, with the exception of a direction to the REALTOR’S® website, is included, MLS® staff will remove it and a $50 fine be levied to the Brokerage.
Members who place any of the following information in the REALTOR® remarks or Public Remarks (Internet Ad Copy) will be fined $50 for each offence:
- Member’s first name
- Member’s last name
- Member’s full name
- Member’s office name
- Member’s phone number
- Member’s cell number
- Any toll free/office numbers which direct the public to the  member or member’s Brokerage
- Member’s email address
- Any links to the Member’s personal or office website
Members with questions about this MLS® Policy should contact Pam at 905.529.8101 x281.
REMINDER Conditional Sales
You are reminded it is not mandatory for Niagara members to report conditional sales. Â Please keep this in mind when you are trying to book an appointment for showing or submitting an offer for any listings beginning with an (N).
New Clauses for Wind Turbines
Members who work in areas where wind turbines are present should be aware that OREA has published two clauses that deal specifically with wind turbines.  The clauses are found in WEBForms™ and are titled GREEN 04 – Renewable Energy Projects and GREEN 06 – Wind Turbines – Warranty.
MLS® Updates
Board ID in search window
Have you noticed that “Board ID†is now a search criterion in MLXchange and Fusion? By using “Board IDâ€, you can specify which listings you wish to view by selecting one or both Associations.
Selecting “H†for Hamilton-Burlington, “N†for Niagara or both “H†and “N†will determine which listings will appear in your results window. However, if you select only one, you may be missing results if members from the other Association have listed properties within your search criteria. If you wish to see all listings from both Associations in your results, simply leaving this criteria blank will also give you all results from both Associations.
New LIVE CHAT feature available
A new “Live Chat†feature is available in both MLXchange and Fusion. This feature can be used when you require computer support.
To use “Live Chatâ€, look under the “Help†File/Tab for the “Live Chat†icon. Click on the button to connect to computer support during the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.,
Monday to Friday.
OREA Listing Agreements
OREA Listing Agreements are now in stock in the Realty Shoppe. RAHB will advise members via Message of the Day (MOD) when the form is available on WEBForms.
Please note that RAHB will accept OREA’s 2011 forms until February 29, 2012. After that date, only the new OREA Listing Agreement dated 2012 will be accepted.
No need for Acess Listings between RAHB and NAR
Now that RAHB and NAR share a common MLS® database, there is no longer a need for access listings between the two associations. As a result, and to avoid duplication of listings, NAR and RAHB have cancelled ouststanding access listings from their respective associations.
Stats Changes – Seasonally adjusted data
Members will notice a few changes have been made to the statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton Burlington.
(more…)
Low inventory of listings in Greater Hamilton, Burlington and outlying areas
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 819 property sales through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) for the month of January, representing a 10.8 per cent increase in sales over the same month last year.  RAHB also reported that 7.7 per cent fewer listings were taken in the month of January of this year compared to January of last year.
(more…)
Area Maps – RAHB Average Price by District for January
