Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Provincial government withdraws self-regulation in real estate

 

Provincial government withdraws self-regulation in real estate

Premier Christy Clark announced today that her government will establish a dedicated superintendent of real estate who’ll take over the Real Estate Council of BC’s regulation and rule-making authority. Clark says that this marks the end of self-regulation in the real estate industry.

We’re reaching out to our contacts at the Council and in government to better understand the implications of this change.

The province also announced plans to:

Reconstitute the Real Estate Council with a majority of public-interest, non-industry members.

Implement the penalties recommended by the IAG, as well as increase fines for unlicensed activity and other offences.

Allow for commissions from licensees engaging in misconduct to be taken back to the council.

Make managing brokers responsible for ensuring the owner of the brokerage don’t engage in the business of the brokerage if the owner is not a licensee.

No longer permit licensees to offer dual agency representation.
 

Here’s the government’s announcement: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016PREM0074-001180

We’ll provide more information on this development as we learn more.
     

 

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Council’s Independent Advisory Group announces 28 recommendations

Council’s Independent Advisory Group announces 28 recommendations

The Real Estate Council of BC’s Independent Advisory Group (IAG) released its final report today outlining 28 recommendations to enhance consumer protection in the real estate profession.   

The recommendations cover several areas within the profession, including dual agency, multiple offers, maximum penalties, entrance requirements, and more. Click here to read the full report.     

“We welcome the Independent Advisory Group’s final report and we support its recommendations,” Dan Morrison, REBGV president said. “We look forward to working with the Real Estate Council of BC to help implement the recommended changes.”     

We released this statement to our media contacts and on social media earlier today. Please share this statement on your social media channels and with your clients.     

The IAG was created on February 22 to examine current regulations and make recommendations to protect the public interest. Here are the IAG’s 28 recommendations:     

Transparency and Ethics

1. The Real Estate Council create a comprehensive Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and require licensees to affirm, in writing, their compliance with the Code as part of regular relicensing requirements.

2. The Real Estate Council amend its Rules to no longer permit licensees engaged in trading services to offer dual agency.

3. The Real Estate Council require licensees to fully disclose and explain their financial and non-financial incentive structures, prior to and on entering into a client relationship.

4. The Real Estate Council require licensees to provide information to consumers which clearly explains the duties owed to consumers by licensees, and how consumers can protect their own interests, before, during, and after they enter a relationship with a licensee.

5. The Real Estate Council focus more attention on the forms and contracts used by licensees, to ensure they reflect an appropriate emphasis on consumer protection and the public interest.

6. Government implement the changes it made to contracts used by licensees, requiring seller consent to contract assignments by the buyer, to all forms of contract for trades in real estate whether or not the contracts are prepared by licensees.

7. The Real Estate Council require all licensee disclosures of interests in trade be reviewed and approved by a licensee’s managing broker and subsequently filed at regular intervals with the Real Estate Council.

8. The Real Estate Council amend its Rules to prohibit a licensee from acquiring a direct or indirect interest in their own listing.

9. The Real Estate Council require that all offers received by a seller’s agent in relation to a trade in real estate, be promptly filed with that agent’s managing broker and be retained at the brokerage for review by the Real Estate Council on demand.     

Compliance and Consequences

10. The Real Estate Council apply more stringent suitability assessment criteria to prospective licensees.

11. The Real Estate Council impose an explicit duty on managing brokers to report licensee misconduct to the Council, and explicit duty on licensees to report misconduct to their managing broker, when that misconduct places the public at risk.

12. The Real Estate Council implement confidential reporting channels (for example, reporting hotlines or whistle-blower programs) for industry and the public, to facilitate reporting of licensee misconduct.

13. The Real Estate Council use existing regulatory powers to encourage licensee compliance with all rules that govern their conduct, including those of other legal and regulatory regimes.

14. The Real Estate Council increase its proactive detection and deterrence efforts for licensees who engage in, aid, or abet aggressive marketing and sales practices that target vulnerable members of the public.

15. The Real Estate Council increase the focus on licensee conduct examinations in its brokerage auditing program.

16. Government increase maximum disciplinary penalties available to the Real Estate Council to $250,000 for individual licensee misconduct and $500,000 for brokerage misconduct, and increase administrative penalties to a maximum of $50,000.

17. Government amend the Act to enable the Real Estate Council to disgorge the proceeds of misconduct from licensees and brokerages.

18. The Real Estate Council improve the transparency of its complaints and disciplinary process, and the resulting outcomes.     

Governance and Structure

19. Government amend the Act to require that 50% of Council members be non-industry members.

20. Government amend the Act to make the regulation of both licensed and unlicensed real estate services the responsibility of a single regulator, the Real Estate Council.

21. Government increase the Superintendent of Real Estate’s oversight of the Real Estate Council including periodic independent assessments of Council’s performance against its mandate.

22. The Real Estate Council strengthen the requirements for managing brokers to have active and direct oversight over licensees.

23. Government implement a “fit and proper” standard for brokerage ownership.

24. The Real Estate Council require record keeping and reporting that would assist it to identify industry practices that may be placing consumers at risk.     

Licensee and Public Education

25. The Real Estate Council undertake a comprehensive review of licensing education and testing requirements to raise entry standards.

26. The Real Estate Council implement mandatory continuing education with content and testing that reinforces a licensee’s ethical obligations, conduct requirements, and duties to consumers.

27. The Real Estate Council make its complaints process more publicly accessible and easier to navigate.

28. The Real Estate Council significantly increase and improve its public education and awareness efforts.

We’ll have more coverage and analysis on these recommendations in the weeks to come.

 

Monday, June 27, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Understanding the new assignment regulations

The provincial government announced new rules regulating contract assignments, effective May 16, 2016.
Real estate contracts are now required to include two terms: one that requires the seller's consent to assign the contract, and one that requires that any profit from an assignment goes to the original seller. Clients can instruct REALTORS® to omit or change these clauses.
The buyer's Realtor is also required to inform the seller if one, or both, of these clauses are removed from their offer. The seller's Realtor must also disclose if the proposed contract is assignable or not - including any conditions that would be applicable to the assignment.
Be aware, if you're a seller and a buyer requests you waive the assignment clause, they may be looking to re-sell your property before the contract completes. If you have questions, talk to your Realtor or legal advisor before you sign anything.



To protect yourself as a buyer in an assignment deal, make sure that: 

  1. you work with a REALTOR®. Your REALTOR® will help protect your interests and bring knowledge of the provincial legislation that governs real estate transactions.
  2. the original Contract of Purchase and Sale has the mandated assignment clause requiring the seller's approval before it can be assigned;
  3. the original seller is aware of, and approves of, the assignment;
  4. if there is profit from the assignment, the profit reverts back to the seller unless otherwise specified in the original Contract of Purchase and Sale;
  5. the property is or was listed for sale;
  6. the identity of every individual involved in the transaction has been verified;
  7. all money already paid and owed is accounted for and dealt with in the assignment contract;
  8. you understand the additional risk associated with paying the assignment fee before the original contract is finalized; and
  9. you consult an accountant to understand the tax implications.



Friday, June 24, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Finding you a Happy Home is my commitment to you, it is not only just a roof."

https://vimeo.com/172133727  





"Finding you a Happy Home is my commitment to you, It's not only just a roof."

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your professional real estate services.

Let Maria show you 
A drop of her true colour 
and start our happy journey together!

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Finding you a Happy Home is my commitment to you, It's not only just a roof."

https://vimeo.com/172133727  





"Finding you a Happy Home is my commitment to you, It's not only just a roof."

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your professional real estate services.

Let Maria show you 
A drop of her true colour 
and start our happy journey together!

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Finding you a Happy Home is my commitment to you, It's not only just a roof."

https://vimeo.com/172133727  

"Finding you a Happy Home is my commitment to you, It's not only just a roof."

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty for all your professional real estate services.

Let Maria show you 
A drop of her true colour 
and start our joyful journey together!

www.mariamak.com

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - a touch of my true colour

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - a touch of my true colour

I am a resource for ...
"Finding you a Happy Home - One Stop, One Home. After all it's not just a roof!"


Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty now for all your professional real estate services and start our wonderful happy journey together.


Maria will show her true colour in marketing your home sweet home. She has been serving her clients in Metro Vancouver for over 27 years with a big heart and with a big smile.
Visit her website www.mariamak.com, you'll be smiling too!
www.mariamak.com

Monday, June 6, 2016

Burnaby Real Estate Blog - Maria Mak - Greater Vancouver Home Prices up Nearly 30% Since Last May: REBGV

Greater Vancouver Home Prices up Nearly 30% Since Last May: REBGV

Residential real estate sales rise 17.6 per cent year-over-year, as demand continues to skyrocket, reports board

Joannah Connolly REW.ca
June 2, 2016
Vancouver Yaletown park

Greater Vancouver’s home sales in May were up 17.6 per cent compared with the same month last year, although slightly down compared with March and April, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported June 2.
Last month the region’s residential real estate sales were 35.3 per cent above the 10-year sales average for May, but 0.3 per cent lower than April's figures and again falling shy of March 2016’s all-time high.
The benchmark price of a home (composite property types) across all of Greater Vancouver set another new record, at $889,100 – a 29.7 per cent rise over May 2015. However, this number masks massive variations in typical prices between cities and neighbourhoods.
However, there was some good news in terms on inventory. The number of homes newly listed on the Greater Vancouver market increased, by 11.5 per cent compared with May 2015, to 6,289, which was also slightly higher than April 2016. This increase in new listings meant that total active listings at the end of May were higher than April’s active listings, although it was still down more than a third year over year, as demand continued to skyrocket.

Sales and Listings

May’s residential real estate sales total
led 4,769, a rise of 17.3 per cent year over year, but 0.3 per cent lower than April when 4,781 units were sold across the region. That April figure was a drop of 7.6 cent compared with March 2016, when an all-time high of 5,173 homes were sold in Greater Vancouver.
Broken down by property type, 1,865 single-family homes exchanged hands in May, which is a rise of 8.2 per cent from the 1,723 sales recorded in April 2015, but a 5.8 per cent drop compared with April’s 1,979 detached house sales.
Unlike in April, townhouse and other attached home transactions also increased year over year in May, totalling 754 sales. This was a lift of 2.9 per cent over the 733 units in May 2015, and a jump of 9.9 per cent compared with April’s 695 townhome sales.
Condo-apartment unit sales continued to see blistering annual increases, as 2,150 units exchanged hands in May 2016, a leap of 34.4 per cent compared with the 1,600 sales in May 2015. This was also a two per cent increase over April 2016’s figure or 2,107 sales.
Property inventory expanded somewhat in May, with new listings for all home types in Metro Vancouver up 11.5 per cent to 6,289, compared with the 5,641 properties listed in May 2015. This was a rise of 2.6 per cent compared with the 6,127 new listings in April 2016.
The improvement meant that total active listings as of the end of May were 7,726, up 2.3 per cent compared with April’s active listings, although the figure was still down 37.3 per cent year over year.
The sales-to-active listings ratio in Greater Vancouver as of May 2016 stands at 61.7 per cent. This is now the 15th consecutive month of the sales-to-active-listings ratio being above 30 per cent in Metro Vancouver – the percentage that indicates a strong seller’s market.
“Home sellers are becoming more active in recent months, although that activity is being outpaced by home buyer demand today,” said Dan Morrison, REBGV president.

Benchmark Prices

The combined residential property type benchmark price in Metro Vancouver raised the bar again in May, at $889,100 – a year-over-year rise of 29.7 per cent.
The region’s typical detached home is now priced at $1,513,800, a hike of 36.9 per cent compared with the same month last year, and yet again the sharpest price rise of all the home types. This was a rise of nearly 8 per cent since just the previous month. Again, these figures mask wide variation between areas, with Vancouver West’s family homes selling for a typical $3.4 million, and prices going down to a typical $445,000 on the Sunshine Coast.
Townhome or other attached unit benchmark prices in Greater Vancouver increased 24.9 per cent over May 2015 to $632,400, up 3.9 per cent compared with April.
Condo-apartment benchmark prices rose 22.3 per cent from May 2015 to $485,000. This property type increased in price by 2.1 per cent compared with April. West Vancouver posted the highest condo prices in May at $851,800, with condos in Maple Ridge typically going for $187,100.
Home prices vary widely throughout the REBGV region. To get a good idea of home prices in a specific location, check the detailed MLS® Home Price Index in the REBGV full statistics package. 



Joannah Connolly is the editor and content manager of REW.ca and Real Estate Weekly newspaper, and editor-in-chief of Western Investor and West Coast Condominium. She also moonlights as the host of the Real Estate Therapist call-in show on Roundhouse Radio 98.3FM every Saturday, 9-10am. A dual Canadian-British citizen, Joannah has nearly 20 years of media experience in Vancouver and London, with a background in construction, architecture and business media. Like many of the residents of her newly adopted town, Joannah has a decidedly unhealthy passion for Vancouver real estate and is often to be found scouring property listings well above her pay grade.
- See more at: http://www.rew.ca/news/greater-vancouver-home-prices-up-nearly-30-since-last-may-rebgv-1.2269803#sthash.1iVgkpZQ.dpuf

Residential real estate sales rise 17.6 per cent year-over-year, as demand continues to skyrocket, reports board

Joannah Connolly REW.ca
June 2, 2016
Vancouver Yaletown park

Greater Vancouver’s home sales in May were up 17.6 per cent compared with the same month last year, although slightly down compared with March and April, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported June 2.
Last month the region’s residential real estate sales were 35.3 per cent above the 10-year sales average for May, but 0.3 per cent lower than April's figures and again falling shy of March 2016’s all-time high.
The benchmark price of a home (composite property types) across all of Greater Vancouver set another new record, at $889,100 – a 29.7 per cent rise over May 2015. However, this number masks massive variations in typical prices between cities and neighbourhoods.
However, there was some good news in terms on inventory. The number of homes newly listed on the Greater Vancouver market increased, by 11.5 per cent compared with May 2015, to 6,289, which was also slightly higher than April 2016. This increase in new listings meant that total active listings at the end of May were higher than April’s active listings, although it was still down more than a third year over year, as demand continued to skyrocket.

Sales and Listings

May’s residential real estate sales total
led 4,769, a rise of 17.3 per cent year over year, but 0.3 per cent lower than April when 4,781 units were sold across the region. That April figure was a drop of 7.6 cent compared with March 2016, when an all-time high of 5,173 homes were sold in Greater Vancouver.
Broken down by property type, 1,865 single-family homes exchanged hands in May, which is a rise of 8.2 per cent from the 1,723 sales recorded in April 2015, but a 5.8 per cent drop compared with April’s 1,979 detached house sales.
Unlike in April, townhouse and other attached home transactions also increased year over year in May, totalling 754 sales. This was a lift of 2.9 per cent over the 733 units in May 2015, and a jump of 9.9 per cent compared with April’s 695 townhome sales.
Condo-apartment unit sales continued to see blistering annual increases, as 2,150 units exchanged hands in May 2016, a leap of 34.4 per cent compared with the 1,600 sales in May 2015. This was also a two per cent increase over April 2016’s figure or 2,107 sales.
Property inventory expanded somewhat in May, with new listings for all home types in Metro Vancouver up 11.5 per cent to 6,289, compared with the 5,641 properties listed in May 2015. This was a rise of 2.6 per cent compared with the 6,127 new listings in April 2016.
The improvement meant that total active listings as of the end of May were 7,726, up 2.3 per cent compared with April’s active listings, although the figure was still down 37.3 per cent year over year.
The sales-to-active listings ratio in Greater Vancouver as of May 2016 stands at 61.7 per cent. This is now the 15th consecutive month of the sales-to-active-listings ratio being above 30 per cent in Metro Vancouver – the percentage that indicates a strong seller’s market.
“Home sellers are becoming more active in recent months, although that activity is being outpaced by home buyer demand today,” said Dan Morrison, REBGV president.

Benchmark Prices

The combined residential property type benchmark price in Metro Vancouver raised the bar again in May, at $889,100 – a year-over-year rise of 29.7 per cent.
The region’s typical detached home is now priced at $1,513,800, a hike of 36.9 per cent compared with the same month last year, and yet again the sharpest price rise of all the home types. This was a rise of nearly 8 per cent since just the previous month. Again, these figures mask wide variation between areas, with Vancouver West’s family homes selling for a typical $3.4 million, and prices going down to a typical $445,000 on the Sunshine Coast.
Townhome or other attached unit benchmark prices in Greater Vancouver increased 24.9 per cent over May 2015 to $632,400, up 3.9 per cent compared with April.
Condo-apartment benchmark prices rose 22.3 per cent from May 2015 to $485,000. This property type increased in price by 2.1 per cent compared with April. West Vancouver posted the highest condo prices in May at $851,800, with condos in Maple Ridge typically going for $187,100.
Home prices vary widely throughout the REBGV region. To get a good idea of home prices in a specific location, check the detailed MLS® Home Price Index in the REBGV full statistics package. 



Joannah Connolly is the editor and content manager of REW.ca and Real Estate Weekly newspaper, and editor-in-chief of Western Investor and West Coast Condominium. She also moonlights as the host of the Real Estate Therapist call-in show on Roundhouse Radio 98.3FM every Saturday, 9-10am. A dual Canadian-British citizen, Joannah has nearly 20 years of media experience in Vancouver and London, with a background in construction, architecture and business media. Like many of the residents of her newly adopted town, Joannah has a decidedly unhealthy passion for Vancouver real estate and is often to be found scouring property listings well above her pay grade.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Burnaby Real Estate Blog - Maria Mak - President Dan Morrison issued the following statement regarding anarticle in today's Globe and Mail:

President Dan Morrison issued the following statement regarding an article in today's Globe and Mail:

Statement on Gary Mason article in today's Globe and Mail

In his column today, Gary Mason assumes recent allegations in the media about the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver are true. They are not. He failed to ask us for our perspective.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is a not-for-profit professional association that represents over 12,800 realtors in the region. We have a long history of advocating in the interest of home owners, buyers and sellers. We support stronger public protections and measures to improve affordability. We help our members serve the real estate needs of their communities. And we enforce a code of ethics and standards of business practices.
We understand that one of our members contacted the media to express concern that he was not re-appointed to our professional conduct committee, which oversees enforcement of our code of ethics and business practices. The same member believes we made this decision because he's been calling for reforms. The facts say otherwise.
Our organization makes numerous volunteer committee appointments each year based on qualifications, diversity, office composition, performance, and experience. We followed our normal rigorous process in the case at hand. When our member learned about the decision not to re-appoint him, he called several people on our Board of Directors to have it overturned. He also threatened to go to the media. We took great care to review the situation and chose to support the original decision. 
The public is best served by fair and even-handed reporting of issues. Having not had the opportunity to give our perspective, we offer it here. For Mr. Mason to characterize the values of our association without speaking with us demonstrates bias.
Dan Morrison
President, REBGV