Broker Update, February 9, 2024
REBGV becomes GVR on Monday!
As Chair Jennifer Quart and I announced yesterday, we’re proud to announce that the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) name and brand is officially changing.
Beginning Monday, February 12, REBGV will become known as Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR).
Read the full announcement here.
We’ll send an email to all members on Monday morning with updated links for our websites and social media accounts. Note that our existing (REBGV) websites, and our REBGV email addresses will redirect to our new sites, but our social media links will not so make sure to update your links to our updated social media accounts.
While we appreciate opinions will vary about the creative elements of any new brand, it’s important to note that we followed best practices at ever step of this initiative and worked with a well-regarded design and advertising firm with considerable re-branding experience and expertise.
This change seeks to strategically position us to better achieve our long-term goals around professionalism and innovation in real estate.
We will share more context around this decision, including having video interviews with the designers and senior staff involved, to provide more insights around this change.
In the meantime, we ask for you to keep an open mind about this change before learning more and seeing different ways that this brand can be applied across different channels.
I'm excited about the future and the impact Greater Vancouver REALTORS® will have on our community starting Monday and for generations to come. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us.
Legal representation regarding proposed class action
As we communicated to all members last week, a proposed class action was commenced on January 18, 2024 against the REBGV and about 100 other real estate boards and certain brokerages and franchisors across Canada that alleges that the operation of the respective boards’ MLS® violates the Competition Act.
We intend to vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations. To that end, we have retained legal counsel at DLA Piper with expertise in competition law.
We know some of your companies are among those named in this case and some of you are beginning to be served with legal papers.
As you contemplate your next steps in response to this legal action, I want to extend the opportunity for your legal counsel to connect with ours to discuss this matter further under the appropriate legal parameters.
If this is of interest to your company, feel free to email us at communications@rebgv.org and request a meeting.
Please note that this message is being sent under the common interest privilege and, as such, should be treated with confidentiality.
Broker feedback needed: New sales statuses on Paragon
We're adding new statuses for sales on Paragon and we're looking for feedback from our broker community and your conveyancers.
Join us to share your thoughts in one of our online focus groups in February. You can join any of these sessions:
- Tuesday, February 20 at 2 pm
- Thursday, February 22 at 10 am
- Friday, February 23 at 10 am
All sessions will last approximately one hour.
Background
We’ll add three new statuses this spring to help us bring more transparency to the transaction process and align with real estate boards and associations across Canada and the United States.
They are:
- Active Under Contract: Covers the time from when an offer has been accepted but there are still subjects on the offer waiting to be removed. Members will have the ability to update their listing to this status themselves and it will be optional pending a conversation between them and their seller.
- Pending: Covers the time from when subjects have been removed from a conditional offer, or an unconditional offer has been accepted. This will replace our current 'Sold' status and will be updated by MLS staff. Members are obligated to alert us to a sale within five days of it becoming unconditional.
- Closed: When the title has been transferred and the property now has a new owner. This will be updated automatically using the Completion Date field value entered when MLS® staff process the sale. We're developing an automated email to be sent a week before the completion date to alert the member of the upcoming completion and to ask them to let us know if anything has since changed.
To book your focus group, email your preferred date to James Lindow at jlindow@rebgv.org. We’ll send you more information ahead of your focus group once you’ve been booked.
Review the latest disciplinary decisions in your office
Stay on top of the work your Board does to uphold and enforce professional standards within the profession and resolve disputes between members.
Our Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) investigates alleged member breaches of the Realtor Code and our Rules of Cooperation. Review the PCC’s latest ruling (C20-08 Hearing Decision and Notice of Expulsion).
Our Arbitration Committee seeks to resolve disputes between members. Review their latest rulings (Arbitration Case #175).
Attend CREA’s online session on recent FINTRAC updates
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) recently revised and updated FINTRAC forms and templates.
They’re holding a free online info session to offer further insights and answer questions about these latest updates. It’s happening on Thursday, February 22 at 11 am.
The session will be moderated by CREA General Counsel Simon Parham. Read his recent post on these changes for more information.
CREA will record the session and we’ll share one as soon as it’s available.
Watch and share REBGV’s 2024 market forecasts
REBGV’s Director of Economics and Data Analytics, Andrew Lis, recently released his 2024 market forecasts for Greater Vancouver’s residential and commercial markets. He also hosted two online presentations to go through the forecasts in more detail and answer questions from attendees.
Read the forecasts and watch recordings of Andrew's events here.