In response to a demographic and socioeconomic shift towards sustainable transportation and to deliver the information that at least 59% of surveyed  consumers would find valuable when assessing listings on REALTOR.ca, at the end of October select listings on REALTOR.ca will include a Transit Score®.

The addition of this new feature also coincides with the change in the implementation of the already popular Walk Score®. Both scores will now be positioned in the new "Walk Score® + Directions" tab, rather than at the bottom of the listing details page.

What you need to know:

• Both Walk Score® and Transit Score® will be accessible to visitors from the "Walk Score® + Directions"" tab on the Property Details page.
• If scores are available for that location, they will be revealed to visitors only after they request to see them
• Transit Score® is provided by the same supplier as Walk Score®, and will be available for select Canadian urban areas. Presence of public transit in your city does not automatically mean that your listings will have Transit Score®.
• Implementation of Transit Score® on REALTOR.ca mobile apps has been considered and will be addressed in the future

Alternate feature sheet
The recommendation to reposition the alternate feature sheet, as presented at the March AGM was recently approved by the CREA Board of Directors.

All consumers will be presented with a new REALTOR.ca feature sheet from the thumbnail to improve the consistency of the experience on REALTOR.ca. The alternate feature sheet will now be accessible from the new REALTOR.ca feature sheet as an additional option for consumers seeking more information about a particular listing. These call outs to the REALTOR® alternate feature sheet will be collapsed if there is none provided. You will also note that Walk Score® will no longer be displayed on the listing; it will be placed in a tab, like demographics.

No changes are required to the upload by Boards/Associations.

These changes are scheduled to be in place in December 2015.

TREB is looking to improve your REALTOR® QUEST experience by offering a trade show, speakers, professional development sessions, networking and other content that both appeals to you and will help you succeed in your business. But to do this, we need to hear your opinion by completing this 1-minute survey. As a thank you for completing this short survey, you may enter your name in a draw to WIN ONE OF TEN $50 VISA CARDS.

Note: Winners will be drawn on November 19, 2015 and will be notified via their email address on record with TREB.

Click here to complete the survey.

Thank you!

The last shipment has arrived. Don't delay! Now is the time to order your 2016 magnetic business card calendars for early delivery. Just peel and stick to keep your business card in the spotlight all year long.

The 14-month calendar runs from November 2015 to December 2016 so mail them early! Two styles to choose from: "Happy Holidays" or "Home Sweet Home."

Don't be disappointed, order now!

Pick them up in our REALTOR® STORE or have them delivered to your office with applicable delivery charges.

Invest in the skills that will pay you back many times over! Back by popular demand, CCIM reintroduces its industry-leading Advanced Negotiation Workshop, led by international negotiation expert John Shulman. You will master these skills and more:

• Rescue deals that appear lost
• Close deals that are dragging on
• Overcome difficult people and situations
• Demonstrate your value to clients
• Gain an edge over others in the industry

CLASS INFORMATION

Date and Time 
Nov. 9-10, 2015, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
  
Location 
Toronto Real Estate Board, 1400 Don Mills Road Toronto, ON M3B 3 Canada 

Tuition 
$995 for CCIM Institute members* 
$1,145 for Realtors 
$1,245 for non-members

*SPECIAL DISCOUNT 
CCIM members who have taken one-day Negotiations or Online Negotiations courses are eligible for a $100 discount. Enter  code ANW_DSCNT at registration to receive the discount.

REGISTER NOW

Register by phone at (800) 621-7027, option 2.

PLUS: Gain access to complimentary software and online negotiation games. A $250 Value.

A Member has reported an incident in which an individual followed and verbally assaulted her as she removed open house signs in the vicinity of her listing.

The Member was approached by a couple (male and female) in a car as she removed an open house sign in Markham. After particularly strong verbal abuse and spitting, the couple followed the Member to two other sign locations, continuing to berate and threaten her as she removed the signs. She was very concerned that this would escalate to physical violence, as the man proceeded to take pictures of her car and signs. The couple then left, with no other activity noted thereafter.

TREB advises all Members to make sure all safety precautions are taken before, during and after open houses:

• Make sure you check your cell phone's battery strength and signal prior to the open house and carry an extra, fully charged cell phone battery. Always have a plug-in charger in the car just in case.
• Lock your car and keep personal or business information in the trunk.
• Have emergency numbers programmed on speed dial and keep your phone in your hand or pocket. Add an ICE (In Case of Emergency) number to your contacts, which should be your spouse or next of kin.
• Investigate safety apps for your smartphone – GPS, SMS, video, alerts, alarms, and other features can add an additional level of protection.
• If possible, have a colleague or friend help you with open house set up and take down. If possible, have a colleague join you for the whole time.
• Notify a colleague or friend that you will be calling in frequently on an agreed schedule. If you don't call, they are to notify the police immediately.

Municipal sign by-laws regulate all aspects of real estate signs and are intended to preserve and protect the appearance and safety of communities. Sign by-laws differ from one municipality to the next within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). For REALTORS®, this means the placement and duration of open house directional signs and for sale/lease signs are governed by municipal sign by-laws.

REALTORS® are responsible to comply with the municipal sign by-laws.

For more information, please see the sign by-laws information guide on Stratus.

For additional information on sign by-laws, please contact the specific municipality.

It can feel frustrating. You've cut back on your daily double soy lattes, your impulse buying, even cut down on your overall debt, but you may feel like you are no closer to owning your own home. In speaking to would-be first-time home buyers, saving for your down payment doesn't have to feel like a dream.

In today's real estate market, there are ways to reach your ultimate home buying goal. While you need may need to consult with a financial advisor in regards to your individual savings plan, there are a few programs you should consider that may help build up that nest egg, or lower the overall amount that you may need.

The Home Buyers Plan (HBP) is a program that allows you to withdraw up to $25,000 from your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) to buy or build a qualified home. Your RRSP issuer will not withhold tax on withdrawals that meet applicable HBP conditions. Before you can withdraw funds, however, you must have entered into a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home which you must occupy no later than one year after buying or building the home. An interesting point: If you are buying a qualifying home together with your partner or other individuals, each of you can withdraw up to $25,000. That can certainly help build up the funds required for your down payment.

If your down payment is less than 20 per cent of the value of the home you want to buy, you can take advantage of CMHC's Mortgage Loan Insurance program. With as little as five per cent down payment from personal or other sources, home buyers have access to mortgage insurance, as long as you can meet the standards for a five year fixed-rate mortgage. The mortgage insurance protects only the lending institution in case of default, and is usually added to the overall total loan amount to be amortized. That support is available to both first-time and repeat home buyers, and can certainly help lower your overall cost of entry into the market. In fact, in 2014, CHMC insured more than 308,000 housing units.

Be sure to explore your real estate options as well. Is a condo a possibility? Expanding your neighborhood search? Completing your own upgrades over time? Paring down your wish list for that fireplace or extra bathroom? Your REALTOR® has the expertise to run you through all the options so that you can make an informed choice, and find the ideal house for your lifestyle.

For more details on any of these programs, and for rebates you may be entitled to after you have purchased your home, talk to a Toronto Real Estate Board Professional REALTOR® or visit www.torontorealestateboard.com for updates on the market. If commercial property is what interests you, contact a TREB Commercial Professional Member REALTOR® by visitingwww.trebcommercial.com.

Mark McLean is President of the Toronto Real Estate Board, a professional association that represents 42,000 REALTORS® in the Greater Toronto Area.

Follow TREB on www.twitter.com/TREBhome, www.Facebook.com/TorontoRealEstateBoard, pinterest.com/trebhome/,www.linkedin.com/company/treb and www.youtube.com/TREBChannel

On November 16, we email broadcast November's edition of the monthly, electronic Across The Board Member newsletter to all TREB Members. This issue features:

• TREB's New Electronic Invoice
• Win a $50 VISA Card and Make REALTOR® QUEST Work for You
• Spread of the Municipal Land Transfer Tax – Call to Action
• CCI Videos Now in the Condo Corner
• Market Research and Other Useful Updates from TREB's Annual Meeting
• The Educated Professional
• Members for Members – Thank You for Your Service
• Privacy Reminder to Members
• What's In Your REALTOR® Toolkit?

If you can’t find the email link to Across The Board in your Inbox, or you’ve accidentally deleted it, you may click here to open the newsletter.

If the link to open Across The Board doesn’t work on your computer, there is an alternate method to read the newsletter. To access Across The Board from within TorontoMLS/New Stratus:

1. Log into TorontoMLS/New Stratus.
2. Click Your Information Centre near the top of the home page. The Your Information Centre page appears in a separate window.
   
3. Click Across The Board Newsletter. The current edition of the newsletter appears.
   
4. To print or download the current issue, select Click here to download current issue in PDF. To read a previous issue, select CLICK HERE FOR ARCHIVES, then select the issue you want to read.
   
   

To print Across The Board:

1. Follow the steps above to open the PDF version of the newsletter.
2. Click File, then Print.

REALTOR.ca promotes your member listings and the value of working with a REALTOR® to millions of consumers around the world every month. This December REALTOR.ca will introduce one of its most significant features, REALTOR.ca accounts, which will serve as a goldmine of valuable consumer insights that can help REALTORS® gain further understanding into digital real estate journey of their current and future clients.

REALTOR.ca account benefits include:

Access your Favourites from anywhere
Account users will be able to see their favourite listings from any browser they are signed-in REALTOR.ca.

Add Notes to listings to remember the things you love most
Account users will have an option to add notes to listings and the ability to share their notes with family, friends and REALTORS®. Recipients will see the notes when they are signed in to their REALTOR.ca account.

Save time with saved searches
Increase the number of saved searches from 5 to 50 allowing signed-in users to spend less time entering  search criteria and more time interacting with REALTOR® profiles and listings.

Personalized experience 
Map or Gallery view? Metric or imperial measurements? Each signed-in user will be able to personalize their experience to make it work for them, so they can focus on what matters most – REALTORS® and their listings.

What you need to know:

• While an account creation will be promoted and encouraged, REALTOR.ca will continue welcoming all guest visitors to use the site as they always have.
• REALTOR.ca accounts are free.
• Users will be able to create accounts and sign in using their email address or social media (Linkedin, Google, Twitter and Facebook).
• There will be no change to the data upload process.
• Buyer agents may find it beneficial to set up an account on REALTOR.ca to exchange listings (and notes on those listings) with their clients. Watch out for a future post on CREA Café on leveraging account features on REALTOR.ca for Buyer Agent needs.
• REALTORS® with listings will benefit from additional consumer insights from their region, allowing them to better target those properties and learn about the clients they serve.
• CREA Member Support will provide support for  Members who choose to set up their own accounts on the website, as well as provide current level of support for consumers visiting REALTOR.ca.

No service disruption is expected on release day and there is no need for you to change your current practices.

Habitat for Humanity GTA partners with low-income families, who cannot afford a conventional mortgage, to build and buy simple, decent quality, affordable homes through a no-interest, no-down payment mortgage.  To build these homes, Habitat for Humanity GTA depends on volunteers for construction. In addition, each Habitat Partner Family is asked to contribute a minimum of 500 hours of volunteer "sweat equity" towards the construction of their home or a variety of other Habitat projects. 

Habitat For Humanity GTA has plenty of local volunteer opportunities available.  
To find out more or to get involved, please visit www.habitatgta.ca

The Government of Canada has issued a tender notice for facility and land requirements. Details are available here:

https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/tender-notice/PW-15-00709663

Demand for home ownership remains strong in the GTA, and dynamics around housing supply are impacting prices and redefining the market. That was the key message from a first ever " State of the GTA Housing Market" event that TREB partnered with the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) today in hosting.

• See news release

TREB will be releasing a ground breaking report and hosting an event in January 2016 on the Year in Review and TREB's latest outlook for the housing market. The report will also present consumer housing opinions and intentions. Furthermore, it will deal with what different levels of government and other organizations feel is important to keep the Greater Golden Horseshoe competitive on the global stage.

The Internet of Things and your "smart" home appliances

If you have heard anything about the Internet of Things (IoT), it may sound like something straight out of science fiction. Or at least The Jetsons.

Your refrigerator orders groceries automatically when it's low on supplies.
Your furnace changes temperature on demand through your smartphone when you are held up on a business trip.
Your television allows you to make Skype telephone calls, stream video services, and respond to physical gestures.

These weird-and-wonderful products are not in research and development but are available, right here, right now. And your next home might already be equipped with them. Or can be quite easily. But what exactly is IofT? According to IDC Canada, the Internet of Things is actually quite straightforward and is the next evolution in manufacturing. They define it as "a network of uniquely identifiable end points (or things) that communicate without human interaction, most commonly over a wireless network."  This machine-to-machine technology, made possible by a wireless network, will allow your toaster, your security system, your garage door and your washing machine to talk to your smartphone, with either operation being done automatically or on command by you. They may also talk to each other for routine tasks without intervention from you.
These "smart" technologies are growing in popularity by leaps and bounds. A recent study estimated that annual IoT spending by Canadian businesses is predicted to grow from $5.6 billion in 2013 to $21 billion in 2018 – a 375 per cent increase.  Another international survey predicted that the economic impact of the Internet of Things could be $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion per year by 2025, or 11 per cent of the global economy. And, in January 2015, Samsung CEO B.K. Yoon announced that 90 per cent of the devices his company sells will connect to the Internet by 2020. That's only in four and a half years.

A quick search of your smartphone apps store will show what is already available and ready to go.  But is there a cost to all this convenience? As in any wireless application, and or use of technology, there are opportunities for the systems to experience interruptions. Not unlike running an unsecured home wireless network, these areas will need attention at installation to ensure your security and limit the potential for disruptions.

But will the installation of smart technologies/appliances increase your property's value? Perhaps. Homes that monitor and control energy usage may provide sellers with a competitive edge. And refrigerators and freezers that advise you wirelessly if there is a power shortage may reduce your insurance rates. But if your system is just too smart, buyers might think twice about your buying your property, even if it is chatting with you on a daily basis.

To learn more about a home's smart technology, smart appliances and energy efficient rebates talk to a Toronto Real Estate Board Professional REATLOR®. 
For more information, visit www.TREBHome.com or for your commercial needs visit www.trebcommercial.com.

Mark McLean is President of the Toronto Real Estate Board, a professional association that represents 43,000 REALTORS® in the Greater Toronto Area.

Follow TREB on www.twitter.com/TREBhome, www.Facebook.com/TorontoRealEstateBoard, pinterest.com/trebhome/,www.linkedin.com/company/treb and www.youtube.com/TREBChannel

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ted McMeekin announced today that the government will not give municipalities outside of Toronto the ability to charge a municipal land transfer tax (MLTT). YOU SAID "NO" AND THEY LISTENED.

REALTORS® mounted a strong campaign against this proposal, and TREB Members played an integral role in speaking out.

As a result, REALTORS® have helped stop one of the largest potential tax increases on home ownership.