March Housing Market Charts Available
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March Housing Market Charts Available
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Call for 2015/2016 Committee Volunteers
Volunteers are the heart of any not-for-profit Association. Through their Committee work, Members like you provide practical influence to the decision-making process at TREB on a regular basis.
The video below features TREB Members sharing their stories of contribution and growth as a result of volunteering for their Board.
Members who volunteer on TREB Committees are given the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and participate in the decision-making process. In recognition and appreciation of the services rendered by Committee Members, each Member receives an engraved plaque upon completion of Committee service.
TREB offers the David Rossi Award which is awarded annually to Members who in the course of committee service have contributed substantially over and above regular requirements.
It is recommended that Committee Volunteers complete OREA’s Leadership 100 course, On the Path to Leadership, available on the OREA website free of charge.
Committee Volunteer Application forms can be submitted online by clicking on the volunteer online link below. Applications will be accepted up until May 8, 2015.
Application forms will also be accepted by fax at (416) 443-9153 or mail to
Toronto Real Estate Board
Attention: Sue Greensword
1400 Don Mills Road, Toronto ON M3B 3N1
Click here to volunteer online
Click here to volunteer by mail or fax
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RealNet Q1 Market Webinar: You’re Invited
Invitation for TREB Members Only – Private Webinar
Gain Insight into First Quarter Market Results: Attend a free webinar on Tuesday, April 21.
You’re invited to participate in a free webinar hosted by RealNet on Tuesday, April 21.
The panel includes George Carras, President of RealNet; Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis and Service Channels; and Bryan Tuckey, President and CEO of BILD.
Find out about the state of the Commercial and New Home markets, what the experts have to say, and what the numbers mean.
Click here to view the invitation, which contains a link to the registration page.
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Notice of Spring Annual Meeting
Notice to all Members
THE TORONTO REAL ESTATE BOARD
2015 SPRING ANNUAL MEETING
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Location: Toronto Congress Centre - South Building, 650 Dixon Road
[See map and directions]
[For Google map click here]
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
| 8:30 a.m. | Registration Desk Opens (PLEASE BRING YOUR AUTHENTICATOR AND OR TREB eCARD FOR REGISTRATION) |
| 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Continental Breakfast |
| 9:00 a.m. | Spring Annual Meeting – (Hall B) |
| 9:00 a.m. | Election Day Polls Open |
| 10:00 a.m. | Election Day Polls Close |
| 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Balance of the Spring Annual Meeting Business (Includes Richard Robbins – The Future of Real Estate Sales – Main Stage) |
| 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Complimentary Lunch (ticket required) |
SPRING GENERAL MEETING AGENDA
1. | Call to Order | |
2. | Approval of Agenda | |
3. | Approval of Member Meeting Minutes – October 21, 2014 | |
4. | Award Presentations | |
5. | President & CEO Update | |
6. | Proposed By-Law Amendments | |
7. | Financial Update – Proposed One-Time Dues Holiday – to be voted on Recommendation: "That a one-time Dues Holiday of $25.00 for the 2015/2016 fiscal year be given to TREB Members of record as of June 30, 2015, excluding Members that meet the criteria of non-active sustaining.” | |
8. | Approval of Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation Contribution – to be voted on Recommendation: "That in accordance with the TREB Membership records as of April 1, 2015, TREB make a donation of $12 per Member to the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation’s Every REALTOR® Campaign.” | |
9. | Guest Presentations | |
10. | Election of Directors - see candidates platforms | |
11. | Other Business | |
12. | Adjournment | |
FEATURE SPEAKER - RICHARD ROBBINS THE FUTURE OF REAL ESTATE SALES: Five inevitable trends you can't ignore. | ||
ALL MEMBERS OF THE TORONTO REAL ESTATE BOARD ARE ENTITLED TO ONE VOTE IF PRESENT AT THE MEETING, EITHER IN PERSON OR BY PROXY. WHERE A MEMBER IS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND AND VOTE AT A MEETING OF MEMBERS, THE MEMBER MAY VOTE BY PROXY. PLEASE NOTE THAT NO PERSON CAN HOLD MORE THAN ONE PROXY AT ANY ONE MEETING.
Any Member wishing to vote by proxy must ensure that a properly completed
Proxy Form is deposited with the Corporate Secretary no later than MONDAY, MAY 4, 2015 by NOON.
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GTA REALTORS® Report Mid-Month Resale Housing Figures
Toronto Real Estate Board President Paul Etherington announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 4,635 home sales during the first 14 days of April 2015. This result represented a 3.4 per cent increase compared to April 2014. New listings over the same period were down by 4.6 per cent year over year.
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New ECOMMERCE Printing Capabilities
The ECOMMERCE Member Accounts Module has been enhanced with two new command buttons; “Print Summary” and “Print Selected Invoices”, providing you with the capability of printing either a summary list of the selected invoices or a complete report including a summary list of the selected invoices as well as the individual invoices.
The two new print buttons will function this way:
Print Summary
When clicking on this button, a list of all the selected invoices, with a subtotal at the bottom will be sent to a printer of your choosing.
Print Selected Invoices
When clicking on this button, a message box will ask you whether you want to Open all of the selected invoices or Save all of selected invoices to a PDF file.
The PDF file will first present a summary list of all the selected invoices, which is followed by each of the individual invoices. The Open option allows you to view it on the screen, and then send it to a printer if you wish. Choosing the Save option allows you to save a copy to your computer where it can be subsequently printed as you require, or included as an attachment in an email.
The two new Print buttons: “Print Summary” and “Print Selected Invoices” also show up on the paid invoices screen when you search for paid invoices, the functionallity is the same as it is on the open invoices screen.
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GTA REALTORS® Report Q1 Rental Market Figures
Toronto Real Estate Board President Paul Etherington announced that condominium apartment rental transactions and listings reported by Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® were up strongly on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter of 2015. The total number of units rented was up by 20.9 per cent to 6,074.
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GTA REALTORS® Release Q1 Resale Condominium Figures
Toronto Real Estate Board President Paul Etherington announced that there were 4,975 condominium apartment sales reported through the TorontoMLS system in the fourth quarter of 2014. This result was up by 8.3 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.
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Do You Need Stratus One-on-One Help?
o You Need Stratus One-on-One Help?
- Are you confused by the New Search with its two criteria forms?
- Have you figured out how to add your contacts into Stratus?
- Are you having difficulty searching certain types of properties?
- Are you struggling to figure out how to do some of the things you have always done now that Old Stratus is retired?
NEW! Trainer On Duty starts April 24
When: Friday mornings from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
Where: TREB offices, 1400 Don Mills Road, Classroom 2
Starting April 24, Members may stop by TREB on Friday mornings between 9:00 A.M. and noon. A TREB Technology Learning Specialist will be in the computer lab to assist you with Stratus. If you prefer, you may bring your own laptop or use one of the lab computers.
No registration is required. First-come, first-served.
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Potential Issue Accessing Public Records in Google Chrome
Recently, some Google Chrome users attempting to access Public Recordsare being prompted to download Microsoft Silverlight even though the plug-in is already installed on their computer. This is because the latest version of Chrome will not allow plug-ins like Silverlight by default.
A new version of Public Records will soon be launched that will not require the Silverlight plug-in.
Until this launch, you have some options:
1. Use a different browser. Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari (Mac users) accept the Silverlight plug-in.
2. Use Public Records (Mobile). This application works on all modern browsers and does not require the Silverlight plug-in. Public Records (Mobile) contains most of the functionality included in the main Public Records application, including the ability to undertake Comparable Searches, create a Property Detail Report (PDR), and access GeoWarehouse®.
For further assistance, please call the TREB Help Desk at 416-443-8111.
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Television Commercials: Tuned In with Lucy Zilio on CityTV & OMNI
Members can watch TREB’s latest installment of television commercials on “Home Ownership is a GREAT Investment” here.
Find these and other campaign material on the campaign’s landing page on Stratus under “Public Awareness Campaign” and on TREB’s public website under “Media Room."
These commercials will air on CityTV and OMNI Television beginning April 20.
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Q1 2015 Community Reports Now Available
Q1 2015 Community Reports Now Available
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CREA’s Federal Budget 2015 Analysis
On April 21, 2015, the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Joe Oliver introduced the 2015 federal budget.
Given the government’s frequent messages of concern about the state of the housing market, CREA did not expect our industry’s lobbying proposals for indexation of the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) and access to the HBP to support Canadian workers to be contained in this year’s budget. CREA will continue to press for changes to the HBP and we will ask that these proposals be part of each party’s election platform.
That said, a secondary issue on which CREA has been active is gaining traction, namely the rules surrounding small businesses and what is considered an active versus investment business, something known as the “five person rule.” The government is opening consultations on how to evolve this decades old rule. Some key elements that may be of interest:
- Amendment of the Canada Small Business Financing Act to increase the maximum loan amount for real property from $500,000 to $1 million
- Raise the small-business eligibility criteria from firms with gross annual revenues of $5 million or less to firms with gross annual revenues of $10 million or less.
The small-business deduction currently reduces the federal income tax rate from 15% to 11% on the first $500,000 per year of qualifying active business income of a Canadian-controlled private corporation. Budget 2015 proposes to reduce the 11% rate by one half of one percent per year, commencing January 1, 2016, over the next four years to a 9% rate effective January 1, 2019.
The budget increases the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption to $1 million of capital gains (from $813,600) realized by an individual on the disposition of qualified farm or fishing property. This measure applies to dispositions of qualified farm or fishing property that occur on or after April 21, 2015. The exemption on capital gains realized on the disposition of qualified farm or fishing property will be the greater of $1 million and the indexed Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption that applies to capital gains realized on the disposition of qualified small-business corporation shares.
Also of note is a section on actions the government has taken to reinforce what it calls the “Housing Finance Framework.” It takes credit for reducing amortization periods, increasing CHMC premiums and reducing the size of CHMC’s insurance portfolio.
On a more general note, the government has increased the TFSA contribution limit to $10,000 starting this year. For seniors or persons with disabilities there is a home accessibility tax credit of 15 per cent on up to $10,000 of eligible home renovations.
Please note the budget must be passed by Parliament before it is adopted.
For more information on the 2015 Budget, please click here.
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End of Paper-Based Versions of DLA, IDX and VOW Agreements as of September 1, 2015
On December 2, 2014, TREB released its new Online Agreement System which allows Brokers of Record and their Salespeople to complete DLA Agreements, IDX Agreements and VOW Agreements online instead of on paper. The TREB Online Agreement System provides a method of completing these agreements in less time with less aggravation and no paper waste.
Brokers of Record and their Salespeople now have more control over their agreements as the system also provides quick access to view their current active agreements, any agreements they have in progress including where they are in the chain of process, and any active legacy paper-based agreements.
Accessible from the Forms/Clauses slider menu on the home page under REALTOR® TOOLS, this new system not only reduces the time it takes to get an agreement in place, but also the amount of paper it takes to do this, reducing TREB's environmental impact. Within the first four months of the Online Agreement System being available to TREB, over 1800 agreements were initiated online.
In March 2015, the Board opted to eliminate unnecessary paper waste by deciding to set a deadline for all DLA, IDX and VOW Agreements to be done online only. As of September 1, 2015 the use of paper-based versions of the DLA, IDX and VOW Agreements will come to an end and ONLY the agreements processed online will be accepted by TREB from then onwards.
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HGTV Seeks Luxury REALTORS® and Their Clients for a New Show
The creators of HGTV & W Network's smash hit shows such as Property Brothers & Property Virgins are casting luxury real estate Salespeople and their clients for a new North American show.
Are you the go-to REALTOR® when it comes to clients looking for luxury properties in Toronto, Georgian Bay, Muskoka (Port Carling/Haliburton), Prince Edward Country, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Gananoque/1000 Islands? Have you gone above and beyond to find your clients their perfect home with a breathtaking view? Our House Media is looking for you!
We are casting REALTORS® and their clients who've recently purchased, or are in the process of purchasing, a luxury home with a beautiful view.
Please email Monique, an associate producer on Million Dollar View for more information: mdv@ourhousemedia.com
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The New .REALTOR Domain
The Canadian Real Estate Association in partnership with the National Association of REALTORS® is securing the new .REALTOR domain. The .REALTOR domain is only able to be used by members of both associations.
When consumers see the word REALTOR® they know that they've found someone they can trust. For more information about this and how you can claim your domain, visit:
Here is a short video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL6s0MhZ3v8
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OREA’s 2015 Provincial Budget Analysis
Summary
On April 23, 2015, Minister of Finance Charles Sousa introduced the 2015 Ontario Budget.
Overall, Budget 2015 was generally good for Ontario REALTORS®. The budget does not signal any intention to move forward with giving additional revenue tools, such as the municipal land transfer tax, to municipalities. Unfortunately, the budget made no commitment to move forward on personal real estate corporations (PRECs). However, the budget commits the government to a review of corporate/business legislation in the near future.
Budget 2015 outlines the government’s plan to create jobs and grow the economy, invest in major infrastructure projects, reform beer and alcohol sales, maximize the value of government assets and improve retirement for Ontarians.
The Budget and Ontario REALTORS®
- Budget 2015 does not commit to giving municipalities additional revenue tools, such as municipal land transfer tax. Instead, the government is encouraging them to find additional financing tools, such as asset optimization.
- The budget does not permit the use of Personal Real Estate Corporations(PRECs) by real estate Salespeople or Brokers. However, the budget does commit the province to a full review of business/corporate legislation to explore innovative business practices.
- Budget 2015 commits to implementing two key recommendations from theMortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act (MBLAA) review. Specifically, the government will strengthen fraud prevention measures and prohibit advance fees for arranging mortgages of less than $400,000 – an increase from the current $300,000 threshold.
- Ontario will move forward with a cap-and-trade system as its carbon pricing mechanism. The government will invest proceeds from the new cap-and-trade program to support improving energy efficiency for homes.
OREA will also oppose any efforts to introduce mandatory home energy audits.
- The budget announces the government’s commitment to exploring the possibility of allowing the self-employed (a taxation category that includes REALTORS®), to participate in the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP). The budget also reaffirms the government’s plan to permit Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPP) as a retirement tool for Ontarians.
- The government announced that they will move ahead with the modernization of the Condominium Act, 1998. If passed, the new legislation will establish mandatory qualifications for condominium managers and create two new administrative authorities to license condominium managers, improve education and dispute resolution for condominium boards and owners.
- The government will launch consultations to determine whether to create a growth plan for Eastern Ontario.
- The government will remove the Debt Retirement Charge from residential electricity users’ bills after December 31, 2015.
Other important highlights from the 2015 Ontario Budget include:
- The budget increases the dedicated funds for Moving Ontario Forward by $2.6 billion for a total of $31.5 billion over 10 years. Sixteen billion of these funds will be invested in transit projects in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).
- The government is projecting a deficit of $8.5 billion for the current fiscal year. In 2016-17, the deficit will reduce to $4.8 billion and the budget will return to balance in 2017-18.
Please note the budget must be passed by the legislature before it is adopted.
For more information on the 2015 provincial budget, please visithttp://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2015/
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Don’t Forget to Cast Your Vote Online
Electronic voting will run twenty-four hours daily from 12:00 noon, April 29 to 12:00 noon, May 4 on Stratus.
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City of Toronto Seeking Applicants for the Property Standards Committee
The City of Toronto is seeking applications from community minded, engaged, and enthusiastic individuals to join the Property Standards Committee. Applicants should understand the City's diverse neighbourhoods and be familiar with the Building Code Act, property standards, building practices, or tribunal processes.
Click here for more detail.
Apply by May 1 at 4:30 p.m. by clicking here to visit the City’s website.
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New Version of Public Records Now Available
A new HTML5 version of Public Records is now available that is cross-platform with no reliance on Microsoft® Silverlight®. When you click Public Records under the LINKS menu in the Info Centre, you will now be presented with a pop-up allowing you to try the new application or to use the previous version which requires the Silverlight® plug-in.
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