REP 3.02 by Key Media

THE BIG CHILL Statistics don’t lie: the market’s cooling FAIR DEAL? Ontario’s new housing plan THE IT GUY Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper

REPMAG.CA ISSUE 3.02 | $12.95

2017 75 HEAVY HITTERS WHO CREATE AND SHAPE CANADA’S REAL ESTATE MARKET

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ISSUE 3.02

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CONTENTS

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UPFRONT 04 Editorial

Fear, haste and the Ontario government’s new legislation

06 Statistics

FEATURES

DONE DEAL

2017

Inspiration strikes a young Realtor to find the ideal property for a desperate young family

Nationwide activity is cooling, driven by Toronto and Vancouver

08 Head to head

The consequences of Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan

09 Opinion

More depth, less volume: the dangers of too much information

10 News analysis

OREA will no longer deliver educational courses for new Realtors

FEATURES

58 Millennial magic COVER STORY

INDUSTRY HEAVY HITTERS

The real estate industry doesn’t run on agents alone. We salute the professionals who make a realtor’s job possible FEATURES

PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

APPRAISING A HOT MARKET An insight into the value of appraisal reports

From IT to property: Royal LePage’s CEO Phil Soper

56 Agent profile

Jordan Boyes’ winning hand: from online poker player to number one agent in Saskatoon

62 Career path

Mary Jane Webster – once a people person, always a people person Drummer Arty Basinski thinks there’s no beating his hobby

FEATURES

New mortgage widget helps agents connect with quality leads more quickly and efficiently

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PEOPLE

64 Other life

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

How to attract and satisfy millennial homebuyers

REPMAG.CA CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

ADVERTORIAL

Canadian Real Estate Team Wins Inaugural Titanium Award

Milton, Ontario Couple Achieves 72.2% Increase in GCI for Business Growth of $1.4 Million MILTON, Ontario Real Estate Agents Domenic and Jody Manchisi were one of four recipients of the inaugural Titanium Award for the staggering business success they achieved which resulted in a 72.2% increase in their GCI for dollar growth of $1.4 Million over twelve months. Real success in any business means not only healthy earnings, but also time off to enjoy life. The fact is, however, that most Canadian real estate agents sacrifice their entire lifestyle in pursuit of success and, ironically, instead of gaining more freedom, they become slaves to their real estate business. If you don’t have a real business system, you don’t really have a business at all. What you have instead is a “job”, and for many, it’s a really bad job: one that consumes your time, keeps you away from friends and family, and doesn’t pay very well. The fact is that agents leave our

industry in droves, not because they’re not great at working with clients, but because they simply can’t make the business work. They don’t have enough leads, they don’t find enough time to properly follow up and thus convert their leads, they don’t know exactly why they win or lose a listing. Even though they work very hard, too much is left to chance. Trying to “do it all” without a clear understanding of what works and what doesn’t ultimately sows the seeds of failure for many. A profitable and “real” business MUST be based on a solid system. In real estate, that means a system to generate leads, a system to convert those leads, and a system to convert qualified prospects into paying clients. Every successful business in the world, from McDonalds to Google, is based on proven and duplicatable “systems”, and the agents who achieve mega success in our industry, like Domenic and Jody Manchisi, have done so on the strength

50% INCREASE IN GCI VS. YEAR AGO RESULTING IN

BUSINESS GROWTH OF OVER A MILLION DOLLARS

of solid, proven, efficient business systems. Each of the agents profiled here credits the same real estate system as being responsible for their success: The Ultimate Real Estate Success System pioneered by Craig Proctor. Not only is Proctor’s system responsible for more Millionaire Agents than any other real estate system, but Craig Proctor was a highly successful AGENT himself for more than 20 years right here in Canada. As you may know, Proctor was twice named the #1 RE/MAX agent in the world and was in the top 10 for RE/MAX International for 15 years. In fact, for 6 years straight, no one listed or sold more homes in the Greater Toronto Area than Proctor did. (Source: TREB Statistics). No one in Canada has sold more homes than Proctor has, and by sharing the system he used to achieve his own success, he’s been able to help over 30,000 agents worldwide to transform their real estate jobs into highly lucrative real estate businesses that don’t come at the expense of high lifestyle costs. If you do not have a clear, detailed business system (key word, system) that you are using to move methodically to your goals…a plan you could show a banker or investor or new partner or key associate… a plan you have reasoned, complete confidence in, then why wouldn’t you examine Proctor’s Ultimate Real Estate Success System – free? For a limited time, you can watch FREE Training Videos by Millionaire Agent-Maker, Craig Proctor. Be a fly on the wall as Craig shares the real estate strategies that not only made him one of the most successful agents of all time, but have also been responsible for creating more Millionaire Agents than any other coach or trainer in the industry. These videos are actual excerpts from seminars conducted by Craig Proctor himself that agents pay to attend, and you can watch them for free with no obligation at: ProctorAgentSeminar.com Learn How to Make Millions in Real Estate by Watching Free, No Obligation Excerpts of Live Craig Proctor Seminars www. ProctorAgentSeminar.com www.repmag.ca

UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

www.repmag.ca SUMMER 2O17 EDITORIAL

Fear, haste and legislation

uring this month’s Industry Icon interview (p12), Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper described real estate as “one of the purest supply and demand-driven industries there is”. Demand-side factors like population, spending power, ease of finance and the like often take the limelight and do drive the market to a large extent. But the supply side of the equation is crucial too, and it was supply-side issues that weighed heavily in the Ontario government’s recently unveiled Fair Housing Plan: in fact, six of its 16 points refer to supply. Some of these are bound to come into conflict with a significant point related to investment clients – the instituting of rent controls for buildings completed after 1991. This change has already caused developers to nix plans for multiple purpose-built rental projects, which will result in virtually no purpose-built units hitting the market for yet another year, while the government scrambles to implement the rest of its plan, much of it theoretical.

If Realtors have a duty to provide expert advice to clients based on hard data, doesn’t the Ontario government have a similar responsibility to Realtors? This kind of muddled thinking is what happens when governments play politics with industry rather than introducing well-researched plans aimed at producing intended, quantifiable results. The Ontario government readily admitted that the Fair Housing Plan was not based on empirical evidence and that its effects will be a surprise even to those who crafted it. In fact, certain parts of the plan fly directly in the face of research funded by the Toronto Real Estate Board, which found that foreign buyers account for less than 5% of transactions in the GTA. Why then would a 15% foreign speculators tax cool housing prices? What about the other 95% of the market? An industry that affects millions – and employs hundreds of thousands in Ontario alone – deserves better. If Realtors have a duty to provide expert advice to clients based on hard data, doesn’t the Ontario government have a similar responsibility to those Realtors to formulate decisions that affect them and their clients with the same rigorous adherence to empirical data? You cannot blindly dabble in regulation and hope for the best. Demand for solutions to the GTA housing crunch has never been higher. Those supplied by the Wynne government, however, will ensure that demand goes unmet.

Writers Clay Jarvis Justin da Rosa Joe Rosengarten Libby Macdonald Copy Editor Bruce Pitchers

CONTRIBUTORS Samantha Gale

ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designer Martin Cosme Production Manager Alicia Chin Traffic Coordinator Ella Dayandante

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS

Activity falters

MARKET ACTIVITY COOLS CREA's residential market forecast for 2017 and the following year point to a cooling across the board, albeit one led by a marked drop in market activity in British Columbia.

There’s diminished activity in Toronto and Vancouver as home sales decline nationwide

CANADIAN HOME sales dropped in April, setting the stage for an anticipated 3% decline in sales activity nationwide for the year. Much of the noted decline is attributable to the country’s two most prominent markets: sales in Vancouver and British Columbia’s Lower Mainland are well below the record levels set the year before, prior to the imposition of the 15% foreign buyer’s tax. Sales in the Toronto Real Estate Board

market area were down 3.2% year-over-year in April, the month that saw the announcement of a foreign buyer’s tax for Canada’s most populous city. The surge in new listings was likewise led by the GTA. New listings rose 10% across the country in April, driven principally by a 36% spike in the GTA. This rise was echoed by similar percentage increases in other markets in the Golden Horseshoe.

British Columbia -17.5% -1%

-6.5% +2.6%

Legend

Projected change in sales, 2017

7.5%

Year-over-year decline in sales in April*

66%

Proportion of markets recording a decline in sales

10%

Increase in newly listed homes in April 2017

*Actual, not seasonally adjusted

Projected change in sales, 2018

60.1%

Projected annual change in price, 2017

National sales-to-new listings ratio as of April 2017 (compared to 67.3% in March)

Projected annual change in price, 2018

Sources: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, January 2017

NATIONAL HOME SALES

ACTUAL ACTIVITY

Home sales over the Canadian MLS systems fell by 1.7% in April 2017, down from the record set in March, marking the biggest drop since November 2016

Activity declined in many markets, led by a sharp decline in the fortunes of British Columbia's Lower Mainland. The GTA also contributed to the drop, with activity in April well below the records set the year before.

+5.21%

-5.13%

+48.01% +43.83%

50 40 30

4 %

3 2 1 0

-2.13%

-1.73% -0.67%

+2.33%

+2.5% +1.47%-1.67%

-1.07% +0.41%

-0.19%

May 16 Jun 16 Jul 16 Aug 16 Sep 16 Oct 16 Nov 16 Dec 16 Jan 17 Feb 17 Mar 17 Apr 17 Positive

Negative

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-2.33%

-2.14%

-2.28% -1.49%

-6.55%

-20 -30

-4.07% -12.45%

-10

-19.38%

-29.68%

May 16 Jun 16 Jul 16 Aug 16 Sep 16 Oct 16 Nov 16 Dec 16 Jan 17 Feb 17 Mar 17 Apr 17 Positive

Source: The Canadian Real Estate Association, May 2017

10 +5.99%

Negative Source: The Canadian Real Estate Association, May 2017

Canada -3% 1.3%

4.8% 5%

Nova Scotia -3.4% -0.4%

PEI -10.8% +3%

-0.3% 0.5%

5.2% 4.1%

New Brunswick

Alberta +5% +1.5%

+1.7% -0.7%

-0.1% +0.9%

+0.9% +1.5%

Newfoundland and Labrador -8.4% -3.3.7%

-5.5% -0.7%

Saskatchewan 0% -0.4%

-2.8% -0.5%

Manitoba -1.4% +1.5%

Ontario

+1.4% +1.7%

Quebec

+0.7% -1%

+15.6% +7.7%

+0.3% -2.5%

+1% +2%

Source: The Canadian Real Estate Association, May 2017

LISTINGS SOAR

RESALES TO DROP

Listings rose appreciably in the wake of the Ontario government's policy changes. The number of newly listed homes spiked 10% month-over-month in April; much of this traceable to the GTA and its surrounding areas.

Resale activity is projected to fall in the year ahead. In 2016, resale activity was 535,000 units – this is expected to drop to a figure between 490,000 and 510,000 units over 2017.

12 9 6

+2.11%

3 %

0 -3 -6

+1.02%

-3.06%

+5.82% +3.09%

+2.19%

-2.06% -0.26%

535,000

-1.87%

490,000 to 510,000

-3.65% -7.05%

-9 -12

Units

+10.03%

May 16 Jun 16 Jul 16 Aug 16 Sep 16 Oct 16 Nov 16 Dec 16 Jan 17 Feb 17 Mar 17 Apr 17 Positive

Negative

100,000 Resale activity 2016

Source: The Canadian Real Estate Association, May 2017

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

Anticipated resale activity 2017 Source: CMHC quarterly report, May 31 2017

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UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

Following the plan How do you see Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan playing out?

Stephen Young President/CEO Young Realty Inc

There are countless examples of government intervention with bad outcomes. The current plan will not end well. The real estate market will slow, for now. Once the dust settles, and once the average buyer still realizes they need a place to stay, real estate will continue to increase in price and the market will become even harder to enter. The government didn’t solve the problem, which is a supply side issue. Fourteen of the 16 points try to solve the problem by slowing demand. Toronto needs more supply. Without intervention on the supply side, the problem will not be fixed.

Elizabeth Kelly

Vince Tersigni

Mortgage agent Mortgage Alliance

Broker of record Royal LePage Elite Realty

In recent years, the increase in operational expenses (specifically utilities and taxes) has far exceeded the annual allowable rental increase, and now the OFHP has removed the existing remedy for landlords. Some landlords will exit the rental market, as it will be challenging to cover ownership costs, especially after the introduction of rent control for every building. This will increase inventory in the short term. Longer term, demand will increase for older, purpose-built properties in smaller communities, as investors move away from purchasing condos in downtown Toronto, since it will become very challenging to earn a decent return on their investment.

TREB conducted a survey in 2016 that found that 4.9% of transactions in the GTA involved foreign buyers. TREB called this amount “minimal” and not detrimental to the housing market. Homebuyers are now required to give information about their residency, citizenship status, and how they intend to use the property. This will allow the government to assess “the degree and the impact” foreign buyers have on the market. If the government were not to interfere, then the market would stabilize and supply and demand would prevail. In the end, the young and the less affluent will pay the ultimate price.

THE BEST LAID PLANS… The 16-point plan unveiled on April 20 – with the stated goal of ensuring greater access to affordable housing – made headlines by proposing a 15% Non-resident Speculation Tax covering the area of the Greater Golden Horseshoe – a move reminiscent of Vancouver’s action last summer. The other marquee proposal concerned rent control, with the restrictions on raising rents above 2.5% per year already in place on properties built prior to 1991 to be extended to cover all rental units. Industry observers spoke darkly of the effects this could have on rental inventory. The president of the Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario, Jim Murphy, said the measures would “have a devastating effect on purpose-built rental supply”. The plan might already be having an effect, with a record-breaking March (prices across the region were up 33% on the previous year) followed by a subdued April, as bearish would-be buyers sat on the sidelines.

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UPFRONT

OPINION

GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email repmag@kmimedia.ca

Be Netflix, not Blockbuster We’re programmed to see a bear, not a boulder, writes Don R Campbell – but professionals must fight this human default

IT IS truly mind-numbing the amount of information we have at our fingertips. Just watch people at transit stops, in mall line-ups, in waiting rooms – even at your dinner table. It’s a constant scroll, scroll scroll. In fact, we are obviously living in an epidemic of input, which, ironically, is hindering our ability to create good output. More info makes for better decisions in the end, correct? Well, not exactly. Depth is much more important than volume. It is in depth where good strategic decisions are made. Hanging out in the shallows of knowledge just sparks emotions, opinions and very poor decisions. Multiple studies are now raising red flags of warning about this constant barrage of information, showing that professionals and their clients are making increasingly less strategic decisions in their lives, investments, and businesses. Fake news and clickbait wouldn’t exist as a growing part of our society if they weren’t effective in manipulating the populous. Twelve years ago, access to this ocean of information wasn’t available to most people, and at that time investors and homebuyers made more logical and strategic decisions. Instant news and opinions weren’t as ubiquitous, yet still we made great long-termbased decisions. Ah yes, the paradox of choice: the more choices we have the unhappier we are. Today it is less of a paradox of choice and more a case of information overload. Because REIN’s research has been supporting investors and homebuyers for over 25 years, I can say that today there

are more people confused, or making poor decisions based on bad information, than I have ever witnessed before. And that is where opportunity for professionals like you arises. I am sure you’ve noticed that your clients, your friends, your cab drivers all have an opinion on the real estate market: it’s a bubble; it’s different this time; there are too many condos; there are not enough condos; it’s going to collapse; it’s a great opportunity; it’s better to

so therefore when walking through a forest you are more likely to think a rock is a bear (danger) than a bear is a rock (safety). That is why we are drawn to clickbait and fear-based headlines. We skip over the important information to get to the perceived danger signs. It works, it manipulates and it is starting to affect your business. Knowing this prewiring, your job is to build trust and to provide a calm fact-based reality that will allow your clients to breathe, act strategically and want to refer people your way. You can become that sought-after calm port in the storm. Blockbuster or Netflix: you choose Fortunately, this worrying trend also brings an opportunity for those who adapt and prefer to thrive by looking at their industry a little differently. Remember, Blockbuster blindly continued to open video stores, even while streaming services were growing at an exponential rate. They didn’t believe they could ever become irrelevant. In fact, in 2005 their president

Governments need to find ways to encourage the removal of red tape, excessive costs and delays in the housing development process rent than buy, and on and on. The internet, parties, the media airwaves – they’re all filled with impending doom or unheralded confidence in the real estate market. People are afraid and confused and they will hide that behind bravado and strong opinions. This is where you step in. People are looking for strategic and clear thought leadership. Right now – and I do mean right now – is the moment when professionals must decide what their strategic advantage is going to be and what added-value they are going to provide. And, frankly, that decision will determine whether or not your business is either frustrating or successful five years from now. Time to turn on your filter: boulder or bear? Human beings are hardwired for protection,

at the time stated: “We believe we are well-positioned for the future of digital and VOD demand.” I’m now seeing this blind mindset in real estate professional circles. Those who see the future are adapting their business models and the value-adds they bring to the market, while others sit on the sidelines tut-tutting. Look behind you, those are your customers in information overload, look ahead of you and you see a much different industry reality ahead. If you bridge these two by thinking less like a consumer and more like a strategic thought leader, your business will become what clients are looking for. REP Don Campbell has been analyzing market and industry trends as the senior economic analyst of REIN Canada for 25 years. He has also authored seven best-selling books on real estate markets.

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

Education shake-up RECO recently announced the end of its educational partnership with OREA. How will the change affect Ontario’s rookie Realtors? SURPRISE RIPPLED through the Ontario real estate industry in March when the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) announced that, as of 2020, its Realtor preparation courses will be delivered by Humber College-NIIT Canada, ending a more than 60-year partnership with the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). While the educational program offered by OREA has earned a number of awards and has grown ever more accessible, many in the industry feel it is time for a change Barbara Brindle, broker of record at RE/ MAX Hallmark York Group and a member of RE/MAX Hallmark’s management team, says the program’s standards have slipped significantly since her time as an instructor in the late 1990s. “It became multiple choice at some point,” she says. “The new recruits coming out of class don’t know how to write an

Joseph Richer, registrar for RECO, was exceedingly diplomatic when asked why Humber-NIIT was chosen over OREA. “OREA has done a great service in providing real estate education for so many years, and we continue to maintain a strong relationship with them,” he says. “We are confident that Humber CollegeNIIT Canada can create an education program that will better help aspiring registrants to hit the ground running. In addition, the new program will offer innovative technologies, such as virtual classrooms that will allow real-time interaction from anywhere.” For Toronto-based Realtor David Fleming, the key phrase in Richer’s statement is “better help”. “If Humber’s going to push people harder – there’s nothing wrong with that,” he says. “If we’re talking more time in

“We are confident that Humber CollegeNIIT Canada can create an education program that will better help aspiring registrants to hit the ground running” Joseph Richer, registrar, Real Estate Council of Ontario offer. They don’t know anything. It’s very shocking to me. I’m glad that RECO has taken a stand and made a change, because there is something wrong with that system.”

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school – lengthier, tougher, make them better salespeople – that’s great. It’s also a weeding out process. Some people do Phase 1 two or three times. I’m not saying every

real estate agent is a rocket scientist, but there needs to be standards.” But what effect will the change have on OREA? Will the organization’s reputation or relevance be diminished? The group’s president, Ettore Cardarelli, says no. “In terms of the core values of the organization, none of that really changes,” Cardarelli says. “What it does is it frees us up from potentially some of the overlap that would have come because we were carrying the education courses. This liberates us in terms of being able to speak to issues more prominently and not worry about some of the consequences of having or not having the contract or affecting the type of courses that might have been delivered.” Cardarelli says that OREA, founded in 1922, didn’t begin educating new agents until decades later, and that losing the contract with Humber could be a blessing.

EXPERTS NEEDED

“For the first 40 years, we operated without any of those organized courses and any of the revenue associated with that, so this is very much a return to our core values. In some ways, I think that’s always a healthy step,” he says, adding that by removing education from the group’s purview, it can

Even though OREA’s focus will now be on assisting licensed agents, Cardarelli says the group’s overall aim remains the same. “We have built up a wealth of experience over the years in delivering those programs, so our concern now continues to be that the quality of that education stays consistent.”

“For the first 40 years, we operated without any organized courses and any of the revenue associated with that, so this is very much a return to our core values” Ettore Cardarelli, president, Ontario Real Estate Association now concentrate its efforts on government relations and advocacy around issues affecting Ontario’s Realtors, such as the struggle to help them incorporate.

Despite Cardarelli’s pride in OREA’s track record, none of the agents and brokers REP approached for comment echoed his sentiments.

City

Sales April 2017

Year-overyear change

Cambridge

258

8.9%

Hamilton-Burlington

1,770

7.5%

Kingston

471

21.4%

Kitchener-Waterloo

766

14.3%

London-St Thomas

1,220

14.2%

Ottawa

1,795

4.9%

Toronto

11,630

-3.2%

“RECO’s making a good decision,” says Mike Cartwright, owner of Main Street Realty. “OREA’s been good, and they’ve been good with the education, but they’ve taken the education for granted, and they’re a little sloppy when it comes to keeping up to date and training and teaching everybody. It’s always been theirs and they’ve had no competition. I think some new blood coming in will be great for the business.” There is over two years remaining on OREA’s contract with RECO, so it will be some time before the new education program produces measurable results. But with both organizations, and what appears to be a majority of agents, in favour of the change, Ontario’s real estate industry seems poised for a new era of higher standards. Given that the province’s housing market is the wildest it has ever been, those agents will need all the help they can get in 2020. REP

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PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

TRADITION AND TOMORROW When he was named Royal LePage’s CEO in 2003, Phil Soper was only two years removed from a lengthy career as an executive at IBM. Soper’s skill in keeping IBM at the forefront of the IT industry has helped make Royal LePage the fastest growing real estate company in Canada

BORN IN a boomtown, Phil Soper has seen his share of runaway housing markets. Soper, raised in Calgary, was exposed early to the nauseating ups and downs of the city’s home prices, appropriately Rocky Mountain-esque in how their exhilarating peaks suddenly become horrifyingly steep precipices. “One of the popular bumper stickers of my youth was, ‘Please God, let there be another oil boom. I promise not to piss it away this time.’ ” Soper laughs. “I thought that was an appropriate motto for the real estate industry.” Soper’s ability to view the industry from a distance – as a whole within the greater whole of the Canadian economy – has been key to his success as the CEO of Brookfield Real Estate Services, Royal LePage’s parent company. While many were skeptical about how a former IT executive – Soper had been with IBM for 17 years – with no real estate experience would handle the reins of a real estate company, Brookfield saw Soper as an outsider with fresh ideas and a propensity for seeing what’s coming over the horizon. “Real estate, at its core, is one of the purest supply and demand economicsdriven industries there is,” Soper says. “If you understand the levers that drive

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the economy overall, you can apply those to the real estate industry. You can understand why things are happening and have a pretty good eye to what’s going to happen next.”

Fright and flight “The real housing problem that has me

As inventory dries up across vast swaths of Ontario and BC, and sales show massive year-over-year declines, what do Royal LePage’s agents have to look forward to if Canada’s largest markets suffer a full-on correction? “There’s what you call in the industry a

“Real estate is one of the purest supply and demand economics-driven industries there is. If you understand the levers that drive the economy overall, you can understand what’s going to happen next” worried in 2017 is Toronto,” Soper says. “People mistakenly think if house prices are going up rapidly it must be a good housing market, and nothing could be further from the truth.” While Soper is often asked to comment on the Canadian housing market, the overall health of which he says extends to almost every market besides Vancouver’s and Toronto’s, he is rarely asked how its fluctuations will affect Royal LePage’s 18,000 agents.

flight to quality, when markets tighten,” Soper says. “Essentially the part-time agents and the narrow service/low-fee models suffer because the price to the consumer isn’t that variable. It doesn’t matter how cheap your real estate company is if no one’s buying your house.” Soper doesn’t see a correction affecting the Toronto market until 2018, but that assumes a lack of election-inspired government intervention.

PROFILE Name: Phil Soper Title: President and CEO Company: Royal LePage and Brookfield Real Estate Services Years in the industry: 17 Fast fact: Soper has been recognized multiple times as one of the leading executives in North America. In 2016, he was the first Canadian to receive the Real Estate Leadership Award at the US national Realtor Expo. Soper was also recently ranked 16th in the 2017 Swanepoel Power 200.

www.ibamag.com

PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON GIVE ME SHELTER

“I hope it’s a naturally driven correction,” he says, “because those result in the softest of landings.” Soper points to the BC government’s attempt to cool housing prices with a Vancouver-only foreign owner’s tax as an aggressive attempt to spark a decline in prices that was largely inevitable. “I don’t think it had to be, because affordability was eroding demand and the market would have corrected by its own right,” Soper says, adding that Royal LePage had predicted a correction in the Vancouver

homes within a desired commuting distance, and recently introduced Your Perfect Life, which matches buyers with their ideal neighbourhood. The company will also be rolling out a new online CRM and marketing centre for its agents, which will allow for greater automation and eliminate third party marketing costs. “We build a better mouse trap because we know if we don’t, someone else will,” he says. Soper, a believer in the disruptive business model, sees the agent experience on the verge of a revolution that will be sparked

“More and more, the menial tasks of serving both Realtors and consumer clients can be done through automation. To do that, we need to integrate data, integrate systems and make it incredibly easy to use” market in April of 2016. “It takes time for a really unbalanced market to adjust.”

The value of disruption Taking the helm of one of Canada’s most established companies – Royal LePage is 104 years old – meant Soper would have to immerse himself in the organization’s longestablished culture. He was eager to do so. “Our Royal LePage motto is: ‘Helping you is what we do,’ ” he says. “I adopted that when I first came in because I thought it spoke well to the servant/client-first focus that was in the DNA of the company, but would also succeed in the modern world.” That marriage of classic service and cutting-edge strategies has been in place since 1995, when Royal LePage unveiled the real estate industry’s first online portal, and has resulted in a number of recent innovations that have Soper visibly excited. In 2016, the company partnered with Google to launch Travel Time, a search function that allows potential buyers to find

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by the integration of technologies and a greater use of intelligent software. “More and more, the menial tasks of serving both Realtors and consumer clients can be done through automation. To do that, we need to integrate data, integrate systems and make it incredibly easy to use,” he says. But Soper expects some pushback, the inevitable result whenever new technology threatens to make agents less necessary. “When I came in, which was only 15 years ago, there was a big debate as to whether photographs should go on listings,” he says. “And then a debate as to whether or not people should include addresses. “Whenever it’s better for the consumer – if you provide them information, if you provide them insight – even if it appears at first blush to be worse for you, in the end it’s going to be better for you and your business. If you don’t disrupt the industry, someone else will, so you better think long and hard before you say no to something that’s going to be better for consumers.” REP

Phil Soper combines two of his driving passions – music and philanthropy – in Sonic Abandon, a rock band of GTA professionals who have helped raise money for research into epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a tragic disease that leaves its victims with paper-thin skin and often results in death before adulthood. Sonic Abandon played an EB fund-raising event coordinated by Toronto’s SickKids Hospital in April, when the band debuted its EB-inspired song, Butterfly Children.

Soper has been instrumental in establishing Royal LePage’s Shelter Foundation, the company’s initiative to eradicate domestic violence, as the largest foundation of its kind in Canada. The Shelter Foundation has raised over $24m, opened hundreds of shelters across the country and helped educate teens about healthy relationships. Soper will lead a group of Royal LePagers to Iceland this summer to raise another $700,000 for the foundation.

“My team and I have done something that feels like it’s making society in Canada a better, happier place,” Soper says.

YOUR INDEPENDENCE NEVER LOOKED BETTER.

QUALITY CONNECTIONS INDEPENDENCE Connecting 565 locally-rooted brokerages spanning six continents. That’s the combined power of independence. If you are a leader of an independent residential real estate company, we invite you to learn more. Contact Sheila Barr: sbarr@LeadingRE.com or +1.312.361.8632.

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DONE DEAL

To the letter An illness forced a young Hamilton family to seek a new home. Faced with dual shortages of time and inventory, an inspired young Realtor found the property that helped them move on

WHEN THE market is hot and all anyone talks about is home prices, it is easy to lose sight of the reason most people list their homes. Not everyone is an investor with dollar signs in their eyes; most sellers are simply doing what is right for their families. Such was the case in the summer of 2016, when a Hamilton family reluctantly sold their house on the east side of the city. The husband and wife were in desperate need of finding a home in the Hamilton Mountain area, near the wife’s parents’ home in Rymal. Her recently diagnosed illness meant she would soon require assistance in caring for the couple’s two young children. Being within walking distance of grandma and grandpa’s house was critical. Royal LePage State Realty’s Amir Ahmadi

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originally found the house in Rymal for the wife’s mother and father in 2014. Knowing how happy they were with their home and the job Ahmadi did in getting them into it, she reached out to him for help. While eager to help the woman and her family – he went to high school with two of her brothers – and confident he could find a suitable home for them in the three months before they had to move, Ahmadi was facing two steep obstacles: price and selection. Hamilton’s market was well into its rebirth in 2016 and the Rymal area was experiencing peak demand. “It was always desirable, but it’s really hot right now,” Ahmadi says. “All the people moving here from Toronto want to be there because they can get downtown quickly or

they can get the QEW from that location.” Because the wife’s parents were living in a section of Rymal that was exclusively new builds, prices on their street were well beyond the woman and her husband’s budget. Ahmadi turned to MLS to see what the city had to offer, with disappointing results. “We saw one house – they absolutely hated the inside. They didn’t like it at all. But they were going to put an offer in on it just because of the proximity.” Ahmadi says the couple’s dissatisfaction with the property, especially the husband’s, was obvious, adding even more sadness and stress to an already dispiriting situation. “He would never live there,” Ahmadi says. “He was going to hate the house. So at that point I said to them, ‘Listen, don’t put the offer in. I’ll see what I can do.’ ” Ahmadi’s optimism and vigilance seemed about to pay off. A home came on the market that appeared to be perfect; it fitted the couple’s budget and was acceptably close to the wife’s parents. Ahmadi hurried to contact his clients, who excitedly agreed to see the house and put in an offer. But when Ahmadi contacted the listing agent, he had already accepted an earlier offer. The house was off the market an hour before Ahmadi’s clients could even view it. “It sold right from under us,” he says. “When that happened, they were really upset. And I was upset. That motivated me.” Barring a miracle, the dearth of selection in the couple’s desired neighbourhood was not going to change, and with the family’s move-out date quickly approaching, Ahmadi would have to approach the Hamilton market from a different angle. He would have to create an opportunity where one didn’t exist.

QUICK LOOK

LOCATION Hamilton, ON

LISTING PRICE $530,000

After having no success searching for a property through MLS, Ahmadi decided to approach homeowners individually. Time wouldn’t allow for hundreds of doorknockings, but it did allow Ahmadi the opportunity to sit down at his desk and craft a short letter that clearly explained his clients’ predicament and their genuine need to find

“He was going to hate the house. So at that point I said to them, ‘Listen, don’t put the offer in. I’ll see what I can do’ ”

SOLD DATE MAY 6, 2016

SOLD PRICE $530,000

STYLE Two-storey detached

BEDROOMS 4

BATHS 2.5

a home in Rymal. He printed 200 of them, attached his business card to each one and set out to deliver them to every house that met the couple’s requirements. Ahmadi dropped off letters at scores of homes before approaching what he felt was the ideal property: a lovely two-storey detached home with a swimming pool on a deep, wide, pie-shaped lot. He walked away from the property desperately hoping for a call from the owner. “I was in the car on my way back to the office and my phone started ringing,” Ahmadi says. The owner of the home had lived there for 30 years. Recently widowed, she had been preparing to sell for some time, but Ahmadi’s letter moved her to action – sort of. While

HAMILTON: MARKET SNAPSHOT Area

she was ready to sell, she was about to take an extended trip and had already agreed in principle to list her home with another agent, a family member no less. Ahmadi did not want the home to hit the market, where a bidding war could very well deprive his clients of their perfect home. But if that was to be the only available option,

Number of sales

Average sale price

March 2017

March 2016

% Change

March 2017

March 2016

% Change

Hamilton West

40.3%

$465,745

$370,828

25.7%

Hamilton East

108

100

$365,888

$289,185

26.5%

Hamilton Mountain

207

197

5.1%

$486,784

$370,394

31.4%

Ancaster

19%

$786,033

$621,120

26.6%

Dundas

2.6%

$590,915

$504,728

17.1%

Stoney Creek

148

49.5%

$561,098

$437,289

28.3%

he wanted his clients prepared. The owner agreed to let them view the house that night. When the couple and their kids arrived, they were joined by the wife’s parents and brothers. Love for the house was universal. And the location could not have been better. “You can see the parents’ house from the backyard,” Ahmadi says. The family’s joy, excitement and relief overwhelmed the owner. She decided that night that she would sell the home privately to Ahmadi’s clients. He approached her about the price she had in mind and was told $530,000 was the absolute lowest she would accept. Ahmadi called his clients, who deliberated for 20 minutes and called him back, asking him to prepare the paperwork. Ahmadi then guided the seller and her son through the transaction, making sure the private sale would go through transparently and without incident. While luck played a part in securing his clients’ happiness – the seller was the only recipient of Ahmadi’s letter who contacted him – that luck would not have existed without Ahmadi’s dedication and creativity. One wonders where his clients might be today if he had not sat down to spend a few thoughtful moments explaining their situation in an uncomplicated letter. Still, Ahmadi doubts that the same strategy would work now, with homeowners in Hamilton having a better idea of what their homes are worth in a market where bidding wars are the new norm. “I don’t think that would work today,” he says. “But it did work in 2016.” REP

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017

2017 The real estate industry does not run on agents alone. These 75 industry heavyweights are helping shape the industry from every possible angle AN EDITOR at a major Canadian business publication once said that every story they ran could be about real estate and they would never run out of material. The inherent breadth that captures readers’ imaginations is a reflection of just how much activity goes into making the industry as powerful as it is. Agents may be the smiling, indispensable face of real esttate, but the heart, blood, bones and nerves of this mammoth business are the developers, brokers, executives, government officials and countless other professionals who create the products

and the environment that make an agent’s job possible. REP’s 2017 Hot List is a collection of 75 of the most influential individuals/partners working in Canadian real estate today. Many of these faces will never appear on a billboard, but their efforts, innovative thinking and dedication have pushed them to the forefront of their chosen areas of expertise. From stagers to CEOs, disruptive tech companies to the country’s leading brokerages, the men and women driving Canadian real estate are as diverse and vital as the industry itself.

SPONSOR PROFILE RE/MAX Infinite is a thriving, diverse brokerage growing in numbers year after year. We adhere to the premise that our agents are our clients. We are committed to ensuring that they receive consistent, excellent service and support at every level, from our broker of record, Levon Nazarian, who makes himself available to all agents whenever they have a question or require help with their deals, to a IN I N I T E top notch administrative staff that are among the best in the business – knowledgeable, friendly and always willing to go above and beyond to assist our agents with all of their business needs. The RE/MAX Infinite team is family. We have developed a strong sense of community and we are very proud of the dedicated, supportive and selfless environment within our brokerage. We aim to improve our business with the latest tools and technologies available, with a strong emphasis on continuing education and awareness. Weekly meetings to discuss the latest developments in the industry, as well as technical tutorials and occasional guest speakers, serve to equip not only new agents but seasoned, top producers with everything they need to develop and grow their business. We are currently in the process of opening a new 20,000sqft facility in York Region that will incorporate many essential services. We believe that the new office will transform the way that our agents conduct their business and will allow for more well-rounded service for all of our clients. BROKERAGE, INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

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BROKERAGE, INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

INDEX LAST NAME

FIRST NAME

CITY

BROKER/ORGANIZATION/FIRM

PAGE

LAST NAME

FIRST NAME

CITY

BROKER/ORGANIZATION/FIRM

PAGE

Bagogloo

Thomas

Halifax, ON

RE/MAX Nova

Maranger

Paul

Toronto, ON

Sotheby’s International Realty Canada

Bain

Debra

Toronto, ON

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty

McDadi

Sam

Mississauga, ON

Sam McDadi Real Estate

Bamber

George

Calgary, AB

Century 21 Bamber Realty

Mollema

Urma

Vancouver, BC

Mortgage Architects

Barak

Effi

Tortonto, ON

RE/MAX Integra

Montgomery

Willemina

Calgary, AB

Renzo Real Estate

Binab

Jason

Victoria, BC

Engel & Volkers Binab Group

Montgomery

Mike

Calgary, AB

Renzo Real Estate

Brindle

Barbara

Aurora, ON

RE/MAX Hallmark York Group

Morneau

Bill

Ottawa, ON

Government of Canada

Brookes

Samantha

Toronto, ON

Mortgages of Canada

Mortensen

Dennis

New York, NY

x.ai

Brown

Bill

San Francisco, CA

Matterport VR

Nichilo

Chris

Oakville, ON

Magnetic Mortgages

Burton

Jim

Conception Bay, NL

RE/MAX Infinity Realty

Normand

Serge

Riviere-du-Loup, QC

Century 21 Nord-Sud

Caranci

Beata

Toronto, ON

TD Bank

Orlando

Toronto, ON

Royal LePage Real Estate Services

Cardarelli

Ettore

Toronto, ON

OREA

Panagoulias

Kosta

Oakville, ON

web4realty

Cartwright

Mike

Newmarket, ON

Main Street Realty

Payne

David

Toronto, ON

Invent Dev

Charlwood

Martin

Vancouver, BC

Charlwood Pacific Group

Pilarski

Alex

Toronto, ON

RE/MAX Realtron Realty

Chow

Stephen

Richmond Hill, ON

Century 21 Atria Realty

Predenchuk

Scott

Regina, SK

RE/MAX Joyce Tourney Realty

Conly

Scott

Tortonto, ON

Colliers International

Proctor

Craig

Toronto, ON

Craig Proctor Seminars

Cosic

Debbie

Mississauga, ON

In2ition Realty Brokerage

Rae

Christine

St Catherines, ON

CSP International Staging Business Academy

Craig

Kim

Vancouver, BC

Sotheby’s International Realty Canada

Richer

Joseph

Toronto, ON

Real Estate Council of Ontario

DiMichele

John

Toronto, ON

Toronto Real Estate Board

Robbins

Richard

Markham, ON

Colliers International Canada

Faris

Mark

Barrie, ON

Royal LePage First Contact, Faris Team

Romundt

Greg

Toronto, ON

Centurion Asset Management

Fleming

David

Toronto, ON

Toronto Realty Blog

Russell

Scott

Richmond, BC

Sutton Group Seafair Realty

Gemus

Dan

Amherstburg, ON

Dan Gemus Real Estate Team

Ruttan

Mark

Wasaga Beach, ON

RE/MAX of Wasaga Beach

Gerstenfeld

Georg

San Francisco, CA

DocuSign

Sammut

Joe

Toronto, ON

Mortgage Architects

Giannoukakis

Tasis

Toronto, ON

Century 21 Leading Edge Realty

Siddall

Evan

Ottawa, ON

Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Goodall

Robert

Toronto, ON

Atrium MIC

Smith

Erica

Toronto, ON

The Condo Chicks

Grimes

Kevin

Ottawa, ON

RE/MAX Affliates Realty

Soni

Ajay

Vancouver, BC

Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association

Hans

Harpreet

Milton, ON

Grunding and Hans LLP

Soprovich

Jason

West Vancouver, BC

Royal LePage Sussex

Henderson

Brad

Toronto, ON

Sotheby’s International Realty Canad

Stephen

Ralph

Halifax, NS

Royal LePage Atlantic

Heos

George

Toronto, ON

Royal LePage Canada

Stewart

Mike

Vancouver, BC

Century 21 In Town Realty

Horn

Deanna

Langley, BC

British Columbia Real Estate Association

Stinson

Harry

Hamilton, ON

Stinson Developments

Justason

Sarah

Fredericton, NB

RE/MAX Group Four Realty

Taylor

Paul

Toronto, ON

Mortgage Professionals Canada

Khan

Raza

Oakville, ON

web4realty

Topuz

Ado

Mississauga, ON

Agent Locator

Kottick

Don

Toronto, ON

Peerage Realty Partners

Turner

Brett

Calgary, AB

Redline Real Estate Group

Lamb

Brad

Toronto, ON

Lamb Development Corp

Twomey

Christian

Calgary, AB

RE/MAX Landan Real Estate

Lane

Joanna

Halifax, NS

Staged for Upsell

Webb

Sandra

Toronto, ON

Royal LePage of Canada

LeBlanc

Roger

Moncton, BC

RE/MAX Avante

Weeks

Casey

Vancouver, BC

Mortgage Professionals Canada

Leo

Frank

Toronto, ON

RE/MAX Realty

Wynne

Kathleen

Toronto, ON

Government of Ontario

Magallanes

Lorena

Toronto, ON

The Condo Chicks

Yeung

Ken

Toronto, ON

Century 21 Leading Edge Realty

Magee

Amanda

Vancouver, BC

Stewart Title Guaranty Company

Zigelstein

Shawn

Toronto, ON

Royal LePage Your Community Realty

Manchisi

Dominic

Milton, ON

Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty Brokerage

Zurini

Conrad

Stony Creek, ON

RE/MAX Escarpment Realty

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017

INITE BROKERAGE, INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

HARRY STINSON

President, Stinson Developments Hamilton, ON

MARK RUTTAN RE/MAX of Wasaga Beach Wasaga Beach, ON

How’s the market in Wasaga Beach in 2017? Amazing. I’ve been doing this over 28 years now, and I’ve never seen it like this. How has that interest changed how you approach the market? I’ve had to work harder this year just to get listings. I always carry a large inventory of listings, but this year people have no place to move to, so if they sell their property they have nowhere to go. But I’ve had a good client base over the years, and they still stick by me, so that’s good. You had a massive jump in business from 2015 to ’16. What accounted for that increase? I base it on my database. I finally created a database which, when I list or something new comes up, it automatically goes to everyone who’s signed on to it. I’m finding that people who I haven’t talked to in five to 10 years are getting it and are saying, “Yes, that’s the one I want.” My database has finally gotten to the point where I have so many people in there that I can contact a lot more people who are coming to buy. What have you been doing to keep your business evolving for almost 30 years? I’ve always been out in the public. I sponsor soccer teams, baseball teams. I was involved in politics for nine years. It’s not that I go out looking for business, it’s just that I’m part of the community anyway. People see you, so they come back and call you.

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Harry Stinson has made his name by being about 10 steps ahead of his competition. With the Candy Factory Lofts, Stinson not only brought the idea of residential loft living to Toronto, he also sparked a rebirth in what is now the trendiest part of the city. His 1 King West project, once considered impossible to build, is now one of the most revered properties in Toronto, while the High Park Lofts are reasonably credited with helping enliven Roncesvalles Village. But Stinson’s foresight has taken him further from his native Toronto. Three of his current projects are located in Hamilton; the other is in Buffalo, NY. “The entry costs for doing development in Toronto are close to prohibitive,” Stinson says, “unless you’re an established player or bringing in massive amounts of money. I keep my eyes open, but right now where would you find an empty, old, grand building to be restored in Toronto?” While Stinson’s multiple forays into a revitalized Hamilton market are looking to be predictably enrapturing, it is his planned redevelopment of the long-abandoned Buffalo Central Terminal train station that is raising the most eyebrows – a $100m revitalization project, replete with lofts, 300,000sqft of office space and a sprawling convention space. The success of the project will largely depend on the city’s economic rebirth, but Stinson sees in Buffalo the same potential once hidden under layers of grime in Hamilton. Based on his decades of success, one thing not to be doubted when it comes to Harry Stinson is his foresight.

INITE BROKERAGE, INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 PAUL MARANGER

Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Toronto, ON

For top producing Sotheby’s agent Paul Maranger, selling luxury real estate has always appealed more to his personality than to his bank account. “It’s not a question of commissions,” he says about his motivations to sell some of Canada’s most exclusive properties. “It’s a function of quality over quantity. Some people are just driven by nature to quantity and some are driven by nature to quality – and complexity as well.” Maranger, who has been with Sotheby’s International for almost six years and is the company’s senior vice president of sales, says the most challenging aspect of working the luxury market is exceeding the sky-high expectations of clients used to enjoying the very best. “What they’re accustomed to is their average, not my average, so the level you have to perform at is what they experience all the time – and above that.” Maranger did just that when he sold Integral House, one of Toronto’s most exquisite properties, in September 2016 for just under $15m. Privately built and fully customized properties like Integral House have become Maranger’s specialty. “The complexity of the luxury level is selling that homeowner’s dream and vision and lifestyle to a new buyer,” he says.

KEN YEUNG

Century 21 Leading Edge Realty Toronto, ON

When Ken Yeung started targeting the Toronto pre-sale condo market over a decade ago, it was simply a strategic move to sell more units in the city’s downtown. But as more and more buyers – new immigrants, young first-time purchasers – find themselves squeezed out of the single family market, Yeung has found himself poised to reap the considerable benefits. In 2016, he was the No.1 Century 21 agent in the world. Despite finding himself at the top, Yeung says he still regularly puts in 10-hour days before returning home and tending to emails and marketing initiatives long into the night. While he hopes to one day add more licensed staff in order to help him spend more time with his family, one can only assume that there will be more long days – and many more sales – in his future.

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BRAD LAMB

Lamb Development Corp Toronto, ON

In a city that has gone condo crazy, Lamb Development Corp is about as hot as it gets. The company is set to launch four new developments in the Golden Horseshoe this year – including an ambitious 700-unit project at the old CHCH building in Hamilton – while completing or breaking ground on another four in Toronto and Ottawa in the next several months. Lamb is also investing heavily in Alberta, where the next five years will see more than half a dozen major developments introduced. “I’m optimistic now,” Lamb says about the Alberta market. “I certainly was pessimistic two and a half years ago. We’re just out of the bottom, so we’re in the early days. But it’s bright skies ahead.” Lamb is a little less optimistic when surveying the current development landscape in Ontario. He considers the purpose-built rental industry to be “dead and buried” and the single-family market to be virtually non-existent in Ontario “unless there are major policy changes. Homes within an hour of Toronto will continue to go up by double digits as long as the government doesn’t do something to increase the amount of land available for single-family homes.” All good news for Lamb, who is better positioned than anyone in the industry to take advantage of the increasing demand for condos in Toronto. “It’s almost insatiable,” he says.

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LORENA MAGALLANES & ERICA SMITH The Condo Chicks Toronto, ON

“We recently sold a condo – one bedroom plus den, 800sqft,” says Condo Chicks co-founder Erica Smith. “We had it listed at $549,000 and sold it for $755,000. We had 19 offers.” In a city where condos are generating unprecedented interest, the Condo Chicks are perfectly poised to reap the benefits. While Smith, who started the brokerage with Lorena Magallanes in 2012, is focused more on helping clients navigate the ever-widening pitfalls of getting into the condo market than she is on driving profits, she says the key to accomplishing both goals is preparing her agents. “What we train our Realtors to do is really qualify their buyers and educate them that market value is one thing but it really doesn’t mean anything in the market now,” she says. “It really comes down to who’s going to pay.” Smith and Magallanes started Condo Chicks as a way of combining their talents for selling pre-construction units – they met while selling Canderel’s Aura at College Park – and have leveraged their experience into rapidly intensifying success. They recently landed their first development site, a church conversion near High Park, and have been making waves in the commercial, single family and resale condo markets.

SERGE NORMAND Century 21 Nord-Sud Riviere-du-Loup, QC

Serge Normand has been selling for Century 21 for over 31 years, servicing the tiny riverside community of Riviere-du-Loup. He is a multiple award winner and has showed no sign of slowing down since being named Century 21’s Sales Associate of the Year in 2009. Normand, known to his neighbours, associates and clients for his honesty and integrity, says listening to his clients has been key to his decades of success, and that opening his “eyes and mindset” have had the most recent impact on his business.

AJAY SONI

Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association Vancouver, BC

Only two years old, CMBA has already made tremendous strides in its attempts to bring increased understanding, accountability and consumer advocacy to the mortgage industry. CMBA’s trademark distinction, its own version of REALTOR, is already seen as a mark of legitimacy and its president, Ajay Soni, was recently invited to act as an expert witness in the federal government’s parliamentary Finance Committee hearings around new mortgage regulations, in February. In addition to enhancing the public’s perception of what his industry does, Soni is also determined to improve the symbiotic relationship between mortgage brokers and other professions, not just limited to real estate agents, who may see a broker’s job as nothing more than finding the lowest rate for their clients. “The spectrum of the services of a mortgage broker is very broad and very encompassing, which really works in favour of a Realtor,” says Soni. “You don’t want anything to go sideways when your real estate deal is dependent on financing. We’re going to come up with the appropriate solution that is best for that client, which will work in the favour of the Realtor.”

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 CASEY WEEKS

Colliers International Canada Vancouver, BC

In six years with Colliers International in Vancouver, Casey Weeks has become known as the local expert in transit-oriented development in areas near Vancouver’s Sky Train lines. While this distinction may sound obscure, especially since Weeks has accumulated a great deal of experience in helping clients buy and sell a variety of income-generating commercial properties throughout the city, he feels honing in on a specific part of the market – “narrowing the focus of the business, not trying to do too many things” – is critical for a commercial agent looking to make a similar splash in the industry. Weeks says differentiating oneself comes down to “specialization in sales, and within that sales category specializing within specific geographies and markets so you become known as an expert in those areas”. Weeks says referrals are the lifeblood of a commercial agent’s success –as in residential real estate – and that to generate those referrals an agent must “deliver on your commitments and exceed your expectations. Over the long run, that’s going to separate you from the pack.”

STEPHEN CHOW Century 21 Atria Realty Richmond Hill, ON

In 2004, Stephen Chow left his first brokerage to open Century 21 Atria Realty. Making the jump from a bare-bones operation to a company with an extensive support network opened Chow’s eyes to how much difference a well-run brokerage can make to its agents’ early development. “Coming from a small brokerage without any support or technology, I realized that an owner needs to provide a lot of guidance, support, training and technology for your team to help them succeed a lot faster.” To foster his agents’ evolution, Chow spent nine months creating a 12-week training program that includes a 180-page manual, homework assignments, videos and one-on-one training that touches on every aspect of the agent experience. As the number of Realtors in Ontario reportedly inches toward 60,000, Chow says new agents, more than ever, need this kind of intensive training. “Many of these agents, they don’t know what they’re coming into,” he says.

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BEATA CARANCI TD Bank

Toronto, ON

Few of Canada’s major financial institutions have been as willing to go on the record about the potential fallout from runaway home prices in the GTA as TD. Beata Caranci, TD’s chief economist since 2015, says the bank’s forthrightness is the natural result of its thorough, industryleading research. “We consider ourselves almost as a think tank with the objective to make sure we’re staying in front of the curve in terms of where the risks are evolving,” Caranci says. “Our view is, if it’s important to the bank, it’s important to our clients.” TD has been vocal in its support for government intervention to stabilize a market in which increased speculation has led to instability and unpredictability. While Caranci says a significant hike in interest rates would be an unfairly applied and potentially ineffective “blunt tool”, she does encourage more active government policy to counter sales activity that is divorced from economic drivers and population figures. “The sales are too high,” she says. “They’re looking like they were in the mid-’80s.”

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EVAN SIDDALL

Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation Ottawa, ON

The three years since Evan Siddall was named president and CEO of CMHC have been tumultuous to say the least. Taking the reins of CMHC at a time when its purpose and effectiveness were constantly being debated, Siddall moved quickly to make the organization more relevant and agile: hundreds of employees, many of them middle management, were laid off; its technology underwent a complete overhaul; and a flood of new employees with backgrounds in risk management were brought in to produce a constant flow of critical, publicly available data. But Siddall’s attempts to increase CMHC’s credibility, not to mention his willingness to speak bluntly about the issues facing the Canadian housing market, have led to controversy. Many in the mortgage industry have questioned CMHC’s recent changes to lending rules, some deigning to call them “decrees”, and more than one Canadian politician has referred to Siddall as “arrogant” for professing his views. He has publicly questioned the racial bias at the heart of the Vancouver foreign ownership tax and has made no secret of his worries around a potential debt-fuelled financial crisis – for which Siddall and CMHC have encountered an avalanche of criticism.

BRAD HENDERSON

Sotheby’s International Realty Canada

KATHLEEN WYNNE Government of Ontario Toronto, ON

Kathleen Wynne dropped a long-in-theworks bombshell on the GTA housing market in April, when she announced a 16-point Fair Housing Plan to stabilize prices and assist consumers in finding affordable housing. A Non-resident Speculation Tax and increased rent controls were the highlights, but a tax on vacant homes, a crackdown on assignment clauses and an end to doubleending by agents will also have an impact on multiple layers of the real estate industry. Wynne’s plan has hardly been the recipient of universal praise. It does little to bolster supply in the GTA, and its rent control measures may actually lead to fewer purpose-built apartments as multiple developers have already announced the cancellation of projects in the area. In addition, the foreign speculation tax does nothing to curtail the exploits of homegrown speculators, who have been snapping up properties beyond the Golden Horseshoe in an attempt to preserve positive cash flow. Whether Wynne’s Fair Housing Plan will go down as a piece of progressive legislation or a desperate campaign ploy remains to be seen.

Toronto, ON

When Brad Henderson became the new president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada in 2016, he was joining a company with a 273-year history in satisfying clients with extraordinarily high expectations. But Henderson felt no pressure taking over what is the largest Sotheby’s real estate franchise outside the continental US. “I see it as unbounded opportunity,” he says. “Every day brings a different idea, a different avenue to explore.” Henderson has been aggressive in his efforts to improve the company’s performance at every level. He has imbued the company’s management with a new sense of pride and purpose, confident that it will be passed on to individual agents. He has encouraged those agents to spend time at other Sotheby’s offices in order to find innovative solutions and strategies. Henderson has also implemented new methods for measuring success at the company, from revenue growth to agent performance, proving “that which gets measured gets done” is more than a cliché. “We’ve always said that luxury’s an experience, not a price point,” Henderson says. “And our people truly live it.”

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MIKE AND WILLEMINA MONTGOMERY Renzo Real Estate Calgary, AB

RAZA KHAN & KOSTA PANAGOULIAS web4realty Oakville, ON

A growing number of agents in North America are using web4realty’s marketing software and custom websites to manage their businesses, but what put the company on REP’s radar was the April announcement of its Newcomer and Refugee Realtor Education Grant, which will provide $5,000 worth of tuition and software subsidies for newcomers to Canada looking to start a new life as a real estate agent. “We are proud to help newcomers to Canada in a way that will help build and fuel their future,” says web4realty co-founder Raza Khan. “The value of such individuals is tenfold – with fresh eyes on our country, and a unique perspective that only they can provide. We are thrilled to help welcome them into a profession I am so proud to have a deep history with.” The grant is a passion project of web4realty’s multicultural staff, itself made up of refugees, second-generation Canadians and immigrants. As there are more and more new arrivals to Canada looking to provide their families with a better future, web4realty has positioned itself both intelligently and compassionately.

“We really want to explore the technology side of real estate,” says Mike Montgomery of Renzo Real Estate. “We were a little bit unsatisfied with the standard model, so we broke off and did our own thing with Renzo.” Renzo Real Estate is the only brokerage in Calgary using virtual reality with 100% of its listings, providing clients with their own VR headsets so they can explore properties on their own time. Rather than visiting every home on their list of potential buys, clients can now cut back beforehand, saving them time and frustration. While their business model might appear to reduce the role of agents, Montgomery says it “ups the game that the Realtor needs to play” by forcing agents to learn more about the value of the homes clients know they want to see. “It changes the role of the Realtor,” he says, “but it changes it for the better.”

MARTIN CHARLWOOD Charlwood Pacific Group Vancouver, BC

When asked about his proudest accomplishments in the two years he has been CEO of Charlwood Pacific Group, Century 21’s parent company, Martin Charlwood speaks with obvious pride in the strides the company has made in its technology. By leveraging RealSatisfied, Century 21 became the first real estate company to allow its customers to rate their agent experiences, a step that Charlwood hopes will appeal to both millennials and those potential clients skeptical of an overcrowded industry. Charlwood is also excited about the company’s use of BombBomb’s online video streaming service, which allows agents to enhance their listings with short, sharp video presentations. Charlwood says convenience is a major concern when it comes to the technology Century 21 provides its agents. Its integrated platform, which the company has been investing heavily in for over a decade, is one of the industry’s best, combining a reliable customer facing website with a powerful back-end CRM system. “We have a system whereby you are able, as an agent, to join Century 21 and have all the tools at your fingertips that allow you to best market a listing for a customer,” Charlwood says. “We want the agents focusing on knocking on doors and getting listings, and not having to fuss with the technology needed in today’s competitive environment.”

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JOANNA LANE Staged for Upsell Halifax, NS

Joanna Lane turned a background in marketing and trade show management into one of Atlantic Canada’s most successful home staging companies, Staged For Upsell. While staging madness has yet to hit Halifax with the same intensity as it has Canada’s larger cities, Lane has still been able to build a highly successful business. After four short years, she has already had her work seen on HGTV’s Humble Home Hunters and has been named one of the top 10 vacant home stagers in Canada by the Real Estate Staging Association. “People think it’s very glamorous,” Lane says of life as a well-known home stager, “but it’s very physical, demanding work. You have to be a really good multitasker. You have to run a business, not just stage.”

ROBERT GOODALL Atrium MIC Toronto, ON

As founder of CMCC, Atrium MIC’s managing organization, Robert Goodall rarely deals with Realtors, but he has overseen the financing behind billions of dollars in developments. Between 1996 and 2011, CMCC arranged financing on over $6bn of real estate in Ontario alone. Goodall is also the trustee of two sizeable REITs, Dream Office REIT and Dream Industrial REIT. Atrium has grown to become one of the top five MICs in Canada, with a reputation of servicing not only large-scale developments and real estate investors but also individuals, including new arrivals to Canada who have yet to establish a credit rating. “Atrium does not compete by providing a larger loan amount,” Goodall says. “It tends to lend to select groups that have more difficulty getting that type of financing from the banks.”

RALPH STEPHEN Royal LePage Atlantic Halifax, NS

Ralph Stephen, owner and CEO of Royal LePage Atlantic, oversees the work of 350 agents across four Atlantic Canada markets – Halifax, the Nova Scotia Valley, St John and Moncton. Despite the sluggish economies in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Stephen has managed to drive his company to new heights year in and year out. He attributes the remarkable growth to making the company a destination of choice for the best talent in the industry. “Ultimately, that’s what we strive to do every day,” Stephen says. Once agents are hired by Royal LePage Atlantic, Stephen says they pass through a thorough four-step preparation process that includes onboarding, training, an in-house mentoring partnership and in-house coaching, which helps agents develop a business plan and be held accountable to it. “That’s a differentiator for us,” Stephen says. “I don’t spend too much time worrying about what my competitors are doing, but I do know, for the most part, everybody out there is doing less. We try to do more.”

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TASIS GIANNOUKAKIS DOMINIC MANCHISI

Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty Brokerage

Toronto, ON

Milton, ON

As owner, broker and manager of Century 21 Leading Edge Realty, Tasis Giannoukakis oversees a veritable army of 700 agents. In 2016, Giannoukakis’ team racked up more sales than any other Century 21 franchise in Canada and cracked the company’s worldwide top five. Faced with inventory in the GTA rapidly drying up, Giannoukakis says he has had to shift his agents’ priorities. “The demand is so high now that it’s the supply that you really need to focus on,” he says. “Agents need to be concentrating their efforts on prospecting for sellers and not so much for buyers.” Giannoukakis’ in-house training also helps prepare his agents for the inevitability of multiple-offer situations and strengthening their offers. “That could include convincing clients they should have a draft with their offer instead of just upon acceptance, or offers being firm instead of conditional,” he says. Giannoukakis says his goal for 2017 is to further increase Leading Edge’s market share in the GTA and attract more of the area’s top agents.

Your average sold prices are close to $16,000 over asking, which is tops in the GTA. What is your team doing differently to get more money in your clients’ pockets? I think it’s because of some of the unique ways we market the properties. As well, I have a really unique database. We have over 7,000 registered buyers looking for homes. Most agents are just holding back offers in the GTA, and we’re holding back offers as well, but we’re doing a lot of pre-marketing even before a property hits the MLS. Just throwing a sign on the lawn and putting a home on MLS is an antiquated way of doing it, so we’re trapping our own buyers before they even know we’re going to list a home. You started your own independent brokerage last year. What do you provide your agents that one of the big three might not be able to? Normally, what you’re buying when you buy any franchise is a system. But the problem with real estate franchises is that they really have no system. All they have is a brand. The way the big box real estate companies are set up, they’re really just rental companies – they rent you space; they let you use the brand, but then you’re allowed to do whatever you want with it, whereas we’ve always been system-oriented. We provide scripts and dialogues. We practise our listing presentation every week. We also have a presentation for when we’re meeting with a buyer, which I think a lot of Realtors lack. I sit with the agents at the end of the year and we make an annual schedule for them, which they have to stick with, and my wife meets with them once a month to discuss performance. It sounds like you have a built-in coaching structure. I’m actually one of Craig Proctor’s coaches, so I take everything he’s taught me in the last 15 years and implement all his sales training and systems into my business. If it wasn’t for Craig, I’d just be an average agent.

Century 21 Leading Edge Realty

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 CHRISTINE RAE

CSP International Staging Business Academy St Catharines, ON

Over 5,000 students have graduated from Christine Rae’s CSP International Staging Business Academy since it opened in 2009. With offices in Canada, Australia and the US, CSP is the only organization in the world offering recognized certification in the burgeoning staging industry.

DEBRA BAIN

RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Toronto, ON

Prior to purchasing RE/MAX Hallmark Realty with her business partner Ken McLachlan, Debra Bain had been a top producing agent for 25 years. That experience has shaped how she supports her team of over 1,100 agents at the No.1 RE/MAX brokerage in the world. Bain says the technological tools and training Hallmark provides its agents is critical, but so is accountability and availability. “I think we’re really good at connecting,” Bain says. “We’re not sitting behind glass doors someplace. We’re in the offices; we’re in the field.” Bain credits Hallmark’s leadership team – Barbara Brindle, Gurinder Sandhu and Steve Tabrizi – with building the brokerage and, through their own ongoing development, leading by example. “It’s always said, ‘So goes the leader’,” Bain says. “We’re always encouraging our agents to grow their business. If we’re not growing our business, how do we model that for our agents?”

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“When you offer certification in a non-regulated industry,” Rae says, “it offers quantifiable evidence that you have received education and training and it helps separate you from those who don’t have it. Really, it’s an endorsement of integrity and competence.” While CSP’s curriculum includes design and decorating, it is far more concerned with helping new stagers come to grips with the breadth of their new business – the marketing, billing, pricing and contract processes that can overwhelm anyone new to the industry. “You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t know how to sell your services, if you don’t know how to price or communicate a message to the seller, you’re not going to have a business,” Rae says. “There’s more to it than fluffing cushions.”

HARPREET HANS Grunding and Hans LLP Milton, ON

When Harpreet Hans co-founded Grunding and Hans in 2007, real estate law was just one of her areas of expertise. But when the market in Milton and its surrounding areas exploded a few years later, Hans knew where to concentrate her efforts. “The market’s exciting; the clients are amazing,” she says. “It’s fun to be part of something exciting and to be a part of their lives.” Hans is arguably the go-to real estate lawyer in the Halton region, helping her clients close over 1,000 deals a year. While half of her clients are repeat customers – a ringing endorsement for her team’s systematic, pressure-free approach and unmatched accessibility – the other half comes from a trusted and carefully curated group of referral partners Hans says are “dedicated, detail-oriented people who don’t drop the ball”.

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DENNIS MORTENSEN x.ai

New York, NY

In writing this year’s Hot List, REP had multiple dealings with Andrew and Amy Ingram, who were instrumental in setting up interviews with multiple listees. Both were polite, efficient and lightning quick. They’re also both machines. The Ingrams are the brainchild of Dennis Mortensen, who, after counting the number of meetings he had scheduled for himself in 2012 (1019), wondered if that was what he was meant to do with his time. “What was even sadder,” he says, “is I had 672 reschedules in that year and I did all of them myself. This is what pretty much everybody in many positions will do every year.” The result is x.ai, a constantly evolving personal assistant platform that schedules meetings through email. While Mortensen has no illusions about x.ai replacing indispensable admin staff, agents not yet ready to shell out for a full-time assistant can leverage either Amy or Andrew’s talents to remove one of their most menial tasks. In the future, x.ai will be able to speak multiple languages, communicate through text and Facebook messages and schedule more than just meetings, including Uber pick-ups and restaurant reservations. “You can’t find a single friend of yours who will tell you, ‘You know what? I really like setting up meetings’,” Mortensen says.

ADO TOPUZ Agent Locator Mississauga, ON

“The conversion rate off internet leads is 1.5% for a typical agent,” says Agent Locator founder Ado Topuz. “But a team who knows what they’re doing these days is converting about 5.5-6%.” Agent Locator has become an indispensable tool for over 1,800 agents across Canada looking to expand their business. The company’s proprietary software not only generates leads, it also helps convert them by tracking visitors’ browsing activity, automatically creating a prospect match and sending listings to prospective clients, continually bringing them back to an agent’s website. Topuz says 11.5% of the traffic to the company’s sites is converted into leads. Agent Locator, which enjoys the highest level of Google partnership in Canada, will soon be making a foray into AI capabilities, adding autonomous lead responses to its CRM system. This spring, SMS messages will begin being automatically sent to clients, offering them the opportunity to have a prospect match devised for them. Topuz says 36.6% of all the leads they generate end up responding to that first message.

URMA MOLLEMA Mortgage Architects Vancouver, BC

Urma Mollema was the first mortgage broker to grant a non-bank mortgage in South Africa. After building her company into a 128-franchise juggernaut, she sold it off and moved to Canada in 2011. Three years with CENTUM saw Mollema become the company’s national franchise director of business development, but leadership changes at the company inspired her to leave in 2017 to become Mortgage Architects’ national director of business development. “I had to reconsider my growth potential as a businesswoman,” Mollema says. “I did not think I could grow in the company as much as I wanted.” Mortgage Architects funded $7bn of deals in 2016. Mollema hopes to increase that figure considerably in 2017. “My goal is to grow this brand as much as I can with everything I’ve learned over 20 years.” Mollema is highly appreciative of the relationship between mortgage brokers and real estate agents. She encourages her franchises to ensure that 35% of their business comes directly from Realtors. “They’re the people who meet the consumers first; they’re the people who know what the clients need,” she says. “I don’t see a future in this industry without Realtors.”

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EFFI BARAK RE/MAX Integra Toronto, ON

When Effi Barak first joined RE/MAX Integra as the company’s COO in 2014, his professional past included tech start-ups, KPMG and Whirlpool, but no real estate. His natural curiosity attracted him to the opportunity with RE/MAX, and he soon found himself enamoured. “When I lifted the hood and started looking inside the industry, I was fascinated by it,” he says. In his relatively short time with the company, Barak has been instrumental in leading the company toward its major goals: burnishing the company’s vision, increasing its market share and further improving the performance of RE/MAX’s agents through training initiatives and new technology, which Barak hopes will also enhance “the experience of clients at the moment of value creation – when the true business activities happen. That’s where we spend a lot of time investing our efforts.”

BILL BROWN Matterport VR San Francisco, CA

Years before Bill Brown became CEO of Matterport, he was director of marketing for bamboo. com, one of the world’s first virtual tour companies. While bamboo.com introduced Brown to both the real estate industry and the game-changing potential of virtual reality, the technology was, and remained for years, anything but an immersive experience. Matterport changed all that. “It wasn’t an evolution,” Brown says. “Matterport was a quantum leap forward in terms of both the technology and the ease of use for people capturing and experiencing the content.” Tens of thousands of North American Realtors have already exposed their clients to Matterports’s VR technology, and with the functionality expanding to include embedded multimedia content, Brown’s goal of a 30-40% adoption rate seems within reach. Brown says there has been little pushback from agents worried that VR will rob the industry of some of its tactile humanity. He compliments the industry for its willingness to implement new technologies and says agents have been able to use Matterport to differentiate themselves by demonstrating their expertise in leveraging a new tool for their clients. “There’s only one person who’s going to be the first one to introduce you to virtual reality,” Brown says.

SCOTT CONLY Colliers International Toronto, ON

Scott Conly quickly made a name for himself after joining Colliers in 2009. He spent several years toiling at the brokerage level – being named the company’s Office Leasing Rookie of the Year for Toronto in ’13 – and is now an associate vice president and one of Colliers’ office leasing experts. Just as supply is an issue for residential agents, Conly says commercial agents in the GTA are facing a definite supply shortage, too. “I work a lot in the downtown east and the downtown west markets of Toronto, and those areas are having the same issues in terms of supply. There’s very little space available, so it’s challenging to complete deals, especially when you have clients looking for larger space – or smaller space.” Conly says one of the only ways around this lack of product is for agents to build relationships with landlords and tenants with inside information about what spaces might be coming available. Conly is highly complimentary of Colliers’ training program, Colliers University, as well as its heavy investment into CRM and the company’s strong, approachable management team.

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TO MORE CANADIAN REALTORSÂ® THAN ANY OTHER REAL ESTATE BR AND *. *Source: Year-end 2016. RE/MAX LLC reported agent count

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 MIKE CARTWRIGHT Main Street Realty Newmarket, ON

Mike Cartwright prides himself on running a technology-focused real estate company. Main Street Realty, which Cartwright founded in 2010 and built into the 130-agent, six-office powerhouse it is today, is 100% paperless and on the leading edge when it comes to marketing its properties. “The average TREB agent sells two properties a year,” says Cartwright. “And when they go to market a consumer’s home, they put it on the MLS, they put a sign up and pray another agent will sell it. We teach agents to spend money on marketing and exposing the property.” Each Main Street listing receives its own custom website and is seen by over 100,000 potential buyers on Facebook and Twitter and countless more on Rogers TV. Cartwright says Main Street also reaches out to two of its biggest consumer groups, Chinese and Persian buyers, and markets to them in their native languages. Main Street even manages to get around Chinese censorship of western websites by listing their properties on top-ranked sites in Asia.

PAUL TAYLOR

Mortgage Professionals Canada

DAN GEMUS

Toronto, ON

Dan Gemus Real Estate Team Amherstburg, ON

If being ahead of the curve makes a broker worthy of a Hot List nod, few are as deserving as Dan Gemus. His team is known throughout the Windsor-Essex market for its media savvy, which has resulted in the area’s best-marketed properties. Gemus is the only broker in the area employing a full-time media production department, developing video series for not only the team’s properties, but also Windsor-area businesses and charities. Gemus is also proud of the systems he has put in place, which organize the team’s processes from top to bottom. “From the moment a lead comes in, whether it be a sign call or an online lead, there is a checklist and a system for it,” Gemus says. As exhaustive step-by-step processes are in place for both listings and buyers, agents know exactly what is expected of them.” “Nothing gets missed,” Gemus says.

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As president and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada, Paul Taylor leads the Canadian mortgage industry’s largest professional development and public advocacy group. The significant changes to lending rules unveiled by the government in October have raised the organization’s profile and intensified its drive to alleviate the pressures the new guidelines have placed on consumers. “Our members have really made our presence felt and really tried to bring the story of the first-time buyer – and the pressures these additional changes have made – up to government,” Taylor says. “And they certainly seem to understand. What is their appetite for change? That remains to be seen.” In addition to consumer advocacy and government relations – which have taken the form of public testimony before government committees and the group’s first ever Parliament Hill Advocacy Day, held in March – Taylor is also focused on maintaining the strong bond between real estate and mortgage professionals. “We’re absolutely tied together,” he says. “A good number of mortgage brokers and Realtors have reciprocal arrangements. I think there’s a really good level of trust between the folks and I think that is phenomenally good for consumers in general.”

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JOSEPH RICHER

Real Estate Council of Ontario Toronto, ON

As the registrar of the Real Estate Council of Ontario, Joseph Richer is one of the organization’s most visible and accessible members. Richer is an active writer whose Ask Joe column has been a major hit in the Toronto Star, but his primary duty is enforcing the rules governing the province’s real estate professionals – no small task in a delirious market. Richer says two of RECO’s main goals for 2017 are improving customer service and enhancing consumer outreach. The former includes streamlining and bolstering the organization’s complaints process, while the latter involves more face time with Ontario’s buyers and sellers. “This year, we’re visiting more communities and engaging new audiences, including first-time home buyers, up-sizers, downsizers and new Canadians,” Richer says. RECO will also be endeavouring to ensure its educational programs remain relevant and effective. Richer says a review of RECO’s continuing education program is scheduled for later this year.

GEORGE BAMBER Century 21 Bamber Realty Calgary, AB

George Bamber oversees the work of 180 agents at one of Calgary’s best-known brokerages. Century 21 Bamber Realty, despite the softness of Stampede City’s market, has been posting significant annual gains since 2015, culminating in a 35% year-over-year increase in sales in the first quarter of ’17. While Bamber admits some of the gains are the result of an improving Calgary market, the brokerage’s solid reputation has played the greatest role, attracting both clients and competing agents. “We’ve built a really good name and reputation over 30 years in a location we own,” Bamber says. “People know that we’re solid financially. In a tough economy, Realtors want to know that.” Bamber is deeply ingrained in the day-to-day performance of his agents, even dropping in on their showings to give them feedback and advice. “We’re not one of those companies that train a lot of new agents right out of class. But will we do anything and everything to support our agents? Absolutely.” “If you know what you’re doing,” Smith says, “everything falls into place.”

RICHARD ROBBINS Richard Robbins International Markham, ON

“I’ve always believed that success is not just knowing what to do, it’s also doing what we already know,” Richard Robbins says. His commitment to lifelong learning has served him well. By pushing himself to stay ahead of the highly competitive real estate coaching market, he and his growing team have built Richard Robbins International into an industry leader. “It is all about enriching lives,” Robbins says. 2017 will be a big year for RRI. The company will be launching its new masters Academy Real Estate Conference and building on the functionality of its virtual training system, RRI On Demand. “Coaching inspires action,” Robbins says, “which leads to success.”

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 ROGER LEBLANC RE/MAX Avante Moncton, NB

When asked what recent changes he has made to his business that have had the most impact, Roger LeBlanc says it was returning to RE/MAX after an extended stint with Royal LePage. LeBlanc says the tools, both real world and online, the company provides its agents are unmatched. “The exposure that RE/MAX gives to our buyers and sellers is amazing,” he says. “The best in the world.” Despite the lasting softness of the Moncton market, where the average time on market for a property is more than 160 days, LeBlanc is one of RE/MAX’s top agents in all of Canada. He credits his team of five licensed agents and four administrative staff and their systematic approach to client service for his success. “In a soft market, [selling] takes longer, so you need to have systems in place to keep your clients abreast of what’s going on so they’re a partner in the game,” LeBlanc says. “People need you whether it’s slow or not.”

DAVID PAYNE Invent Dev Toronto, ON

In 2009, David Payne and his wife were sorting through a mountain of floor plans, trying in vain to select the perfect preconstruction condo. “I found the whole process very draining and frustrating,” Payne says. “I could not base the biggest investment of my life at that time on something I couldn’t comprehend or visualize.” The couple eventually bought a resale property. A year later, Payne had launched Invent Dev, a piece of virtual technology that allows buyers to not only look at a space in 3D, but to walk its floor plan, fully customize it and even experience its view. “We’ve really evolved to the point where our experiences are so photorealistic and lifelike that most people, when they actually see them, think they’re real spaces,” Payne says. While Invent Dev has had its greatest impact on the preconstruction sector, where buyers can experiment with different colors, finishings and fixtures, Payne says the company’s next step will be to provide the same customization for buyers wondering what existing properties might look like post-renovation or with different furniture layouts, allowing them a glimpse of what their homes could one day be. “There are a lot of applications and opportunities in the market still,” Payne says. “We have a long way to go. And that’s partially what’s so exciting about real estate – that as an industry there’s a lot of room for innovation and improvement. That’s why we really like working this space.”

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KIM CRAIG

Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Vancouver, BC

After nine years with Macdonald Realty, Kim Craig made the switch to Sotheby’s International in January of 2016. Six months later, she and other Vancouver area luxury specialists were facing the fallout of the BC government’s new foreign buyer’s tax. “There was definitely a step back, a collective holding of breath,” Craig says, “but to be honest with you, I think we’re starting to see a little boredom with it. People are starting to get back in.” The Vancouver slowdown has had little effect on Craig’s business. She has recently sold properties in West Vancouver for $9m and $15m and is currently looking for a buyer for a $20m home on a 23,000sqft lot. Craig was drawn to Sotheby’s because of the company’s revered marketing capabilities, but she realizes that selling a high-end property ultimately comes down to agent expertise. “The purchasing public has become very sophisticated, especially at the luxury end,” she says. “You have to be an expert on that house. You will be asked the questions and you have to be prepared to answer them.”

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DEANNA HORN

British Columbia Real Estate Association

GEORG GERSTENFELD DocuSign

San Francisco, SF Langley, BC

In addition to her role as immediate past president for BCREA, Deanna Horn also runs a Langley, BC-based RE/MAX Treeland Realty team with her husband and daughter. Horn says her double duties come with a significant perk. “It takes time away from your business, but it also allows you to be very informed with what’s going on and completely up to date with what’s going on with the profession.” Horn was president of BCREA until March of 2017, meaning she led the organization through a tumultuous 2016 that saw a failed attempt to amalgamate the province’s 11 real estate boards and the appointment of a new superintendent to oversee the industry in BC. In addition to BCREA maintaining its goals of education, advocacy and upholding professional standards, Horn says the group is still adjusting its footing to a shifting landscape. “We’re now looking at where we go from here,” she says. “We’re looking at the potential to build on last year and how we work with the new superintendent. I wouldn’t say we’re dealing with fallout, but we certainly want to build on what we learned the last couple years and move forward.” Horn was recently honoured with a RE/MAX Special Services award for her many years of community and industry involvement.

Prior to becoming the vice president and GM of global real estate solutions for DocuSign, Georg Gerstenfeld was introduced to the real estate industry by improving lead quality for US-based Realtors while working as a VP for Trulia. Gerstenfeld says those years spent working on customer-driven innovation with real estate agents and observing their needs helped him adapt quickly when he arrived at DocuSign, the unquestioned leader of the e-signature industry. “My goal when I joined DocuSign was to completely transform the real estate transaction, from lead to close,” Gerstenfeld says. “We’re within months of completing our first fully digital experience. And when we’re done, the transaction will go from 45-60 days down to two weeks. That kind of speed, transparency, compliance and collaboration will transform the experience for everyone who touches a real estate transaction.” DocuSign was far and away the most popular piece of industry-related tech mentioned during our Hot List nomination process, as it speeds up transactions and removes at least one layer of complexity. Gerstenfeld says agents impressed with DocuSign’s current functionality should be in store for some surprises. “We’re on the cusp of delivering the next transformation,” he says. “Our engineers are already looking five years ahead to lead the next wave of innovation today.”

JASON BINAB

Engel & Volkers Binab Group Victoria, BC

A robust Victoria market allowed a number of Island-based agents to have career-defining years in 2016, but few had a year like Jason Binab. Binab was Engel & Volkers’ No.3 agent worldwide in volume and its No.2 agent worldwide in sales in ’16. “I just keep trying to raise the bar and make it more uncomfortable for people to keep up,” Binab says. “More advertising, more marketing, constantly changing so it’s tough for other people to imitate.” A major component of Binab’s marketing strategy is video, which he uses not only to place his properties in the best light, but to communicate to his clients a sense of authenticity. “I try to get in front of the people, so they see that I’m actually a person and not just someone in a magazine. When they see you on camera, clients can see what type of person you are. If you’re cheesy or salesy on camera, what are you going to be like in person?” As inventory in Victoria is drying up at an unprecedented rate, Binab has adjusted his sales goals for the year. By concentrating on moving fewer properties at a higher average sales price, Binab hopes to generate more revenue while creating more time to spend with his family.

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017

JOHN DIMICHELE Toronto Real Estate Board Toronto, ON

SAM MCDADI

Sam McDadi Real Estate Mississauga, ON

Five short years after leaving RE/MAX to form his own brokerage, Sam McDadi is now running Toronto’s most successful independent real estate company. In that time, McDadi’s team has sold a staggering $4.2bn of real estate. Key to McDadi’s success has been the service he provides his clients. Sam McDadi Real Estate was among the first brokerages to begin populating its staff with in-house experts – stagers, writers, designers – and its multinational, multilingual staff is fine-tuned to the needs of Toronto’s endlessly diverse market. The company’s website boasts fluency in 25 different languages. The immense success of McDadi’s brokerage has allowed it to support a number of charitable organizations, including Toronto’s SickKids Hospital, the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and the Mississauga Food Bank.

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In the face of a historically hot GTA market and with 48,000 area Realtors to look after, John DiMichele, TREB’s CEO since 2014, has a relatively full plate. Whether intensifying the group’s lobbying efforts or enhancing the professionalism of TREB members, DiMichele sits firmly in the eye of the storm. As market research is a key cog in the TREB machine – the group recently commissioned an Ipsos survey that concluded foreign buyer activity in the GTA is actually quite low – it is no surprise that DiMichele encourages government officials to take a similar approach to housing policy, especially in light of Kathleen Wynne’s recent 16-point housing plan. “In considering solutions, it is important that all levels of government choose to adopt and implement policies that are founded on solid empirical evidence,” DiMichele says. “For instance, the flat to declining listings trend we’ve seen over much of the last two to three years provides clear evidence for more of a focus on the supply side of the market.”

CHRIS NICHILO Magnetic Mortgages Oakville, ON

Magnetic Mortgages recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, a period that has seen the company become a major player in the private lending space. “Essentially, we’re boutique in size,” CEO Chris Nichilo says, “but we play a little larger.” By focusing on consumer education, Nichilo not only garnered himself the 2016 Canadian Financial Literacy Award from Mortgage Professionals Canada, he has also turned countless clients on to the investment potential of private mortgages, which provides an intriguing opportunity for Realtors whose clients are having trouble securing financing. “We provide a real solution for them,” Nichilo says. “By teaching Realtors how they can teach their customers to invest through real estate lending, it becomes an alternative for them.”

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CHRISTIAN TWOMEY RE/MAX Landan Real Estate Calgary, AB

In his 17 years of selling real estate in Calgary, Christian Twomey has provided expertise and assistance to clients from across the city, but it is the assistance he provides those in need that brought him to REP’s attention. Twomey was recently awarded RE/MAX’s Community Care Award for his extensive work with multiple charities. His Revving Up For Kids motorcycle ride for Kids With Cancer, now in its 12th year, has raised over $2.2m for the charity. Twomey has also been making annual home building trips to El Salvador with Shelter Canada since 2011, and recently worked the radiothon put on in support of the Children’s Hospital Foundation. “I believe that entrepreneurs have a social responsibility to give back to their community and support the people who support us,” he says. “I have a real soft spot in my heart for children, because often they can’t advocate for themselves. I feel like it’s my responsibility to stand up for those people that don’t necessarily have a voice.”

DAVID FLEMING Toronto Realty Blog Toronto, ON

In addition to being one of Bosley Real Estate’s top performing agents, David Fleming is known to many for the no-punches-pulled Toronto Realty Blog. Fleming has made a name for himself by speaking frankly, and often controversially, on any topic related to real estate – shoddy developments, public policy, selling strategies good and awful – an approach that has proven to be a double-edged sword. Fleming says all of his new business is generated by the blog, but it has also cost him. “If I write about a building that has a problem, I’m never going to get a listing in that building,” Fleming says. “But it needs to be said and I need to educate people.” In addition to providing what might be arguably the most honest and relevant real estate writing in the GTA – and perhaps the busiest, with 230,000 hits a month – Toronto Realty Blog also benefits from the active and informed community that has grown up around it. “The calibre of the comments from the readers is unparalleled,” Fleming says. “If you look at your average Toronto Star, Yahoo or TMZ story, the comments are from the lowest of the low. I am so blessed to have this following. They create content; they stimulate discussion and it’s unbelievable.”

CONRAD ZURINI

RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Stony Creek, ON

By building a business based on customer education and selfless service, Conrad Zurini has perfectly positioned RE/MAX Escarpment Realty to take advantage of an awakened Hamilton market. Escarpment was the No.1 real estate firm in the Hamilton-Burlington region in 2016, moving as much property as the remaining top five companies combined. Escarpment was recently awarded the city’s 2017 Consumer Choice Award – its fourth consecutive win. Zurini, whose family founded RE/MAX Escarpment in 1980, knows that maintaining the company’s reputation depends both on client satisfaction and the potential for agent success. In 2016, 37 of Zurini’s agents placed in the top 100 of Hamilton-Burlinton area Realtors, more than triple the number of the second-ranked brokerage.

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 JIM BURTON

RE/MAX Infinity Realty Conception Bay, NL

GEORGE HEOS Royal LePage Canada Toronto, ON

As the senior vice president of business development for Royal LePage, George Heos has been instrumental in increasing the company’s reach across Canada. Heos says he has seen first-hand how being the No.1 company in a particular market results in better agent performance. “Our goal is not to have growth just for the sake of growth. We know that the success a brand has in a market has a direct relationship to the success of our individual agents. Our goal is to be No.1 in every market that we operate in.” One of Heos’ main duties is acquiring and converting brokerages, bringing them under the Royal LePage banner. He was recently responsible for the company’s purchase of Prudential – and for retaining the majority of its more than 1,300 agents. While continued growth is a must for Heos, he says he is only interested in acquiring brokerages that are a fit for Royal LePage’s unique culture. “The key thing is the model that they operate. We look for people who have the same philosophy and belief in how a business should be run.”

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When Jim Burton purchased his RE/MAX Infinity office in 2014, it employed six Realtors. It now has 32 agents and is housed in a gorgeous new building. Burton says the key to the brokerage’s success has been inspiring his new hires to “not be comfortable unless you’re uncomfortable”. Most of these new hires are agents just landing their first jobs in the industry. “One thing I tell the young agents is that we’re nesting in the gale. Our economy is going through a little bit of a storm, but when the sun shines, you guys are going to be extremely productive because you weathered through a tough economic time. There are great days ahead.” Those days may be near at hand. As the Newfoundland market is down 18% this year, Burton says his team’s unit sales are up 50% compared to last year, with dollar volume up 30%. Burton keeps his brokerage firmly in the public eye – and ear. In addition to printing its own province-wide magazine and supporting a number of charitable causes, RE/MAX Infinity is behind one of Newfoundland’s most popular weekly radio shows, which Burton hosts. “We’re very diversified,” he says. “And that would be a big word for any entrepreneur today.”

MIKE STEWART Century 21 In Town Realty Vancouver, BC

Mike Stewart, who has been the top agent in his office for most of his 12 years with Century 21, is quick to share the credit with his team of eight licensed Realtors. “We have a great team of people who are super focused and motivated,” he says. In addition to his team’s motivation and customer service, Stewart says one main component of their success – they completed 228 transactions last year on the way to becoming Century 21’s No.4 team in Canada – is a concerted effort around lead generation, which brings in an enormous amount of business. The costs associated with bringing in external lead gen specialists have been more than worth it. “You’ve always got to hire the best if you want to be the best,” Stewart says.

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CRAIG PROCTOR Craig Proctor Seminars Toronto, ON

DEBBIE COSIC In2ition Realty Brokerage Mississauga, ON

Since founding In2ition Realty in 2008, Debbie Cosic has been involved in the sale of over $15bn in real estate. In under a decade, Cosic has built In2ition into a one-stop shop for developers in need of innovative project marketing, land assembly, design, leasing or property management services. In2ition’s broad range of expertise is the result of concentrated, outside-the-box hiring. “We really picked from what we felt was the best and brightest,” Cosic says. “We went outside the industry.” In2ition’s team currently consists of advertising, human resources, retail and architecture specialists. “We mixed them up to create this perfect storm of talent that can be showcase-able when you’re project marketing for developers.” Even though In2ition is already selling 2,500 units a year, Cosic says aggressive growth is in the company’s future. In2ition will launch 20 projects in the next seven months and will be opening two more offices in the next year.

When you ask most real estate coaches what sets them apart from their competition, you don’t get much for an answer. Not so with Craig Proctor. “Most of the coaches today have either never sold real estate or they haven’t sold real estate in 20 or 30 years,” he says. “That’s what makes me unique. I actually made millions and millions of dollars every year selling real estate. I did it for a long time and I’ve done it very recently.” Proctor was RE/MAX’s top agent worldwide for most of his 22-year career in real estate, a legacy that has helped him amass an army of disciples. His wealth of experience has allowed him to create more millionaire real estate agents than any other coach out there working today. “What these other coaches and trainers will do is call upon top agents to come to their seminars and endorse them, but that coach didn’t create their success,” Proctor says. “They may have more agents attend their conferences, but nobody’s done more of making agents rich than I have.”

BILL MORNEAU Government of Canada Ottawa, ON

As finance minister at a time of excitement and uncertainty for the Canadian economy – marijuana legislation, trade disputes with the US and a tepid oil industry will all have an effect in the next 18 months – Bill Morneau has devoted much of his attention to the Canadian housing market. While the March 22 federal budget did not mention the eroding affordability in either Vancouver or Toronto, Morneau has publicly committed to making billions of dollars available for social and affordable housing across the country. He was also instrumental in rolling out the changes to nationwide mortgage guidelines in October 2016, which appear to have removed a number of first-time buyers from the market. If the Canadian economy slips and the amount of mortgage debt being carried by Canadians threatens to send the country into a tailspin, it is ensured that housing will become an even greater concern for Morneau.

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 SHAWN ZIGELSTEIN

Royal LePage Your Community Realty Toronto, ON

The leader of Team Zold, Shawn Zigelstein has been among the top 1% of Royal LePage agents for five years running. It’s a level of success that Zigelstein says has only made him more driven. “When you get to that point you’re more and more driven to do better each year. I think a lot of people, if they were to hit that level, it would change their mindset and change the way they want to do business, because they would see what the possibilities include, such as building relationships with other top producers and raising one’s profile in the eyes of potential clients.” While Zigelstein has embraced the expanding role of technology and social media in selling real estate, he knows where to concentrate his efforts. “I am not a techie,” he says. “I hire people to be the techies. I want to be the person that has the opportunity to talk to my clients on a regular basis. That’s been a big part of my business – that building of those relationships.”

SCOTT PREDENCHUK RE/MAX Joyce Tourney Realty Regina, SK

JOE SAMMUT Mortgage Architects Toronto, ON

One of the co-founders of Mortgage Architects, Joe Sammut brings 26 years of experience to almost 400 deals a year. Sammut has built a reputation for resuscitating dying deals; a role he plays, but not one he generally asks for. “I’d rather be involved with the deal right from the beginning,” he says. “But if I do get that call, we’re able to do things more creatively than some of the banking reps can because, as a broker that’s been in the business as long as I have, I’m able to make sense of a deal.” Sammut has long been known for his ability to educate clients and demystify the constantly changing and ever more regulated mortgage industry. It’s a skill set that made him an obvious choice when Bosley Real Estate went in search of an in-house mortgage broker 16 years ago. “Our main focus has always been that the Realtor’s not disrupted and the deal closes on the day of closing as expected,” Sammut says.

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Most consumers don’t think of commercial real estate when they think of RE/MAX, but Scott Predenchuk has helped make RE/MAX Joyce Tourney Realty – which has long been one of the company’s most successful residential teams – a juggernaut in the commercial space as well. But being named RE/MAX’s No.1 commercial agent, both in Canada and worldwide, is not the only recognition Predenchuk has received. He was recently awarded the company’s Spirit of the West award for his extensive community service and ceaseless fundraising for groups such as the Children’s Miracle Network, the Red Cross Imagine No Bullying Program, the Arthritis Society – for which he ran the Great Wall Marathon of China – and the YMCA, where, for the past 35 years, he has been a member, volunteer, instructor and coach. “I’ve always believed success isn’t about personal gain,” Predenchuk says, “but about how much you can give back.”

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BARBARA BRINDLE RE/MAX Hallmark York Group Aurora, ON

Barbara Brindle is a busy woman. In addition to being the broker of record for RE/MAX Hallmark York Group and part of the management team of RE/MAX Hallmark, the largest RE/MAX franchise under the Integra banner, she is also a single mother of four. “I’m pretty accustomed to multitasking,” she says. Brindle is a former instructor for both OREA and the National Association of Realtors. Her expertise when it comes to preparing agents for the industry is unquestionable. Brindle has launched a successful initiative that places agents in peer-to-peer “accountability groups” and she often finds herself in three different office meetings a week, keeping track of agent concerns and developing specific training programs around them. “I think we are incredibly unique in that we have the ability to be that adaptable,” Brindle says.

SCOTT RUSSELL

Sutton Group Seafair Realty Richmond, BC

In his 30 years in the industry, Scott Russell has spent a great deal of his time working for both the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and the British Columbia Real Estate Association. Even though he will be stepping away from BCREA after spending the past two years as president and immediate past president, Russell says participation in such a group is something agents should consider. “There’s always a discussion – are we an industry or a profession?” Russell says. “And if you want it to be a profession, then we have to act like a profession. And a lot of that is engagement.” Russell is now focusing 100% of his attention to his duties as general manager at Sutton Group Seafair Realty, attracting and retaining agents with competitive costs and excellent support. “We try to run it more as a boutique type operation,” he says. “I think the difference is more personalized service. We certainly have a higher level of support staff than organizations of similar size and that’s been really important to us.”

ALEX PILARSKI RE/MAX Realtron Realty Toronto, ON

Co-owner of RE/MAX Realtron Realty since 1985, when he purchased the company with his brother Richard, Alex Pilarski has introduced a number of innovative strategies to help his agents create a better service environment. One of their most successful moves was to open an appointment centre, where, rather than use the services an external answering service, Realtron staff man the phones from 8am until 10pm, resulting in approximately 200 calls a day being answered. Pilarski has also instituted a central lockbox system for his agents, which he feels has significant advantages for consumers. “What has happened in the past with the lockboxes everybody else uses, there is no security for the sellers,” Pilarski says. “An agent can come in and decide to come in again a few days or a few hours later. We’ve had instances where agents have given the lockbox code to clients and the clients have gone in by themselves. There was no real control.” Pilarski says the system, which he has lobbied TREB for years to adopt, is more labour intensive than what agents have become accustomed to, but the benefits for clients and agents are worth the extra effort. “Those agents who have embraced it are having great success,” he says.

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 DON KOTTICK Peerage Realty Partners Toronto, ON

Don Kottick’s experience in real estate management is extensive. His 24 years in the industry have seen him shape Royal LePage, Right At Home and Peerage Realty Partners, where he is executive vice president of corporate development for a group of companies that includes Chestnut Park Real Estate, Street City Realty, Baker Real Estate and Fifth Avenue Real Estate Marketing. But Kottick’s involvement in the industry goes much deeper. He is currently a director for both CREA and TREB, president of the Real Estate Institute of Canada and the Canadian director for FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation. His purview at each organization is distinct – from technology at CREA to government relations at TREB – but Kottick says his main focus for 2017 is professionalism across the industry, which is central to his duties at REIC. “The industry has been very good to me,” Kottick says, “and I’ve enjoyed giving back to the industry.”

SAMANTHA BROOKES Mortgages of Canada

KEVIN GRIMES RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ottawa, ON

In 2015, Kevin Grimes was running one office with a staff of 14 agents for Century 21, watching RE/MAX gobble up market share in the area. Impressed with the company’s growth and “seeing the writing on the wall”, Grimes switched his affiliation and purchased RE/MAX Affiliates Realty, which is experiencing its own incredible growth. Grimes now oversees nine offices and a staff of over 120 agents. In adding agents to the Affiliates team, Grimes eschews the commonly demonstrated belief that more agents automatically means more revenue. “We’re very careful with who we bring in, which is a little bit different from a lot of models I see in my business,” Grimes says. “We’re just as happy to say no to an agent that doesn’t fit our culture as bring in an agent that does. The agents we currently have like knowing we’re very selective, that we’re not just recruiting anybody with a real estate licence.”

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Toronto, ON

Prior to founding Mortgages of Canada in 2014, Samantha Brookes cut her teeth at several other mortgage brokerages, not only learning the ins and outs of the business, but also studying best practices. “I looked at how different companies were structured – what worked for them, what didn’t work for them – and with Mortgages of Canada I implemented what worked with my own company,” Brookes says. Just as an elite real estate brokerage will bolster its ranks with extra admin staff, Brookes has made agent support the bedrock of Mortgages of Canada. “A lot of agents get training, but they don’t actually get support, and when that support is missing their closing ratios are very low. But if you have support in the office, where somebody’s there to help with underwriting and placing the files, the closing ratios are much greater. And it helps to build the self-esteem of the agents.”

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AL ORLANDO

Royal LePage Real Estate Services Toronto, ON

AMANDA MAGEE

Stewart Title Guaranty Company Vancouver, BC

Amanda Magee left a career in lending to join Stewart Title, one of the world’s leading title insurers, 13 years ago. As the director of business development for Western Canada, she has been instrumental in not only growing business in the region but also educating legal and real estate professionals about the insurance issues facing them and their clients. “When we started offering title insurance, not a lot of people knew what it was or how it could be used to facilitate closing a deal,” Magee says. ”Now, 20 years later, our Canadian clients have come to rely on our expertise in the industry and the coverage our policies provide.” Title insurance has become an issue for real estate agents who find themselves involved in unique or challenging transactions, many involving title or survey defects. Magee says Stewart Title is able to step in and provide guidance when these situations arise. “We excel at working creatively to come up with underwriting solutions to assist in getting those deals done, big or small,” Magee says.

After selling real estate for 16 years, Al Orlando was ready for a change. “I just wanted a little bit of stability,” says the manager of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. “I wanted to be in training and mentoring and running a brokerage. I was more interested in that at that point in my life.” Orlando was recently named Royal LePage’s Manager of the Year, an honour bestowed for his success in improving per-person productivity among his group’s 1,000 agents and increasing the company’s market share. Orlando, a former TREB vice president deeply involved with the group’s work around professional standards, says increasing professionalism and market knowledge among agents has been central to enhancing their performance. Orlando says community involvement has been critical to increasing market share. One successful initiative has been an annual golf tournament, which has helped raise over $95,000 for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation over the past six years.

SANDRA WEBB Royal LePage of Canada Toronto, ON

Since 2005, Royal LePage has doubled the size of its business and tripled its revenues. Instrumental in that staggering growth has been Sandra Webb, the company’s senior vice president of marketing and communications. Her public relations strategy in 2016 generated 2.3 billion impressions, 60% more than Royal LePage’s nearest competitor. Under Webb’s guidance, Royal LePage has grown in the eyes of the Canadian public to become an industry thought leader. Whether through its various market reports, media appearances or the ubiquity of its CEO, Royal LePage has become synonymous with education and advocacy. “That’s the cornerstone of what we do,” she says. Webb was at the forefront of Royal LePage’s first foray into providing web tools for agents and consumers almost two decades ago. She is now tasked with strengthening the profile of a 104-year-old Canadian institution. “We are now the stewards,” she says, “the people who have to continue building this great brand.”

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COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 BRETT TURNER

ETTORE CARDARELLI

Redline Real Estate Group

President, OREA

Calgary, AB

Brett Turner co-founded Redline Real Estate Group in 2009, establishing a comprehensive one-stop shop that provides sales services, an in-house mortgage brokerage and property management solutions. Redline posted significant gains in transactions and sales volume in both 2015 and ’16, and is poised to have a banner ’17. At the heart of the brokerage’s growth is a commitment to agent productivity, the impetus for its recently rolled out high-service model. “We’re having the brokerage provide a level of support to our Realtors that they will not find at any major franchise or any small brokerage,” Turner says. Redline now offers a pioneering drop-and-go system, where, once a Realtor has a listing contract and an agreed upon price, the company’s marketing department and listing coordinators take over and do everything else to get the property on the market. Redline also deploys a buyer concierge to any agent with a deal under contract, further helping to remove minimum-wage tasks from their Realtors’ workflow. “The clients win, our agents become greater professionals and all of the smaller details that can slow Realtors down – we’ve got the support to provide that for them,” Turner says.

FRANK LEO

RE/MAX West Realty Toronto, ON

There are few agents in Toronto more recognizable than Frank Leo. In addition to having what is undoubtedly the best hair in the industry, he is also one of the world’s most successful Realtors. He was RE/ MAX’s No.1 agent in Canada in 2015 and was the company’s No.2 agent worldwide for sales volume in both ’15 and ’16. “The Lion” has made his mark by being one of the most aggressive marketers in the GTA. His guaranteed home selling system has proven wildly attractive to clients. Leo has also been presented with some of RE/MAX’s most illustrious awards. He has been an annual recipient of the Diamond Award since 1995 and was named a Luminary of Distinction by the company, recognizing his 20 years with RE/MAX and the more than $20m he has earned in commissions.

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Toronto, ON

When the Ontario Real Estate Association chose Ettore Cardarelli as its new president in March 2017, it acquired a Realtor with over 30 years of experience and one who had been intimately involved with both OREA, TREB and the Mississauga Real Estate Board. “You build up some expertise over the years that hopefully contributes to the health of the organization,” Cardarelli says. Cardarelli is eager to dedicate even more of the organization’s energies to public advocacy. OREA’s recent victories in increasing the land transfer tax rebate for first-time buyers and removing the double land transfer tax from every Ontario municipality except Toronto should provide fuel for its current battle over allowing Realtors to incorporate.

MARK FARIS

Royal LePage First Contact, Faris Team Barrie, ON

Since founding the Faris Team with his wife Joanna in 2007, Mark Faris’ goal-oriented, systems-based, client-first approach has led to consistent – and consistently jaw-dropping – growth. Faris’ Royal LePage franchise has been the company’s No.1 team since 2015. Faris, who oversees training and maintaining company culture at First Contact, says a major part of the brokerage’s success relies on allowing agents to do what they do best: sell. “That’s one thing that really separates us,” Faris says. “Instead of having a ton of agents and very little administrative and marketing staff, we’re heavy on the administrative and marketing end. We take a lot of those tasks off the sales partners.” Faris says 2017 will be a year of system optimization for his team, ensuring his cooperative and tight-knit group stays on the same path. “It seems like a small thing talking about culture, but it’s such a massive part of a team and growth,” he says. “If that starts to slip, that’s the beginning of the end.”

INITE BROKERAGE, INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

GREG ROMUNDT

Centurion Asset Management Toronto, ON

A former investment banker for AIG International Group and Citibank, Greg Romundt turned his attention to real estate in 2003, when his own personal real estate investments began generating more excitement than his daily nine-to-five. “I enjoyed what I was doing on the outside more, so I started my own thing,” he says. His “own thing”, Centurion Asset Management, has overseen the management of over $1bn in assets. When acquiring properties for Centurion, Romundt says agents play the key role of diplomat, acting as a buffer between the buyer’s potential criticisms of a property and the seller’s rosy view. “When you’re trying to buy a property, you see it as it is, or as it could be, not what the buyer thinks it is.” Romundt says Centurion prefers to deal with connected agents who can make off-market deals happen, rather than those who turn every listing into an auction. “Those kinds of relationships are a lot more fruitful for us. The probability of actually winning a deal when 50 guys are at the table is very slim.”

JASON SOPROVICH Royal LePage Sussex West Vancouver, BC

For most of the 25 years he has been selling for Royal LePage Sussex, Jason Soprovich has been specializing in the West Vancouver luxury market, helping change hands some of the city’s most prestigious properties. Targeting such a unique, exclusive market has required Soprovich to develop a multifaceted and aggressive marketing strategy, one that draws on print, multiple multilingual and mobile-enabled websites and affiliations with other luxury real estate professionals. Soprovich says dealing with business-oriented clients encourages candid information sharing, which makes certain “information is provided with ease, so they can make an informed decision quickly. When you deal with the luxury market, you must be on your game. And we are.”

SARAH JUSTASON RE/MAX Group Four Realty Fredericton, NB

When Sarah Justason began selling real estate in Oromocto, New Brunswick in 2012, she faced an uphill battle posed by Canada’s Model Town – no billboards allowed. With no traditional way to market herself, Justason, who began selling for RE/MAX in ’10 in Petawawa, Ontario, had to get creative. She started by branding the tailgate of her husband’s truck, turning it into a moving billboard that would be seen by thousands of military personnel – and a number of past clients – as he performed his duties at CDSB Gagetown. She also went back to a unique and proven homegrown strategy – recipe cards, which feature both a family recipe and a personal note about the recipe’s significance to the Realtor. “It’s a really soft call to action,” Justason says. “I believe you have to give a little bit of yourself if you’re going to ask for something.”

THOMAS BAGOGLOO RE/MAX Nova Halifax, ON

When Thomas Bagogloo was welcomed into RE/MAX’s Circle of Legends last year, it was one more accolade in the long and illustrious career of one of Atlantic Canada’s top producers. Bagogloo’s more than 20 years of experience in the Halifax market has allowed him to build a team that runs on unparalleled market knowledge. “Our job is to disseminate the information that’s provided and really find the best value for our clients, so that they make a strategic purchase that fulfills their family goals,” Bagogloo says. Self-improvement is one of the Bagogloo Team’s top priorities. Reinvestment into the brokerage’s technology is continuous; the agents themselves attend multiple conferences and courses every year, ensuring they stay in front of a rapidly evolving industry. “As a result, when we implement what we’ve learned, we establish a strong following in terms of the client base,” Bagogloo says. “Our business is 85-90% repeat business and referrals.”

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FEATURES SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

COVER STORY: BROKERAGE SPOTLIGHT HOT LIST 2017

The view from the top RE/MAX Infinite’s top agent Jila Kitaraee on choosing the right brokerage and other industry insights

RE/MAX Infinite’s Jila Kitaraee has been in the real estate industry for over 30 years, winning dozens of sales awards along the way. When asked what got her into the industry, Jila is quick to explain: “Realizing early on that I had a natural sales ability, I looked to real estate as a profession that was more in line with my interests. After earning my licence, I was hired by Canada Trust Realty. In my first year, I achieved the Leader’s Club and Sales Master Awards, the highest levels of sales recognition with the company, and was also Canada Trust’s top producer. “My zeal to do the best for my clients led me to attend Harvard Law School, where I earned a certificate in negotiation skills. I learned how to turn a tough situation into a positive one, and how to break a big problem into manageable parts, so that I can tackle challenges one step at a time. Later, I joined Prudential Sadie Moranis Real Estate. During this time I was among the top 3% of agents in North America. Later on I joined RE/MAX.”

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Why Re/Max Infinite? “Choosing the right brokerage is very important to a Real Estate Agent. A good office can make you and a bad office can break you. During my 30 years, I have changed offices a few times with RE/MAX Infinite being the last. Having a team of trustworthy and capable staff who are willing to go the extra step boosts my ability to achieve the results I want for my clients. This is why having the right brokerage to support you is so important. “To me some of the advantages that RE/MAX Infinite has over other brokerages are their brand recognition and the known integrity of the broker of record, which is very important to me.” Jila also credits the strong administrative support provided by RE/MAX Infinite for her achievements: “We have a strong management and support staff. Everyone is eager to assist and provide you with that extra degree of care and support to ensure your success.”

Continuous education and career development – strongly encouraged at RE/MAX Infinite – aligns with Jila’s own belief that being successful in real estate requires ongoing education and awareness about what is going on in the market. “The brokerage does weekly workshops and training sessions so that agents and support staff are up to date on market and regulatory requirements to help everyone with the ability to concentrate on their clients. Our broker of record, Levon Nazarian, is incredibly knowledgeable, always available and very supportive at all times. He is truly the best broker of record I have ever had, and I am proud to call RE/MAX Infinite home.” The company prides itself on finding the right agents to fit into their rapidly growing family, which Jila clearly represents. “To me what defines a good agent is someone who is ethical, knowledgeable, understanding and caring, who follows up and communicates

INITE BROKERAGE, INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

with clients. If a problem is identified, we have a chance to solve it. Communication is a key factor in my success. Buying or selling a home is not just number crunching; it involves a lot of emotion and attachment.” Jila has become known for her reputation of having a strong commitment and attention to detail when it comes to her business. “In the current competitive market, attention to detail can be the key to maintaining an edge,” she says. “I once received a call from a seller, whose listing was expired, asking me for advice. His home had been listed for months and was not sold. I went into the house and found numerous upgrades and desirable features which were not described in the previous listing. Even the room measurements were incorrect. So we improved the listing description, included a detailed feature sheet with a professional virtual tour and raised the price. Within 24 hours, the seller had two offers and the

property was sold higher than the previous listed price. Success is in the details!” By utilizing these specific skills, Jila has been able to generate repeat business from past clients and get referrals from them time and time again. Jila credits the art of listening to her clients and letting them know she understands their needs for much of her success. “Most of the time, problems in life arise because people feel that they were not properly heard or understood. Practising these techniques has resulted in me receiving the most valuable award I could ever receive, which was the Lifetime Achievement Award for Highest Standard of Ethics.” When asked what advice she would give to new agents, Jila says communication is key. “When agents first meet someone new, they need to listen carefully to determine how you can be the most helpful. Every agent needs to understand that they are being entrusted with

the biggest investment of their client’s life. It’s all about bringing positive energy and not just a quick sale. Be very sincere, honest, and learn the business properly. Provide your clients with complete information and the best knowledge. Then give them the free will to make their own decisions and, for sure, they will never go to anyone else. “To me, being a successful agent it is all about having a winning personality, energy, sensitivity to people’s feelings, attention to detail, hard work, honesty, integrity and balance in life. Real estate is a competitive business and predicting the client’s needs in advance ensures client satisfaction, repeat business and referrals. “What I enjoy the most is people’s appreciation and gratitude. The smile on my clients’ faces and the glow in their eyes reflecting their inner feeling of appreciation for me, after the deal is done, is the highlight of my business.” REP

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

COACHING

Information vs insight Industry-leading sales trainer Richard Robbins encourages agents to build their reputations on what they know, not what they sell

IT’S NO secret that most of the information buyers and sellers believe they need is just a few clicks away. Advancements in technology have created enormous access for the consumer and a tremendous opportunity for you, as a real estate professional, to stand out from the online clutter and bring solutions.

information that your clients don’t know they don’t know. Today, we must make a massive shift in our focus, from delivering information to delivering something better: insight. Close this gap for the client, and they will never buy or sell a home without you again.

We must make a massive shift in our focus, from delivering information to delivering something better: insights During the more than 20 years I have been in this business, I have experienced all kinds of market conditions and the objections that go with them. Here’s what I see as the truth: your clients and potential clients can Google just about anything and get the information they are looking for. What they cannot get from Google is your expert insight! Insight is simply information with value added to it. That value might be your years of experience or important details that only you have access to. It could be your ability to take something complex and make it more easily understood. Insight is

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Here are three strategies we have developed at RRI to help you shift your focus from information to insight: Add interpretation. Put the information in context for the consumer. Think about what you can add to the information that will make it more useful to your clients. Consider your answers to these questions: • What’s a sales-to-listing ratio? • What does that mean to the price I put on my home? • What’s happening with mortgage rates

and how does this affect me? • What strategies do I need for a buyer’s market? For a seller’s market? Bring scarce information. There’s still lots of information out there that’s hard to find, protected, not easily compiled or that requires relationships to access. No one needs you to bring him or her MLS listings; that information is abundant. But what about: • Future development projects • Economic development plans and prospects for a community • Trends in school planning and school quality • Upcoming changes in zoning, highways and infrastructure What new, scarce, hidden or insider information can you bring to the table?

Add advice. Now more than ever you’re going to have to tell clients what you think. Of course, you need to give your clients all the information and insight possible to help them make an informed decision. But when they ask your opinion, you need to put your expertise and reputation on the line. You’ve got the training, the experience and the market knowledge. Tell your clients what you’d do if it were your home. Over the coming decade, whoever has the strongest ability to create insight from information will be the dominant force in a market. They’ll make the best deals, get the most referrals and build the strongest personal brand. Until next time, make it count! REP

Richard Robbins is CEO/founder of Richard Robbins International Inc (RRI), a Canadian-based organization providing world-class real estate conferences and one-on-one coaching. For more information about upcoming conferences, booking Richard to speak or coaching programs, visit www.richardrobbins.com or call 1.800.298.9587.

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FEATURES

APPRAISAL INSTITUTE OF CANADA

Appraising a hot market As a client’s financing is dependent on paying the appropriate price for a property, Realtors need to understand the life-changing value of appraisal reports, no matter how crazy the market

REAL ESTATE bidding wars are everywhere in the super-heated Toronto and Vancouver property markets, with sales that can end up hundreds of thousands of dollars above the asking price. It’s a bonanza for sellers, with headspinning multiple offers giving them a tidy sum of extra cash. For buyers, the process of finding a home is frenzied and emotional. Where all this volatility leaves them – not to mention the state of the real estate market and the Canadian financial system – is a concern for the Appraisal Institute

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of Canada (AIC). The organization is encouraging property owners to engage professional appraisers to get unbiased, independent opinions of property values and optimal list prices. Real estate agents are often caught between doing what is best for their clients and doing what their clients demand. In a market where properties are listed and sold in a matter of days, and in some cases hours, many buyers have been content to eschew the appraisal process in an attempt to simply find a home and put an end to a search that feels

like it could go on forever. But any reputable Realtor knows that the more information a buyer has, the better. “The more information you have in your hand, the better off you’re going to be,” says Keith Lancastle, chief executive officer of AIC, a self-regulating organization that has more than 5,000 members across Canada with Accredited Appraiser Canadian Institute (AACI) and Canadian Residential Appraiser designations. “It’s prudent to make these kinds of decisions with both eyes open.” AIC members perform approximately 1 million residential appraisals annually in Canada, worth more than $500bn, and this amount is increasing every year. Sales have increased and a higher percentage of sales are appraised to determine values on which to base mortgage financing. “If you overpaid by $150,000, you can’t expect the lender to underwrite that emotion,” Lancastle says. Dan Brewer, AACI, P.App, president of AIC and a senior appraiser at Appraisers Canada Inc in the booming York Region north of Toronto, says that under guidelines set out by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, on-site appraisals are often required to ensure that buyers do not borrow an amount larger than a property’s value. “You can’t finance your dreams,” Brewer says, noting that much of the escalation in home prices in Toronto and Vancouver comes from a lack of inventory, time pressures and the fact that buyers and sellers are often “making decisions without knowing all the facts”. Bidding wars skew market values, and those who pay “out of whack” prices should be prepared to “pull a lot of money out of their jeans” and to consider whether they can recover that amount if they sell. As he notes: “Cost is not synonymous with value.” AIC-designated appraisers undertake comprehensive curriculum, experience and

examination requirements that make them experts in estimating the value of a property, not unlike the expertise real estate agents and home inspectors possess around selling and purchasing property and determining a property’s structural integrity, respectively. An appraisal report helps property owners better understand: • a market’s sales and listing history • the exposure time to sell a property • supply and demand for similar properties • structural characteristics • assessment data

• title restrictions, zoning and land-use controls “You’re interpreting the marketplace,” Brewer says, noting that qualified appraisers “are an integral part of the process”, helping homeowners do everything from understanding their equity positions to evaluating the value of particular upgrades they opt for. “We quantify those things – we monitor them; we measure them – we give guidance and direction.” Lancastle says that in a larger sense, appraisals ensure that there are true values in

the marketplace. “We are protecting the financial system and Canadian consumers,” he says, adding that AIC members also do appraisals for purposes such as estate planning, property tax assessments, mortgage refinancing and to help homeowners plan for and follow up after renovations. REP

For more detailed information about the various methodologies used in real estate appraisals, please view the Appraisal Institute of Canada’s Industry Guide to Understanding the Fundamentals of Real Estate Appraisal at aicanada.ca

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

TOOLS

Transparency, trust and peace of mind At a time when buyer expectations are sky-high, Certified Resale Home boosts client confidence and increases trust in a Realtor’s expertise

HOME INSPECTORS have become commonplace in the Ontario real estate industry. Traditionally, the buyer has been responsible for paying for and arranging an inspection after the offer has been accepted. But in recent years, some sellers have taken control and obtained a pre-listing home inspection before the home even hits the market. Everyone sees the value in pre-listing inspections, but they have failed to reach critical mass because of an overall lack of trust (usually sourced by the Realtor/ seller). To alleviate this concern, FCT and AmeriSpec Inspection Services have partnered to promote a smooth and transparent process. The inspection network is completely impartial and the inspector is not chosen by the seller or Realtor. It is a process that creates trust and confidence for prospective buyers. Certified Resale Home is a pre-listing home inspection combined with a warranty on core items of a home: its cooling and heating systems, roof and foundation. The 18-month transferable warranty provides coverage up to a maximum of $20,000. The inspection provides an impartial, honest and expert assessment of the home backed by a warranty on items that are considered blind spots for a home inspector.

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Why not offer Certified Resale Home on the buy-side? This is a common question when customers are introduced to the Certified Resale Home service for the first time. Today’s approach to home inspections within a real estate transaction does not provide a seamless customer experience for the seller or the buyer. Here’s why: • The home inspection is at the tail end of the transaction, creating a buyer beware environment • Sellers and their Realtors must react to information received from the home inspection, rather than being proactive in controlling the information and having an opportunity to remedy any items before listing the home for sale (about 5% of deals fall through because of home inspection issues) • Buy-side inspections create stress in the sales process – buyers can use it as a shopping list – sellers lose sleep over it and Realtors/home inspectors are caught in the middle • Pre-listing home inspections have failed to reach critical mass because there is a lack of trust in the information, the providers and the backing behind the inspection

Most Realtors have experienced deals falling through due to buy-side home inspection issues. Either the buyer sees unexpected problems, gets scared and walks away or there is a renegotiation of the deal. History suggests that, over time, consumers demand change. Looking back at the changes in the way used cars are bought and sold, it is evident that those changes were not optional; they were inevitable due to the inefficiencies in the used-car market and the dominant buyer-beware environment. Think of all the due diligence that has now become accepted in the used-car buying process – online vehicle history reports, inspection plans, CPO programs, warranties, income protection – and all of this transparency and risk mitigation on an asset that depreciates over its life. Buying or selling a home is the largest financial transaction most Canadians will make. It should be simpler and more secure. But in the current real estate market, that is far from being the case. REP

To learn more about Certified Resale Home and about the benefits for Realtors, sellers and buyers, visit thecertifiedresalehome.ca or contact us at 1.855.640.1832.

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

TECH

Handheld house-hunting HomeScore, a new app from AmeriSpec, allows homebuyers to rate, organize and compare available homes. In markets where time is of the essence, the easily accessed information provided by HomeScore could be invaluable for your clients

AMERISPEC, Canada’s leading home inspection company, has taken another step toward demonstrating why it’s first in the home inspection space. The company has developed a web app that will change the way homebuyers view a potential home on the market. It is well-established that when buyers tour a home, during an open house or during an appointment with their real estate representative, most buyers find it hard to look beyond the decor and furniture,

focused on what is really important: is there evidence of water damage? Are there cracks in the driveway? What condition is the roof in? Is the neighbourhood one in which buyers would want to raise their children? HomeScore asks homebuyers to quickly rate 12 simple items to help them get an overall picture of the home. Once the home is rated, up to three homes can be compared side by side. Notes and photos of the home can also be added. House hunting has never

“Sometimes it’s not so easy to focus on what’s really important in a home. This app aids buyers during the home search, helping them score and compare the homes they’ve seen” which is why the staging business has become such an important one to the real estate industry. But what if you could see beyond the wall colour, furniture style and framed photos? With HomeScore, Amerispec’s new web app, buyers will be

been easier to organize! “At AmeriSpec, we understand the information overload faced by homebuyers,” says Jeffrey Brookfield, who manages AmeriSpec of Canada’s Canadian operations. “Sometimes it’s not so easy to

focus on what’s really important in a home. This app aids buyers during the home search, helping them score and compare the homes they’ve seen. In today’s busy market, that could be quite a few.” Another bonus to using the app is its rewards system. As users migrate through the app, they’ll be accumulating points, which can then be redeemed for various downloadable homeowner guides and coupons at home decor stores such as The Brick. HomeScore is a web app that is best used on smartphones, but it is equally functional on a web browser. Users can easily log in with their Facebook and Twitter accounts or quickly register with an email and password. Users can also link their account to their real estate agent or local AmeriSpec home inspector, allowing seamless communication throughout the home buying journey. HomeScore was created as a step before the inspection process. Once homebuyers have rated and compared homes, the next step will be to contact a certified home inspector who will provide a detailed home inspection report. For more information visit www. amerispec.ca. REP

From its inception in 1987, AmeriSpec quickly became North America’s leading home inspection service. In 1996, it become a ServiceMaster company, elevating the company to become the largest and most trusted home service provider in the world. Today, the AmeriSpec name is the industry standard for quality, service and value. With more than 75 franchise licences from coast to coast, AmeriSpec of Canada conducts more home inspections – and serves more satisfied customers –than anyone else in the country. Visit www.amerispec.ca.

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PEOPLE

AGENT PROFILE

Upping the ante It has been said that money won is twice as sweet as money earned. For Jordan Boyes, the number one agent in Saskatoon, that couldn’t be further from the truth

AFTER GRADUATING high school at 17, Jordan Boyes made a beeline from his tiny hometown of Kelvington, Saskatchewan to the province’s biggest city, Saskatoon. It is a path taken by many a prairie boy, but few end up making the same splash that Boyes has. Now in his seventh year in the industry, Boyes is in charge of his own growing brokerage and is the City of Bridges’ number one agent. Boyes says he always knew he would be involved in real estate in some capacity, but his first job saw him working at the central warehouse for Co-op, where Boyes worked his way up into the shipping and receiving department. At 19, Boyes first floated the idea to his family and colleagues that he was thinking of getting his real estate licence, but he was told unanimously that he was too young. He then did what anyone in that situation would do: he started online gambling. Boyes was turned on to the lucrative possibilities of playing online poker by one of his Co-op co-workers, who had begun working less and less because he was making more money at home. “I got quite intrigued by it,” Boyes says. “I taught myself how to play and a few months after that I quit as well. I did that for four and a half years.” Boyes had considerable success as a card shark, but in 2010, when the online gambling

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industry began looking less stable, he decided to finally make the switch to real estate and place his next bet on himself. Boyes obtained his real estate licence and was hired by a local independent brokerage, Hallmark. Within his first two years, he was Hallmark’s top producer. Boyes credits his rise to putting in countless hours of hard work: “I’d phone up agents and volunteer to do their open houses or their running around if they had a sign call or a buyer they were too busy with. I just made sure I was available.” For six months, Boyes was managing six open houses every weekend. In May 2015, after Boyes had strung together another three years as Hallmark’s top agent, the company was acquired by Royal LePage. Not sensing an advantage in having a national brand name behind him, Boyes decided to form his own company, Boyes Group Realty.

“I feel people, more and more in this industry, are choosing the individual – not the sign on the lawn. It’s what you teach your agents and the service they provide their clients that keeps people coming back.” Boyes has made agent education the linchpin of his brokerage. He is especially adept at mentoring new agents who, like Boyes, may be new to the city or starting from scratch. “That’s where my advantage is,” he says. “I show them from the ground up how to create a database, how to work open houses, how to cold call, how to generate leads online. I’m a good trainer in that aspect because I started from nothing and taught myself how to do it.” Another lesson Boyes hammers into his agents is, no matter how good business is today, to constantly be prospecting. “The most important thing is to work even harder when you’re busy so that funnel of

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Because of the success of Boyes Group Realty, Jordan Boyes and his wife Brigitte have been able to devote considerable time and money to a number of charities in Saskatoon. When she is not helping with the brokerage, Brigitte spends many of her days volunteering for the local chapter of Ronald McDonald House, which provides lodgings for the families of sick children. The couple also provides assistance to patients working through physical rehabilitation by providing funds for the Saskatoon Health Region’s First Step Program. This year, Boyes Group Realty was the head sponsor of Bloom – An Evening of Love, a gala event that raised money for Saskatoon’s neonatal intensive care unit.

JORDAN BOYES FAST FACTS

“The most important thing is to work even harder when you’re busy so that funnel of prospects never ends. That is how we have been able to stay so busy, even during the slower times”

HOMETOWN Kelvington, Saskatchewan

AGE 32

YEARS IN REAL ESTATE 6

MARKET Saskatoon

MARKET POPULATION 246,376

prospects never ends. That is how we have been able to stay so busy, even during the slower times. That is a key part to every single day – following up new leads, asking for referrals from past clients.” Boyes’ well-trained team has been weathering the soft Saskatoon market with considerable success. Despite sales in the city remaining flat for the past two years, Boyes Group has seen its business increase

significantly. The company has partnered with more than 20 local developers in its attempt to increase its market share and become the first option for consumers in the city. Complacency, however, is not an emotion Boyes is accustomed to. “If I sell five houses today, come tomorrow that’s done. That’s yesterday. I’m always looking ahead and trying to get more people in that pipeline.” REP

PROPERTIES SOLD IN 2016 160

PROPERTIES SOLD JAN-APR 2017 60

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

STRATEGY

Capturing the millennial market Alice Soon of Pillar To Post shares six tips for attracting and satisfying millennial homebuyers

THE MILLENNIAL generation is one of the most talked about, mysterious and fastest growing consumer groups in Canada. Millennials (those born between 1981 and 2000) now account for approximately 10 million individuals and are among the most diverse and educated people in history.

2. Be tech-savvy. Millennials do a lot of shopping around and use all the resources available at their disposal. Fifty-one percent of them purchase goods or services online at least once per month, and 73% use social media daily. More than any other demographic group, they do more research

Most first-time home buyers are millennials. They are a third of home buyers and regard owning a home as a measure of success Most first-time home buyers are millennials; in fact, they now account for a third of home buyers and regard owning a home as a measure of success. Catering to millennials can help you get ahead as an agent. But how do you appeal to a group that seems to behave completely differently than any generation before? 1. Engage at the speed of the consumer Millennials have never known a time when access to information was not at their fingertips. You need to ensure you respond to their queries within one day.

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and evaluate more agents before settling on one. Once they have selected their real estate agent, millennials will then have a close-knit group to share listings with, whether it’s trusted friends or family. 3. Go paperless wherever possible. Most millennials operate digitally, dislike unnecessary paper and don’t even own a cheque book. Make sure all important documents can be accessed easily in one place, such as DropBox or Google Drive. Also ensure e-signature options are available wherever possible.

4. Be authentic in your marketing. Millennials want to deal with professionals who offer transparency and a personal brand that they can connect with one-on-one. They need to trust you, but if they go to your website and it looks outdated, or your social media feed shows the listings you’ve had for the year and nothing else, they will feel like you can’t bring them any value. 5. Guide them through every step of home ownership. Though they are drowning in information, millennials still need wisdom and guidance from a trusted source. Be a non-stressful resource they can go to when they have questions about everything, from getting a pre-approved mortgage to basic home maintenance tips. 6. Recommend a good home inspector to help them understand the main systems of the house and their basic life cycles. Many millennials will lack home maintenance IQ. A qualified home inspector can help your clients understand the main systems of the house (furnace, water main, electrical panel, etc), as well as the normal life cycles of key items, such as the roof or air conditioner. Additionally, this will help millennials understand how to budget for repairs in the future. (Approximately 1% to 3% of the home’s value should be set aside for normal maintenance each year.) By executing these tactics effectively, you will be able to provide value and insight to first-time home buyers. REP

For more information, visit the nationwide experts at Pillar To Post Home Inspectors – www.pillartopost.com

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

INSIGHT

The rise of independent brands Alberta’s largest brokerage, Calgary’s CIR Realty, is proof that independence can be a crucial component of success IN A recent survey of more than 3,000 US homeowners conducted on behalf of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE) by McKee Wallwork + Co and Decision Analyst, consumers indicated a strong preference for working with sales associates affiliated with local independent brands. More than 88% said they preferred working with an agent with a “well-known, local real estate company”, while 12% preferred those affiliated with a national franchise. The preference for independent brands is a worldwide trend.

productive brokerage. In 2016, CIR REALTY beat the market’s No.2 brokerage by over 36% in terms of completed transactions. In May of 2017, CIR REALTY took on 688 listings in a single month, an all-time record. CIR REALTY attributes their growth to their dedicated, non-selling management team who specialize in everything from sales, technology, professional development, marketing and relocation. The strong culture at CIR REALTY breeds not only productivity, but also mentorship, kindness and a general willingness to get involved and give back. CIR

CIR REALTY attributes their growth to their dedicated, non-selling management team LeadingRE continues to expand globally, with members in 65 countries. Among LeadingRE’s 15 Canadian members is CIR REALTY, Alberta’s largest independent real estate firm. CIR REALTY has been independent since first opening in Calgary in 1983. Despite numerous requests over the years from franchises, their dedication to remaining independent has been steadfast. CIR REALTY’s recent growth has been tremendous. Since the start of 2016, they have grown by 98 REALTORS, bringing the total to 702, making it Alberta’s largest and most

REALTORS are extremely proud to be part of “Team Blue” and are the brokerage’s biggest advocates to the public, their clients and to other real estate professionals. There is tremendous value in being independent. The ability to make on the ground decisions that affect the current economic climate and local marketplace is key. Independence means being able to quickly adapt to emerging technologies and marketing solutions that keep the brokerage at the forefront of innovative solutions for their REALTORS. The biggest change that CIR REALTY’s

leadership team has seen in recent years is the rise of teams and the request for more support and business solutions from the brokerage. REALTORS are becoming more aware of their options and better educated on what it takes to be successful. Brokerages must adapt to ensure they are meeting the demands of today’s REALTOR. CIR REALTY has risen to the challenge by implementing team specific models with specialized accounting and conveyance systems, as well as in-house mentorship programs that currently enrol 125 REALTORS. Being a member of LeadingRE has given CIR REALTY the ability to remain local but with a global presence and international reach. The partnership ensures CIR REALTORS are able to service their clients with the same high level service, in their own markets or elsewhere. From a leadership and executive standpoint, being a member of LeadingRE enables the CIR management team to share best practices, troubleshoot and brainstorm business solutions with other non-competing industry leaders from the best brokerages around the world – and that is invaluable. REP

For more information on CIR REALTY, visit cirrealty.ca. To learn more about membership opportunities in Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, visit leadingre.com/aboutus/membershipinformation.

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

STRATEGY

Financing your clients’ dreams

Agents looking to get their clients’ deals funded have countless options. But not all mortgage brokerages are created equal, and few display the innovation, agility and compassion of Ameera Ameerullah’s Canada Mortgage and Financial Group CANADA MORTGAGE and Financial Group (CMFG) CEO Ameera Ameerullah founded the company in 2012, leveraging a wealth of experience accumulated over a decade spent as a mortgage agent, director of business development and regional vice

company provides Realtors in search of financing solutions for their clients. “I think the most important thing is our correspondence,” Ameerullah says. CMFG’s diligence in communication is exceptional within the industry, as quoted by its clients.

"The most important thing is our correspondence. With the market so hot, everything has to be done quickly" Ameera Ameerullah, Canada Mortgage and Financial Group president. In the relatively brief lifetime of CMFG, she has helped build the company into a Canada-wide powerhouse with both US and international exposure. As Canada Mortgage and Financial Group continues to grow and develop, there are certain key aspects that remain constant to the company's success: its 100% closing ratio and the quick, yet comprehensive service the

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The company’s knowledgeable staff is available at all hours to address any concerns or questions clients may have. Realtors can expect rapid turnaround, generally 24 hours or less, when enquiring about funding options for their clients. “Especially with the market being so hot, everything has to be done quickly,” says Ameerullah. “We have a 100% approval ratio

– if there’s a deal we can’t do for whatever reason, we advise all parties immediately. This diligence ensures high levels of client satisfaction with no time being wasted on anyone’s account.” Looking at the company’s data, instances of deals going unfunded at CMFG are exceedingly rare. “When we say we can’t do a deal, it means we can’t do it through an A lending source,” Ameerullah says. The strong relationships CMFG has developed with alternative lenders – as well as its own self-managed fund, CMFG Mortgage Investments – enables the company to provide a variety of funding solutions. In addition to agility and precision, Realtors have come to expect innovation from Ameerullah. One unique CMFG initiative is the company’s Deposit Program, the only one of its kind in Canada. The program allows clients to access CMFG private funds to assist buyers with down payment/closing costs, while also assisting developers in securing pre-sales. “It’s also beneficial for real estate agents,” says Ameerullah. “In today’s market, many clients who are self-employed or who were blindsided by the new guidelines can’t qualify for a traditional mortgage or are unable to meet the new down payment requirements.” Ameerullah has made giving back a core principle at CMFG. The company’s referral program generously rewards real estate agents who introduce clients to the firm. A significant portion of its profits are also donated to a number of charities and community initiatives, including Covenant House, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Restore Humanity and the North York Women’s Shelter, to name a few. Realtors working with CMFG will not only be benefiting themselves and their clients, they’ll also have a positive impact on the lives of disadvantaged people around the world. “It’s not all about money,” Ameerullah says. “It’s about helping people.” REP

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

TECH

Time is of the essence CENTUM’s new 15 Minute Mortgage Widget helps agents connect with quality leads more quickly and efficiently than ever. The time saved, especially in Canada’s hottest markets, can be invaluable for agents looking to increase their business HOW MANY times have you experienced this? A mortgage broker takes you out for coffee and asks for your referrals with the same generic promises: she answers her phone every time, she has low rates, she has multiple lenders and a higher approval rating. You’ve heard it all before and have probably asked yourself, “Why should I help these brokers build their mortgage business?”

minutes of submitting their application and the entire application takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish. More than two years of development and testing went into making this one of the most advanced mortgage pre-qualification tools available in Canada. The tool is available on all Centum.ca websites making it easy for consumers to find at any time of the day or night. CENTUM partner websites

What if a mortgage partner developed a tool that generates leads for you in return for your referral partnership? At Centum Financial Group Inc, we believe we have a differentiator, our 15 Minute Mortgage Widget. More than a mortgage calculator, this simple eight-step questionnaire actually pre-qualifies applicants for a mortgage and puts them in touch with a broker for the next steps. Applicants receive a response in less than two

will also have access to share the tool on their own websites. They simply need to ask their CENTUM mortgage professional. The 15 Minute Mortgage is an invaluable tool for Realtors. Let’s say a Realtor partnered with a CENTUM mortgage professional placed the 15 Minute Mortgage Widget in their newest home listing. If an interested viewer fills out the widget, both the agent and mortgage broker get notified in real time. The agent will be provided the name,

email address and phone number and information indicating which page the lead was captured on (so users can understand which pages are performing better than others if the widget is on multiple pages). The Realtor now sits back and allows the mortgage broker to contact the client and complete the pre-approval process to ensure they’re a qualified buyer. We respect the time and effort of each of our Realtor partners. This is our way to ensure they’re only spending time on qualified leads. Once this is done, the mortgage broker will reach out to the Realtor partner to let them know they can contact their new qualified buyer lead. This tool was built with our Realtor partners in mind. If you’re a Realtor looking to open a new lead generation stream, head to www.centum.ca and use the interactive map to locate a CENTUM mortgage professional nearest you. Once you’ve found the right agent, reach out and let them know you’re looking to add the 15 Minute Mortgage Widget to your listings, landing pages, etc. We’re here to make that process easy; our technical support at corporate office is here should you or your CENTUM partner need any guidance in getting started. At CENTUM, we really are Looking Out For Your Best Interest. REP To learn more about CENTUM’s 15-Minute Mortgage Widget, or to find a CENTUM mortgage professional, visit www.centum.ca today.

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

PEOPLE PERSON A varied path has taken her across fields and nations, but for Mary Jane Webster, it’s all about the people

1980s

INHERITS WORK ETHIC

1995

WORKS WITH TROUBLED YOUTH Uncertain of what to do after finishing university, Mary Jane took a course to work with troubled children. A chance meeting years later, when she encountered a past student, summed up the effect she had on some of the kids.

“He said, ‘You were the first person to teach me that it was OK to be who I am.’ I guess I thought if they could look back and think something positive happened to them, then it was worth it” 2003

GOES FROM PUBLIC SERVICE TO PRIVATE ENTERPRISE Mary Jane moved back to PEI to take over two family businesses. The move from social services to private enterprise satisfied the frustration she had long felt in her dealings with bureaucracy. “I couldn’t understand why when there was a gap we couldn’t just fit it – which is in retrospect the sign of an entrepreneur.”

2011

FINDS REAL ESTATE

Mary Jane started studying for her Realtor licence the year she began her MBA, in order to keep her options open in the face of coming change. Part-time work in the field gave way to full-time in 2013. “The possibilities in real estate are endless – the industry is constantly changing and incredibly dynamic. No two days are ever the same. I’m so fortunate to be able to help people; it’s fun to be able to take care of people.” 62

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The daughter of a businessman, Mary Jane credits her father for imbuing her with the spirit of an entrepreneur, thanks to a work ethic that saw him work a full day as an electrician and then work on the family potato farm after dark. Teenage Mary Jane would spend her summers home from university driving a tractor.

2000

LEAVES THE ISLAND Rollerblading to work one day, Mary Jane grabbed a paper and spotted a tiny ad that mentioned the outdoors and working with kids; this led to a year working at a wilderness school for emotionally disturbed teenage boys. “I called and it turned out I was the first woman working there in 10 years; so then it became a challenge. We were in tents five days a week; we were allowed to sleep inside if it was -20C at bedtime.”

2011 ENROLS FOR MBA Legislative changes that portended ominously for the family liquor business prompted its sale. “I wanted more of a skill set to take everything to the next level. I graduated one week and the sale closed within two weeks after that. I negotiated myself out of a job.”

2015 BUYS THE AGENCY Mary Jane jokes that she worked on the purchase of her agency by taking the previous owner out to lunch every few months for two years until he felt the timing was right. As a leader, she feels her responsibility lies in motivating the team. “It’s really exciting to help someone create a business and take it to a level they didn’t think they would be able to make it to; that excitement when they hit a milestone – it’s priceless.”

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email repmag@kmimedia.ca

CIRCUS DRUMMER Arty Basinski marches to the beat of his own drum … and sometimes the sticks are on fire GETTING UP on stage at New York’s legendary Blue Note bar for an open jam on a university trip in 2000 had a life-changing effect on then business student and sometime drummer Arty Basinski. “I thought I knew jazz, but when they counted in the jam, I had no idea what was happening. I was lost, everyone was looking at me with disgust and I was kicked off the stage. It was the longest two minutes of my life,” he says. It turns out Arty, now a Toronto Realtor, was playing a “butchered” swing, while the other musicians were playing bossa nova. The experience “opened up a whole new world to me. There are so many different styles to play: bossa, samba, waltz, reggae, calypso, the list is endless; it’s a good obsessional hobby. That experience was what really got me into drumming. It was the worst and best experience of my drumming career; I had no idea how much I didn’t know.” Arty, who is also known as the Real Estate by Bike Guy, has come a long way since then, including becoming the house drummer at Zero Gravity Circus six years ago. But his main project involves beating the skin for self-described “circus party metal” band Mineta. “We’re all world-class circus performers in the band, and put on a wild show. I’m the only fire-spinning drummer in the world.” The act includes magic, juggling, burlesque, comedy, and fire-breathing, while Arty has been known to play drums strapped to his back, on stilts while juggling fire.

Minutes Arty drums with burning drumsticks on stage

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$8,000

Price of a high-quality drum kit

Drumsticks Arty owns, including LED and fire sticks

Congratulations to our 2016 Canadian #1 Award Winners European-based premium real estate brand Engel & Völkers honored its top-performing individuals and

shops that exemplify the core values of the brand through its 2016 North America Awards Program. Award recipients were announced during the annual Exchange event, hosted at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Resort.

Top Producing Shop in Canada-Closed Sides & GCI

Top Producing Advisor in Canada-Closed GCI

Top Producing Advisor in Canada-Closed Sides André Parisien, Engel & Völkers Tremblant

Top Producing Team North America-Closed Sides Binab Group, Engel & Völkers Victoria Oak Bay

Engel & Völkers Vancouver

Martin Rouleau, Engel & Völkers Montréal

Engel & Völkers Canada 2 Bloor Street West, Suite 700 · Toronto · ON M4W 3RI · Phone +1 416-323-1100 evcanada.com · info@evcanada.com

©2017 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. This advertisement is not an offering of a franchise, and where required by law, an offering can only be made 14 days after delivery of the applicable franchise disclosure document.

PEOPLE

Regional Opportunities

OTHER LIFE

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE E-mail: repmag@kmimedia.ca

NOW AVAILABLE ACROSS CANADA For Those Who See A Much Bigger Picture! AVAILABLE!

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Call Tami Bonnell, CEO, for info: 1-877-253-3948 (Toll free)