REALinfo - October 2014 by RAHB News

OCTOBER ● 2014

REALinfo Updates

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Ethics

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Statistics

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Maps

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News

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Community

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Events

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In Brief

News and Information Resource for MEMBERS

Quarterly Reports – page 2 From the Board Table – page 2 Bits & Bytes

– How did I end up here? – pages 3

MLS ® Updates

New MLS® Policies – page 3 New fields available in Broker Load – page 15

RAHB News

A Quick Guide to CREA Trademarks and Social Media – page 4 New REALTOR Link ® – page 4 RCC Election Meeting and Networking Breakfast – page 8 R AHB Ser vice Awards Nominations Open – page 10 R AHB election draws closer – page 11 R AHB Town Hall Meetings – page 11

Ethics Corner – Verify, Verify, Verify! – page 5 Celebrate YOUR Community RECO News

OFFICE Closure

– Flamborough – page 6

– Has your real estate license been suspended? – page 7

Professional Development – Upcoming Courses – page 8 REALTORS ® Care – pages 5 and 9 Government Relations – October 27th is Election Day! – page 10 CMHC News

– Housing Outlook Seminar – page 11

RAHB Sales & Stats Maps

The RAHB office will be CLOSED on Monday, October 13 for Thanksgiving Day and will reopen Tuesday, October 14 at 8:30 a.m.

Happy Thanksgiving

Empowering REALTORS ® to Succeed

– pages 12 and 13

Realty Shoppe

– page 14

New Members

– page 14

Mark Your Calendar – page 15 OREA News – back page Download Full Edition

Established in 1921, the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) represents more than 2,600 real estate brokers and salespersons from Hamilton, Burlington, and surrounding areas. Members of the association may use the REALTOR® trademark, which identifies them as real estate professionals who  subscribe to a strict code of ethics. The Association operates the local Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System and provides ongoing professional education courses for its members. In addition, RAHB is an active  participant in the Home Ownership Affordability Partnership (HOAP) and holds an annual auction in support of local charities. Advertisements of local MLS® property listings and information about the services provided by a REALTOR® can be found at www.REALTOR.ca. More information about RAHB is available at www.rahb.ca.

Mission Statement Empowering REALTORS® to Succeed

President

Tim Mattioli 905.575.5478 President-Elect Donna Bacher

905.574.4600

Vice-President Sean Morrison

905.662.6666

Immediate Past President Bruce Moran 905.522.6001 Directors Kim Alvarez 905.335.3042 Rochelle Edwards 905.639.3300 Gary Herron 905.388.1110 Bill Lawson 905.338.9000 Paul Martindale 905.572.9465 Dave Nichols 905.634.7755 Gloria Payton 905.574.9889 Lou Piriano 905.628.6625

Updates ASSOCIATION Quarterly Reports

Arbitration, Discipline and Professional Standards

sold out: FINTRAC/Anti Spam, The Accredited Senior Agent (ASA) Designation and a Point2 Demonstration.

There was one Arbitration Claim received. The Professional Standards Committee reviewed six new complaints, five of which were deemed to fall under RECO’s jurisdiction, and one which was deemed to be under RAHB’s jurisdiction and was investigated. Contacts: Wilf Wallace, Don Inglehart and Ann Cosens

The Professional Development Committee welcomes your suggestions for new workshops/seminars; please send your request to angelam@rahb.ca Contact: Hank Balfoort

Regional Commercial Council (RCC)

Membership Area Representation (MARC)

RCC Chair Paul Martindale attended the Canadian Commercial Network’s (CCN) annual conference in Parksville, B.C., where he met with commercial leaders from across Canada. The three-day conference included educational sessions, an economic outlook, local and national updates and information about current CCN products and services. The Chair and Immediate Past-Chair are also scheduled to attend the Toronto Real Estate Forum in December.

Following a successful program in the spring, MARC is bringing two more town hall meetings to RAHB’s communities, and will next visit Dunnville on October 23 and Burlington on October 29. MARC members encourage you to come out to one or more of these informal, informative meetings, and be engaged! Full details are on page 11 of this issue of REALinfo. MARC continues to review opportunities for community sponsorship within the RAHB jurisdictional area, and recently agreed to co-sponsor the Burlington Chamber of Commerce’s Mayoral All Candidates Meeting on October 17. Additional Burlington Chamber sponsorships have been secured for the Small Business Week Breakfast (October 21) and the Economic Forecast (November 18 or 19) Contact: Rochelle Edwards

RCC members now benefit from the additional exposure of the commercial REALTOR® brand. The One-Stop for Businesses department at the City of Hamilton now has RCC promotional materials available for their clients. The RCC Election and Networking Breakfast will be held on November 5, 2014 at the Waterfront Banquet & Conference Centre. The event will recognize the newest RCC members and will feature guest speaker Frank McKeown, Executive Director of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation. Full registration details are located on page 8 of this issue of REALinfo. Contact: Paul Martindale

Professional Development

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

REALinfo is published monthly by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington(RAHB)

505 York Boulevard, Hamilton ON L8R 3K4 T.: 905.529.8101 F.: 905.529.4349 MLS® F.: 905.529.6636 Help Desk T.: 905.667.4650 Realty Shoppe: T.: 905.529.5979 F.: 905.529.7109 Email: info@rahb.ca Web site: www.rahb.ca Intranet site: www.realtorlink.ca Editor: Valerie Webster Editorial Assistant: Sheila Sferrazza Design: Maggie Inglis In-house Products: RAHB Print Services

The Professional Development Committee had a quiet third quarter as there were no courses held during the summer months. RAHB did offer two non-credit sessions and a designation course – all of which were

from the

Table BOARD

At its September meeting, the Board of Directors made a number of decisions: ● agreed

to approve the terms of the Shared Services Agreement for the Ontario Regional MLS® service; ● approved a recommendation from the Government Relations Committee that the Association take a position urging the City of Hamilton to develop and implement a robust Complete Streets policy; ● agreed to report findings of the Finance Committee sub-committee struck to

address the concerns raised by the members and to seek input from the membership on which services could be reduced if the Board was tasked with reducing dues and fees; ● reduced the entrance fee for new members who have belonged to another real estate association for more than a year, from $1000 to $500; ● approved the Regional MLS® Policies.

How did I end up here?

BITSBytes &

ave you noticed that when you use your desktop shortcut to Fusion, WEBForms® or REALTOR Link® - or the individual URLs for those pages - you end up logging in to a page that looks like this:

You can also go directly to the SSO – the url is http://rahb.starrs.ca.

New MLS ® Policies

he new MLS® policy, Processing Cancellations and Suspensions of Listing Agreements, came into effect in August of 2014: 24. Upon checking 1 in 5 cancellations and suspensions, if any audited cancellation or suspension of listing agreement is found to be in contravention of the RAHB’s Rules and Regulations, Section 3, and is

Update MLS®

missing the seller’s signature and date of signing or missing the listing broker of record’s signature(s), the listing will be reactivated and a fine will be assessed as outlined in MLS® policy #23, as follows: $250 for first offense, $500 for second offense, $750 for third or subsequent offences. Following the third offense the member’s broker load privileges may be reviewed.

"MLS® Update" continued on page 7

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

This is RAHB’s Single Sign On (SSO) portal landing page. From this page, you can navigate to the various RAHB applications (Fusion, WEBForms®, REALTOR Link®, CONNECT, SIM and OpenHouses.ca) without having to log in again. You can also use the handy links to other resources you might find useful. (However, if there is a log in required for the resource, you will need to log in to continue to the site.)

News RAHB

A Quick Guide to CREA Trademarks and Social Media

ocial media – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube – is increasingly used by members who want to know how, or if, they can use CREA’s trademarks including REALTOR®, REALTORS®, MLS® and Multiple Listing Service® in social media. Here is CREA’s advice: Whether or not members can use CREA’s trademarks on social media depends on how they are using the marks. The general rule is that all of the policies that apply to the use of CREA’s trademarks in the “real” world also apply in the electronic world. This means that both the MLS trademarks (MLS and Multiple Listing Service®) and REALTOR® trademarks (REALTOR® and REALTORS®) may be used in a tweet or posting on social media provided they are always spelled exactly as registered. The term MLS® is to be spelled all in capitals, as are the first letters in Multiple Listing Service®. Similarly, the terms REALTOR® and REALTORS® are to be spelled all in capitals. All of CREA’s trademarks should be followed by the registered trademark symbol. ®

Where possible, when using the MLS® or REALTOR® trademarks in a tweet or posting, REALTOR® members are encouraged to include a statement that trademarks are trademarks of The Canadian Real Estate Association. Specific rules have been created for user names. REALTOR® members should remember that they cannot use the MLS® family of trademarks (MLS®, and Multiple Listing Service®) in their user names, email addresses or other forms of identification information in social media. The REALTOR® trademarks may be used in user names, email addresses and other forms of identification information in Social Media. All of the general context and form rules apply, with the following exceptions:

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

1. The REALTOR® trademarks do not need to be entirely capitalized.

® Updat e MLS

Update:

How to Broker load a cancellation or suspension in Fusion Further to the instructions posted in the September edition of REALinfo, the Change Message field is now unlocked.

2. The ® registration symbol does not need to be displayed with every use of the marks. The following general rules still apply: 1. The REALTOR® trademarks can be used in conjunction with a REALTOR® member’s name or a member’s business name, but it cannot be used as part of a business name (e.g. ABC REALTORS® is wrong; ABC Ltd., REALTORS® is acceptable). 2. The REALTOR® trademarks must always be separated from a corporate or individual name by punctuation, where possible. 3. The REALTOR® trademarks must never be modified by adjectives (e.g., Top Selling REALTOR®, Commercial REALTOR®, Toronto REALTOR®, and Your Family REALTOR® are all improper). Although not required, members are encouraged to use capitalization and the ® registered symbol in user names, email addresses and other forms of identification information where possible. For example, Twitter users have a username, which is the name that appears in the URL of a profile page. Extension of CREA’s usage rules to Twitter means that members can use the REALTOR® trademark as part of their real name and username if it is used correctly. Twitter allows underscores to be included in usernames so @ABCRealty_REALTORS would be an acceptable username. Is this clear as mud? If you would like to learn more about the sometimes murky world of trademarks, CREA publishes a very good information brochure titled: Trademark Manual (last updated in November 2013). You can download a PDF of this document from CREA’s home page on REALTORLink.ca.

RAHB News

REALTOR Link® has a new look!

RAHB and CREA are pleased to announce RAHB’s new, redesigned REALTOR Link® site is now live. The new REALTOR Link® has some great features to help you get to information that’s important to you: • A new and fully redesigned interface • Enhanced security • Easily accessible news widgets to keep you informed Visit realtorlink.ca to check it out!

Verify, verify, verify!

he following case study is taken from the Professional Standards files of the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington. The names have been changed. A Salesperson submitted to RAHB a Property Information sheet which indicated “Yes” under the item “central air conditioning”. The Buyer, upon moving into the property, noticed there was no air conditioning system even though the listing indicated there was. The Buyer filed a complaint with the Professional Standards Committee. It was determined that the subject property did not, in fact, have an air conditioning system. The Salesperson had used information from a previous listing and did not verify the information from that listing. The Salesperson opted for an Abbreviated Hearing for breach of the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton Burlington Rules and Regulations, Section 2 MLS® – Sub-Section 2.05: The Listing Brokerage and Listing REALTOR® are responsible for the accuracy of all information submitted by the Listing Brokerage to the Association’s MLS® system, whether Board Loaded or Broker Loaded. The member was assessed the hearing costs, fined, and was required to take an education course. Moral of the story: Members are responsible for the accuracy of the listing and must verify all information and not rely on previous listing information.

® REALTORS Care

his spring, the Canadian REALTORS Care® Foundation asked REALTORS®, brokerages, franchisors, real estate boards and associations and their affiliated charitable organizations how much they raised and/or donated to charity in 2013. The Foundation crunched the numbers and found that REALTORS® reported over $23.2 million in funds raised and donated in 2013. Added to 2012 tally of donations, that makes a grand total of $53.8 million in only two years.

This is an impressive number, but likely only a fraction of the true amount of money, not to mention time and passion, the REALTOR® community gave to charity in 2012 and 2013. Many REALTORS® are humble about their charitable work and don’t want to publicize the

contributions they’ve made to their communities and favourite charities. The Canadian REALTORS Care® Foundation greatly respects this view, but also believes it is important to spread the word about their good deeds. It not only illustrates the generosity of the REALTOR® community, but also shines the spotlight on the charities and causes close to their hearts and can inspire others to follow their lead to get involved and help make a difference. If you haven’t yet told the Canadian REALTORS Care® Foundation how much you raised or donated to charity in 2012 or 2013, it’s not too late to be counted! Contact the Canadian REALTORS Care® Foundation and let them know how much you gave to or raised for charity. The more REALTORS® stand up to be recognized for their good works, the stronger the message that REALTORS® are not only key players in an important sector of the economy, but also community builders whose voices matter. If you don’t want to contact CREA, contact Valerie at the RAHB office (valeriew@rahb.ca or 905.529.8101 x294) and the information you provide about your charitable giving will be passed on. For those who have already reported their donations for 2012 and 2013, it’s not too early to let the REALTORS Care® Foundation know what you’ve already contributed in 2014!

Pumpkins for all! The Lynn Fee Team (RE/MAX Garden City Realty Inc.) has joined with Ridgeview Garden Centre for their sixth Halloween for Hunger Food Drive. The Grimsby Benevolent Fund and West Niagara Community Care are the beneficiaries of the annual event. Local residents and clients are encouraged to go to Ridgeview Garden Centre October 24 - 31 to donate a non-perishable food item or make a cash donation in exchange for a free pumpkin. To date, Lynn and her team have raised more than 5000 pounds of food and over $6,000 for Grimsby Benevolent Fund and the West Niagara Community Care non-profit organizations.

An evening of song RAHB member Kathy Chiu (Right at Home Realty Inc.) and her husband Dr. Brendan Chiu present An Evening of Song to raise funds for the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation. The event will take place Friday, October 17, 2014 at 8 p.m. at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre and will feature music from Sinatra to Elvis, with vocalist Stephen Chiu, the funk/ rock Carry-On Band and award winning classical pianist Ricker Choi. Tickets are $40 (HST included) plus applicable fees and are available at www.burlingtonpac.ca. For more information, contact Kathy Chiu at 905.637.1700.

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

EthicsCORNER

CelebrateYOURCommunity

Flamborough

All communities profiled in REALinfo are within RAHB's market area*

A genuine “community of communities”, Flamborough is comprised of many villages and hamlets, including Carlisle, Christie’s Corners, Clappison’s Corners, Copetown, Freelton, Greensville, Lynden, Kirkwall, Millgrove, Mountsberg, Orkney, Rockton, Troy, Sheffield, Valens, Waterdown and Westover. Population:

● 39,220

Geographic location:

● RAHB’s districts: 40, 43, 44, 45

Historical facts:

(Census 2006).

and 46. Most of Flamborough is located on the Niagara Escarpment. ● There is evidence of a long history of human occupation in the area, dating back to Paleo Indian cultures. ● The first Europeans to arrive were the French explorers LaSalle and Joliet who met near what is now Westover, in 1669. ● United Empire Loyalists arrived after the American Revolution in 1783. ● The Township of Flamborough was established in 1792 and was named after the Flamborough Head, a prominent geographical formation, and the Town of Flamborough in East Yorkshire, England. ● The land was surveyed and organized into townships: East Flamborough, West Flamborough and Beverly. These three townships and the Village of Waterdown made up Wentworth County in 1816. ● Flamborough became a major 19th-century industrial and residential centre when the Honour able James Crooks used the water power from Grindstone Creek and Spencer Creek to run saw mills, grist mills, flour mills and one of the first large scale paper mills in Upper Canada. ● In 1974, the Hamilton-Wentworth Region was created by joining Hamilton and Flamborough Township, which at that time consisted of East Flamborough, West Flamborough, Beverly and the Village of Waterdown. ● In 2001, the Provincial Government replaced the Regional Government with a new single tier municipality called the City of Hamilton.

Webster's Fal l s

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

Places of interest:

Events:

● African

Lion Safari is one of the Ontario’s key tourist attractions, with more than 1,000 animals representing more than 100 species. The park has bred 50 species considered endangered or threatened. www.lionsafari.com/ ● The Bruce Trail is Canada’s oldest and longest marked trail, running along the Niagara Escarp ment. It provides an impressive wilderness experience for hikers of all levels. www.brucetrail.org ● Spencer Gorge/Webster’s Falls Conservation Area in Greensville is a significant natural area that contains two waterfalls: Webster’s and Tews Falls. www.cityofwaterfalls.ca ● Christie Lake Conservation Area is a 336-hectare Niagara Escarpment destination. www.conservationhamilton.ca ● Valens Conservation Area is a 300-hectare park. www.conservationhamilton.ca ● Flamboro Downs features harness racing and slot machines. www.flamborodowns.com ● Flamboro Speedway is a 1/3–mile oval auto racing track where stock car racing is held every Saturday night during the summer. http://flamborospeedway.net/ ● Westfield Heritage Centre contains over 30 historic buildings on an 840-acre site. www.conservationhamilton.ca/welcome-to-westfield-heritage-village ● Christie Classic Antique Show is held twice a year at Christie Lake Conservation Area. http://christieantiqueshow.ca/ ● Rockton World’s Fair is an agricultural exhibition held annually on Thanksgiving weekend at the Fairgrounds in Rockton. http://www.rocktonworldsfair.com/

Sources: Wikipedia; Flamborough Chamber of Commerce; HPL- Historical Flamborough

* Including: Ancaster, Burlington, Caistor, Caledonia, Canborough, Cayuga, Dundas, Dunn, Dunnville, Flamborough, Glanbrook, Grimsby, Hagersville, Hamilton, Moulton, Oneida, Rainham, Seneca, Sherbrooke, Smithville, Stoney Creek, Waterdown, West Lincoln and their environs.

"MLS® Update" continued from page 3

The following new MLS® policy, Individual and Combined Listings, is effective immediately:

Each unit is listed separately and assigned four separate MLS® numbers.

25. When marketing individual and combined listings; when a combined listing is sold, the individual listings associated with the sold listing will be cancelled by way of a cancellation of listing agree ment signed by the seller and broker. The cancel lation must be received by RAHB or processed through broker load the same day as the report of sale for the combined listing. On the first offence a warning letter will be forwarded; on the second or any subsequent offence a $100 fine will be issued.

However, the four individual units may also be leased together for a total of 4,000 sqft. In order to market this option, members will now be able to enter a fifth listing in addition to the four individual units to list all four units together. Until now, RAHB did not allow this, as it was seen as a duplication which may skew statistics based on how the listings are reported.

This new policy allows members to market commercial listings individually and in combination without fear of skewing statistics. This policy has required the addition of a new field in Broker Load called “Leased Area” when a property is leased. This field allows the member to accurately report the specific amount of square footage leased. Example: A commercial plaza may be listed with four individual units. Each unit is 1,000 sqft.

Using the above example, should two of the individual units be leased, the lease would be reported on the fifth listing which listed all four units together. The “Leased Area” field would be completed with the value of “2,000 sqft”. The two individual units that were listed and are now leased would then be cancelled. The other two individual units would remain active for lease. The member may then complete another combined listing with the remainder of the two units listed together for a total square footage of 2,000 sqft. This new option will allow members to more effectively market space to their clients and customers requiring smaller or larger areas to lease.

RECO News

Has your real estate license been suspended?

Here’s a message from RECO: Every July and August, real estate professionals across Ontario must make a payment to renew their insurance coverage for the year.

Insurance coverage

This year’s insurance payment, if paid by the due date, August 15, 2014, was $400. This includes three valuable forms of insurance coverage: 1. Consumer Deposit insurance protects consumers for loss of deposits caused by fraud, misappropriation of funds or insolvency by a registrant. 2. Errors and Omissions coverage provides protection for registrants in the event that errors and omissions committed in the course of their professional services lead to claims made against them. 3. Commission Protection coverage protects registrants from loss of commission caused by fraud, misappropriation of funds or insolvency of a brokerage.

This year’s renewal period

This year’s insurance renewal has been very successful. As of September 2, over 97 per cent of registrants

made their insurance payment. However, every year a number of registrants fail to make their payment. After making significant efforts to reach out to them, RECO has suspended their registration as required by provincial regulations. These suspended registrants can no longer trade in real estate unless they revive their registration.

How to confirm that registration has been suspended

The Registrant Search on the RECO website will confirm the status of a registration. In addition, Brokers of Record can check the insurance payment status of their registered employees on MyWeb.

How to revive registration

Registrants can revive their registration by paying the outstanding amount of $400, plus $35 for expenses related to administration of the suspension process, for a total of $435.

Credit card payment through MyWeb will automatically revive registration. This will also remove the suspension from the Registrant Search results. Detailed information related to the program is available on the RECO website. "RECO News" continued on page 8

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

ave you paid your RECO insurance premiums yet?

"RECO News" continued from page 7

Insurance Payment Inquiries should be directed to: Phone: 416.207.4841; Toll-free: 1.866.757.7772 Email: insurance@reco.on.ca

Registration Inquiries should be directed to: Phone: 416.207.4800; Toll-free: 1.800.245.6910 Email: registration@reco.on.ca

News RAHB

R EGIONAL C OMMERCIAL C OUNCIL

Wednesday, November 5, 2014 Waterfront Banquet & Conference Centre

555 Bay St. N., Hamilton, ON

7:30 a.m. Voting 8 a.m. Breakfast 8:30 a.m. Meeting REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

How To Hire the Right Assistant Wednesday, October 29, 2014

9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. RAHB office - 505 York Blvd., Hamilton $ 45.00 + HST CE: 3

● Have

Election Meeting and Networking Breakfast

This session will help you understand the hiring process for, and how to work effectively with, an assistant. At the conclusion of this course, you will:

Council of the

Development PROFESSIONAL

22.60 (HST included)

Guest Speaker: Frank McKeown, Executive Director, Burlington Economic Development Corporation To register please contact Kathy at 905.529.8101 x237 or kathyr@rahb.ca

a grasp of the pros and cons of different types of professional assistants, the rules around employee vs. independent contractor and licensed vs. un-licensed assistants ● Understand compensation models and regulations ● Have a complete road map for defining job descriptions, creating an operations manual and how to turn your assistant’s real estate job into a business ● Have a complete system for attracting, interviewing, and hiring a professional assistant ● Have a complete library of forms to move through the “90 Day Road Map” process

GeoWarehouse Features Monday, November 3, 2014

9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. RAHB office - 505 York Blvd., Hamilton FREE CE: 2 GeoWarehouse Features is designed to answer common questions many real estate sales professionals have about the features and functionality of GeoWarehouse. ● Newer features available in reports; ● How to purchase property surveys; ● Working with condos and how to order, purchase and download condo status certificates online; ● And much more.

MPAC

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. RAHB office - 505 York Blvd. Hamilton Free CE: 3 This presentation will cover the following topics: ● MPAC's role and responsibilities ● Property assessment in Ontario ● How assessed values are established ● Assessment update ● Real estate market overview ● Reviewing property assessments ● Topical issues/current news Register for these courses by emailing: angelam@rahb.ca

Seating is limited so register today!

® Care REALTORS

Annual Charity Auction & Social

Something for Everyone!

All-inclusive trip for 2 to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Diamond Ring

Thursday, November 20, 2014 Michelangelo Events & Conference Centre 1555 Upper Ottawa, Hamilton

● Live & Silent Auctions Doors Open at 6 p.m. ● Music & Entertainment ● Hors d’oeuvres & Cash Bar each Tickets – $ ●

Proceeds to the AM900 CHML/Y108/953 Fresh FM Children’s Fund

Never too late to donate or buy a ticket! Contact Sheila at 905.529.8101 x234 or sheilas@rahb.ca.

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

Outdoor Enthusiast's Package

Relations GOVERNMENT

October 27 th is Election Day!

unicipalities across the province will elect new leaders on October 27. In concert with the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and the Hamilton-Halton Homebuilders Association, RAHB has been active in shaping the conversation for the Hamilton Mayoral race. Under the banner Hamilton Business Leaders (HBL), the three associations organized a mayoral panel with the three leading candidates on September 18. Moderated by CHML’s Billy Kelly, the candidates were asked their positions on economic development, labour relations, municipal land transfer tax and of course, LRT. If you were unable to attend, a video of the event can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=6Yq2i-JbQQ4 (Courtesy of Joey Coleman). For more details on the HBL priorities, as well as videos of the candidates speaking frankly about their vision for the city, visit www.hamiltonbusinessleaders.ca. RAHB is also the Platinum sponsor for the Burlington Chamber’s Mayoral Debate on October 17.

RAHB News

Details can be found here: http://www.burlingtonchamber.com/index.php/item/ mayoral-candidates-meeting.html?category_id=19 Don’t forget to vote! For candidate information and where to vote, visit the website for your home municipality: City of Burlington: http://cms.burlington.ca/Page13794.aspx#.VC2rNfldVsI Town of Grimsby: http://grimsby.ca/Mayor-N-Council/Elections Haldimand County: http://www.haldimandcounty.on.ca/election/ City of Hamilton: http://www.hamilton.ca/CityDepartments/ CorporateServices/Clerks/MunicipalElection/ Norfolk County: http://www.norfolkcounty.ca/government/2014 -municipal-election-information/2014-municipal-election/

RAHB Service Awards Nominations Open

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

ominations are now open for three RAHB Community Service Awards: Award of Merit, Volunteer of the Year and Outstanding Community Service.

Do you know a RAHB member who has demonstrated exceptional qualities, enthusiasm and perseverance or has gone above and beyond to serve their fellow members, and is currently serving on a RAHB committee or task force?

Volunteer of the Year

Nominate them for Volunteer of the Year!

Do you know a RAHB member who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and service to RAHB and who has contributed positively to the association for three or more years? Nominate them for the Award of Merit!

Award of Merit

Do you know a RAHB member who has shown outstanding dedication to the real estate industry and exceptional volunteer service to their community for three or more years?

Outstanding Community Service

Nominate them for the Outstanding Community Service Award!

Do you think you qualify for any of the three awards? Then “nominate” yourself! Nominating others or applying for the award yourself is easy. Application/Nomination forms and Criteria sheets and are available online in the Membership Information section of REALTOR Link®. Don’t delay – all applications/nominations must be received at the RAHB office no later than Friday, November 28, 2014.

RAHB election draws closer

he Notice of Meeting for the upcoming RAHB election for 2015 Directors was emailed to each member on October 1. The Notice of Meeting included information about the nomination process, a description of the skills desired in a Director, a nomination form and a schedule of events for the election. Members are urged to carefully read through the package of information and to take advantage of the opportunities available to learn more about the RAHB election process (including changes that have taken place over the last two years) and to learn more about the candidates standing for election. New this year! ● An information session will be held for members who want to know more about being a Director ● Voting

members will have a chance to meet and speak with the candidates before the election meeting ● Electronic

voting will take place for three full days the week before the election Learn more about the election at the upcoming Town Hall meetings and in an update from the President (to be sent the second week in October).

CMHC News

Plan to attend an upcoming RAHB Town Hall meeting!

ome out to hear what’s new at RAHB and bring your questions and comments about what’s new with you!

RAH

The agenda so far includes: ● Upcoming RAHB election ● Regional Shared MLS® System ● Updates on issues/initiatives ● Your questions/comments Dunnville Thursday, October 23, 2014 Grace United Church, 301 Broad Street E. Burlington Wednesday, October 29, 2014 Tyandaga Golf & Country Club, 1265 Tyandaga Park Drive Both meetings 9 a.m. – Registration/Continental breakfast 9:30 a.m. – Meeting begins Pre-registration is appreciated; please contact Kathy at 905.529.8101 x237 or kathyr@rahb.ca by Monday, October 20.

RAHB Town Hall Meetings

Be Engaged

* Informed * Empowered

2014 CMHC Housing Outlook Seminar: What Will Drive the Market?

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) will present its annual Housing Outlook Seminar on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. CMHC Regional Economist Ted Tsiakopoulos will speak on the topic of Residential Real Estate – Place to Live, Nest Egg or Both? and Senior Market Analyst Abdul Kargbo will address the topic Will Baby Boomers Continue to Age-in-Place? A panel including RAHB CEO Ross Godsoe will discuss how residential intensification can be a solution to growing housing demand and housing affordability.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014 Royal Botanical Gardens 680 Plains Rd. W., Burlington Breakfast: 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. Seminar: 9 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Early Bird (until October 14) - $80 (taxes included) Regular - $95 (taxes included) Table of 6 - $405 (taxes included) Educational credits for CAAMP, IMBA, AIC and RECO are available. For more information or to register, call 1.800.668.2642 or go to www.cmhc.ca/conferenceregistration.

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

RAHB News

Up to - 199,999 200,000 - 299,999 300,000 - 399,999 400,000 - 499,999 500,000 - 599,999 600,000 +

153 299 304 189 117 163

Statistics UPDATE

RAHB Sales – September 2014

Residential Property Type Residential Sales – by Price Range (total 1227 sales) 1 Storey 13%1.5 Storey13% 2 Storey 2.5 Storey 3 Storey 3 Level Split 4 Level Split 25% 5 Level Split R-Ern Other

10% 15%

Residential Sales – by Property Type 1 StoreyType Commercial Property Farm 1.5 Storey Vacant Land 2 Storey Commercial 2.5 Storey Multi Residential 3 Storey

358 115 499toUp to $199,999 Up - 199,999 54 $200,000 - $299,999 200,000 - 299,999 41 $ 300,000 - $399,999 300,000 - 399,999 30 - $499,999 66 $400,000 400,000 - 499,999 8 $500,000 - $599,999 500,000 - 599,999 41 $ 600,000 + 600,000 + 13

24%

% 1% 1% 3

1 St

1.5

29%

2 St

3 Level Split

2.5

4 Level Split 6 5 Level Split12 23 Raised Ranch 18

3 St

3 Le

4 Le

Other

5 Le

R-E

Commercial Sales – by Property Type (total 59 sales) 10%

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

31%

20%

Farm

Vacant Land

Vacant Land Business

39%

Commercial

Multi Residential

For monthly stats release, including seasonally adjusted and actual charts, go to REALTOR Link® – RAHB Statistics, the RAHB public website (www.rahb.ca) or your email inbox - the stats release is sent to every member each month.

Oth

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(19) 264,412

HAMILTON

(15) 235,133

GLANBROOK

(19) 287,060

136

KERN S RD.

(27) 486,630

MLS® DISTRICT BOUNDARY BETWEEN HAMILTON/GLANBROOK

HALDIBROOK ROAD

AD TY RO

TWEN

(5) 319,230

NIAGARA/HALDIMA

(7) 318,143 (5) 169,340

ND - NORFOLK

AD RO

AND

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NANTICOKE/HALDIM

(6) 304,983

MUNICIPAL BOUNDAR Y

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(2) 316,250

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(5) 532,960

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REGIONAL BOUNDAR Y

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KING ST. W.

(1) 520,000

HWY #20

(39) 377,732

2 R.R. #2

SENECA ONONDAGA TOWNLINE

(13) 290,954

RIDGE ROAD

(35) $339,089

346,418

O OR SB D IN OA GA E R R N TO LI IS WN CA TO

D GREENS ROA

(7) 267,529

HWY #53

ROAD WESTBROOK

BRANT/HAMILTON

HWY #20

GLANCASTER ROAD MLS® DISTRICT BOUNDARY BETWEEN ANCASTER/GLANBROOK

(65) $ 514,454

Outlying

9) #29

(32) $ 361,970

RY DA N UN OL BOINC AL /L IP Y IC SB UN IM M GR

(31) 424,990

51(57)

GRAYS ROAD

40 41

DAR Y OUN SBY ICT B /GRIM DISTR REEK MLS EY C STON EEN BETW

(3) HWY #6 605,333Y #5

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(16) 277,625

AND

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TO W W AL N LI PO $ N LE E R -RA O A IN D H (R A .R M .# 53 )

LAKE ERIE

166,250

TO RS HE AT INT PO

LOWBANKS

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

PA (4 RK th S C ID O E N D .R R D IV .E E .)

TO P W U N SL LI IN N C E H R O A D

(32) $ 361,072

D. YS R GRA

(41) 294,377

GE UPPER GA

MOHAWK RD. E

K RD. W

MOHAW

(18) $ 272,656

20 Y#

$ 397,58

17$ (31) 266,256

VD BL

(21)

436,88

MAIN ST.

SHERMAN ACCESS

(10)

277,790

QUEENSTON RD.

(31)

W RO NB

222,730

(52) 191,414

CONFEDERATION PARK

184,368

RTH AVE.

MAIN ST. 63 wy ,3 03 H (12)

68 $3

BARTON ST. $

KENILWO

(10) $ 127,140

LINE

43 N

A D

O B

D OA SR

. (R.R

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(8) 11 10 236,500

AS N ND DU ILTO M HA

13 14 (10)

LAKE ONTARIO

H ST.

UGH

W TO

(7) 345,314 VE GO

(10) 171,690

$ HAMILTON HARBOUR

(1) 560,000

WENTWORT

BURLINGTON BAY

630,

OO RL

ES UPPER JAM

ORO

/HA

Hamilton

CANADA CENTRE FOR INLAND WATERS

(3) 493,667

(24) 425,050

MILB

HWY

TE WA

10 - 12 23, 24, 27, 28 & 29 13, 14, 20, 21 & 22 15, 16, 17, 18, 25 & 26 30 - 36, 38 40, 43 - 45 41 42 46 50 - 52 53 54 - 55 56 57 61 62 63/70 71/64 65 60 60

(11)

N TO MIL

4 6,12

(36) 7 524,96

JAMES ST.

Hamilton West Hamilton East Hamilton Centre Hamilton Mountain Burlington Flamborough Dundas Ancaster Waterdown Stoney Creek Glanbrook Grimsby West Lincoln Smithville Dunnville Cayuga Calendonia/Hagersville Onieda/Seneca Rainham Canborough/Dunn Moulton/Sherbrooke

(27) 661,691

(34)

HWY

LINE

(43) 442,453

HAMILTON EK STONEY CRE

Y W H$

KING RD.

AD RO OAD) R RE GO ON. C 1th

LPH

GUE

000

7, 1,07

(#) Residential Unit Sales

33 E

(76) 492,211 N

U (D$

ER ST N LTO

A D

BUR LOAK DRIV

(5)

) T.

A O R

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MAIN

TRE

RAHB Average Price by District September 2014

(12) $ 606,204

Burlington

AREA Maps

Shoppe REALTY

Shoppe online

http://shoppe.rahb.ca/rahb

Congratulations to Mary Moulden, Royal LePage State Realty lucky winner of the September 11 “Shoppe Customer Appreciation” draw for two tickets to African Lion Safari.

Popular seasonal item– First shipment selling out!

NEW Members

Welcome to RAHB

August 25 to September 24

he REALTORS® Association of Hamilton -Burlington would like to extend a warm welcome to its newest members. Kamila Benhabib

Apex Results Realty Inc., Brokerage

Irina Grigorian

Century 21 Insight Realty Group Inc., Brokerage

Adrienne Havercroft City Brokerage

Jesse Dore

Coldwell Banker Pinnacle Real Estate Inc., Brokerage

Melissa Nimijohn

Com/Choice Realty Inc., Brokerage

Manminder Dhillon Nicole De Luca

Homelife Macro Realty Inc., Brokerage

38¢ ea.* 2015 Calendar Magnets

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

Order now for best selection and availability – December will be too late! Our Number 1 marketing product – perfect for mailing or handing out at open houses, even in the new year.

Special features include: • Calendar begins November, 2014 • Removable magnet punch-out reduces mailing cost and makes two products out of one! Use the punch- out as a second business card magnet • Each page has either a home tip/recipe/quote/memo lines, depending on the calendar ordered • Canadian holidays indicated • A reorder page (for next year's calendar) for clients to use to contact you • Emergency and important numbers page • Envelope included Five designs are still available – only while quantities last. Back orders now being taken for the Home Sweet Home calendar, and will be filled late October. Call the Realty Shoppe at 905.529.5979 to order. * All applicable taxes are extra. Prices subject to change.

Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. T.: 905.529.5979 F.: 905.529.7109 E.: realtyshoppe@rahb.ca

Fouzia Ali

Homelife Professionals Realty Inc., Brokerage

Randy Killam Joseph Ingram

RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc., Brokerage

Julie Pelletier

Right At Home Realty Inc., Brokerage

Kelly Hale Rob Mullett Stephanie Armstrong

Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services Inc., Brokerage

Angie Heinz Michelle Ridgers Dawn Baker Alycia Wells

Royal LePage State Realty Inc., Brokerage

Matthew Randazzo

St. Jean Realty Inc., Brokerage

Patricia Kwasnik

Sutton Group Innovative Realty Inc., Brokerage

Jordan Russell

Your Choice Realty Corp., Brokerage

Professional Development

Held at RAHB – 505 York Blvd. – Lower Level C – Chambers Room M – McCullough Room  Fusion Level 1 Wednesday, October 15 – C, 9 a.m. – noon Tuesday, October 28 – C, 9 a.m. – noon  Broker Load Friday, October 10 – C, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Thursday, October 23, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.  New Member Orientation (by invitation only) Friday, October 24 – M, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.  How to Hire the Right Assistant Wednesday, October 29 – M, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – 3 CE’s  GeoWarehouse Monday, November 3 – M, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – 2 CE’s  MPAC – Wednesday, November 5 – M, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – 3 CE’s To register for above courses, email Angela at angelam@rahb.ca or call 905.529.8101 x233

Board of Directors, Committee and Task Force Meetings Held at RAHB – 505 York Blvd. – First Floor T – Thompson Room P – Purnell Room  Government Relations Wednesday, October 15, 9:30 a.m., T  Scholarship Thursday, October 23, 2 p.m., T  Board of Directors Thursday, October 30, 9 a.m., T

Upcoming Events  Broker of Record/Managers Meeting Wednesday, October 22 RAHB Office, 505 York Blvd., Hamilton, 8:30 a.m.  Town Hall Meetings  Dunnville Thursday, October 23, 9 a.m. Grace United Church, 301 Broad St E, Dunnville  Burlington Wednesday, October 29, 9 a.m. Tyandaga Golf and Country Club 1265 Tyandaga Park Dr., Burlington  Regional Commercial Council Election Breakfast Wednesday, November 5, 7:30 a.m. – Voting Waterfront Conference Centre 555 Bay St. N., Hamilton

 RAHB Charity Auction & Social Thursday, November 20 – Doors open at 6 p.m. Michelangelo Events & Conference Centre 1555 Upper Ottawa, Hamilton  National Housing Day Friday, November 21 Waterfront Conference Centre 555 Bay St. N., Hamilton  RAHB Election Meeting Thursday, November 27, 8:30 a.m. Royal Botanical Gardens 680 Plains Rd. W., Burlington  RAHB Annual Appreciation Gala Saturday, January 17, 2015 (by invitation only) Michelangelo Events & Conference Centre 1555 Upper Ottawa, Hamilton

RAHB Office Closures

Monday, October 13 for Thanksgiving Day

MLS® Update

New fields available in Broker Load

AHB has made the following two fields available in Broker Load. Please be aware that if you put a URL in either of the fields, the only place they will be displayed is on REALTOR.ca, similar to URLs supplied for additional photos and brochures. 065 Sound Bite URL This URL field is to link to a verbal audio description of the property. It must be a link to a web server location where the sound bite is stored. The sound bite should be stored in .WAV or .MP3 format. This field is intended to be presented as a link to be played on REALTOR.ca and not on the STARRS MLS® system. 084 Map Service URL This URL field is intended to link to an alternate map service to display the property. An example would be a link to Google Maps, or Openstreetmap. This URL field can also be used to link to a walkscore or video describing the area of the property. Some examples of these alternative uses would be: http://www.walkscore.com/score/ghent-ave burlington-on-canada http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSbYBCDZvqM Again, this field is intended to be presented as a link on REALTOR.ca or ICX.ca and not on the STARRS MLS® system.

REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

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REALinfo ● OCTOBER ● 2014

Disclaimer of Endorsement RAHB does not endorse, recommend or state an opinion on any corporate sponsorship products, processes or services being advertised in REALinfo.

News OREA

Beware creative marketing

REA has become aware that some members have received promotional literature from organizations offering “OREA members” special programs, which suggests the organization has a relationship with OREA and the service is part of the OREA Affinity Program. This happens most often in the health benefits sector.

OREA has only a limited number of partners in its Affinity Program: Corporate Benefit Analysts (CBA) (health benefits provider), Rogers, AERO Insurance, TD Home and Auto Insurance, Rent Check Corp and MBNA. No other organizations are part of the program. If you have any questions about the OREA Affinity Program or the partners in the program, contact OREA.