February 2019

Issue #356

February 2019

Michele Cummins Her motto: “Do what it takes�

Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 42218523 - Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to 2255B Queen St. E., #1178, Toronto ON M4E 1G3

Page 12

Zillow fights back against critics Page 3

Brokerage profitability and sustainability Page 16

Proptech accelerator launches Page 23

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REM FEBRUARY 2019 3

Zillow fights back against critics The listings portal says many of the things being said in opinion pieces in REM and by commenters at REMonline are simply not true. By Danny Kucharsky

I

n early December, Zillow announced that it had signed listing agreements with nine additional brokers and franchisors in Canada, including HomeLife Real Estate Canada, Sage Real Estate and Your Choice Realty.

They join Century 21 Canada and several other Canadian real estate companies and brokers who previously agreed to send direct listing feeds to Zillow.

“We’ve only been live since early October (in Canada) and we’re actually ahead of where we thought we’d be,” says Zillow Group chief industry development officer Errol Samuelson, adding Zillow is “making really great traction in signing up brokers and getting more and more listings on the site.”

Zillow.com now has more than half a million unique Canadian users per month. Launched in 2006, Zillow Group’s apps and website brands receive an average of more than 186 million unique users every month. The Seattle-based company reported more than US$1 billion in revenues in 2017.

But Samuelson said in an interview that many reader comments on REMOnline.com and opinion pieces by industry executives published in REM “are saying things that simply are untrue” about Zillow.

One common falsehood, he says, is that Zillow uses Canadian listings as a way to farm leads, which Zillow then sells back to Realtors.

“It is always free,” Samuelson responds. “There’s no cost for an agent or a brokerage to have their listings displayed on Zillow” and “the listing agent never pays for leads off their own listing.”

For no charge, he says, agents can include photos in their listings and provide profile information about their specialties and the areas they serve. Links allow consumers to email the listing agent or click over to the brokerage or franchise website and there is prominent branding for the brokerage and the agent.

“To me, having an opportunity to get additional exposure (and) better tools in the hands of consumers, feels like a net positive,” Samuelson says in response to criticisms about Zillow.

Samuelson says Zillow makes money from its advertising model, called Premier Agent, that allows up to three buyers’ agents to advertise in a local geographic area and appear on a listing.

“The model is if you’re a buyer’s agent and you’d like to connect with consumers who you might be able to represent, you can do that

show recent Canadian house sales data in areas where it is legal to do so. “We’re going to show it because it’s what buyers and sellers, Canadians, say they would like to see. But we would only do that if it’s appropriate in that local jurisdiction.”

For example, he notes that Zillow does not display sales prices for Texas because of a non-disclosure law in the state that does not allow sales prices of properties to be displayed without owners’ consent.

Joel Shears, director of industry development for Zillow Group,

One common falsehood, says Errol Samuelson, is that Zillow uses Canadian listings as a way to farm leads, which Zillow then sells back to Realtors. by paying, but it’s always free for the listing agent and the listing broker.”

He adds that the Zillow site clearly delineates between listing agents and Premier Agent ads and that “a lot of agents would agree that it makes good sense for a buyer to have representation from an agent who is not the listing agent.”

Samuelson says Realtors in the U.S. are advertising on Zillow because “they get fantastic returns on investment.” Those who advertise with Zillow “make several times the dollars back that they spend in advertising “and many have shifted to the platform from other advertising mediums, such as newspapers, homes magazines and bus stops ads.

“The Zillow ad platform is a really effective way for agents and brokers to grow their business and do it more cost effectively than some of the methods that agents and brokers might be using in Canada today.”

Samuelson says Zillow plans to

says claims that Canadian laws and real estate board regulations will not be followed on Zillow listings are not true. “We have Canadian counsel who advise us on provincial and federal regulations.

When we sign agreements with Canadian boards, franchisors or brokers, we use Canadian versions of our agreements where the governing law is in Canada, not the U.S. With our two new Canadian industry veterans as well as myself involved, we take working with boards and brokers and adhering to local laws and real estate practice very seriously.”

Critics such as Beverley Varcoe, broker with Royal LePage Your Community Realty in Aurora, Ont., are not convinced.

“Just Google Zillow complaints, Zillow lawsuits, Zillow fake listings and so on,” Varcoe says.

“With such a large company, no wonder they can’t stay on top of updated and accurate listing information. When I checked Zillow in the GTA, within five minutes I

found two fake listings for condo projects that were cancelled. The agent is posting fake listings to look for buyers. So here we go with an unregulated website and false information. This is a situation that will need serious research now and in the future. How are Canadian companies going to enforce any rules?”

Shears responds: “Listings are not manually entered into Zillow; they generally come from a board, franchise or broker feed. In the specific case mentioned, we identified an issue with one agent who was entering pre-construction listings in his office system, which were uploaded to the national franchisor as new residential inventory. As soon as we discovered this, our team reached out to the company, who agreed to either re-label the listings as pre-construction or remove them entirely as some of the projects were cancelled.”

Shears says Zillow is entering into agreements with real estate boards “so that we have a direct pipeline from the MLS so we can receive and verify data…We’ve signed several Canadian boards already and will continue to expand across the country.”

Varcoe is also concerned about the Zestimate feature, which offers estimates of the value of properties.

Zillow plans to bring the feature to Canadian listings.

“What do we do now with this inaccurate information?” says Varcoe. “Buyers will start bringing in Zestimate offers. There were several class-action lawsuits in the U.S. over this issue from homeowners. They said it affected the value of their properties and caused a drop in their market value. Unfortunately, a judge ruled that it was an estimate and not a proper market evaluation.

But the buyers saw price and value and didn’t read or understand that it was an estimate. Any brokerage that lists a Canadian property on Zillow will have to explain what is going to happen to their listing on this U.S. real

estate portal. How do you explain a listing price that is different from the Zestimate, especially if it is much higher or much lower?”

According to research conducted by Ipsos in Canada for Zillow, 89 per cent of Canadian home sellers say knowing how much homes in their community sell for is important to them. In addition, 96 per cent of Canadian home sellers say knowing the value of their home is important to them.

Canadian consumers are saying “that they’re very interested in recent sales in their neighbourhood and they’re very interested in what the value of their home would be,” Samuelson says.

Varcoe, an American who has been selling real estate in Canada for about 30 years, says, “The companies that have signed onto Zillow are singing the praises of how much it is going to do for the Canadian real estate industry.

This is supposed to embrace technology, but it only benefits the U.S. company. Shouldn’t we be pouring all this money into our own Canadian technology and websites like Realtor.ca? It is the envy of many Realtors around the world.”

Samuelson says Zillow is planning to make new features available. Over time, Canadian agents’ profiles on Zillow will contain reviews from buyers or sellers with written comments or five-star ratings and, where permitted, information about past sales agents have participated in.

This, Samuelson says, “provides more transparency than other sites.”

The goal is to provide consumers “with as much information as possible so they can make thoughtful, reasoned decisions about what they’re going to do in the real estate space.”

He adds, “a lot of consumers quite simply would prefer the mobile experience that we can deliver when you compare that to Realtor.ca.”

REM

4 REM FEBRUARY 2019

Multiple Listings

By Jim Adair, REM Editor

Do you have news to share with Canada’s real estate community?

Let REM know about it! Email: jim@remonline.com

I

ndependent real estate agency Propria, in Rosemont, Montreal, has joined the Royal LePage network under the name Royal LePage Urbain. The agency has close to 20 real estate brokers under the leadership of Nicolas Roverselli and Yvan Dupas. They are also assisted by Joey Di Renzo, an experienced real estate broker, in their client presentations and representation with collaborating brokers.

Roverselli spent most of his childhood in the South of France, where his parents owned real estate agencies. By the age of 17,

Nicolas Roverselli

he was already involved in real estate transactions. In 2005, he opened his first agency in Plateau Mont-Royal with his colleague Yvan Dupas, under the name Plateau immobilier, which changed its name to Propria in 2016 to broaden its reach in the Montreal area.

forces our company’s commitment to bolstering our service deliverables to the high-rise condominium developer community,” says PMA Brethour CEO and chairman Andy Brethour.

The company offers real estate sales services for new low-rise homes and condos, resale homes,

■ ■ ■

Real estate professionals Norm Brenner and Carla Dahlen opened a new brokerage, Coldwell Banker Four Seasons Real Estate, in Vernon, B.C. in October. It’s the new home of the Brenner Group, an award-winning family business with over 29 years of real estate experience. Owner and broker of

■ ■ ■

PMA Brethour Realty Group in Markham, Ont. recently launched the PMA Urban division and named industry veteran Chris Markovic as president.

“This announcement rein-

Yvan Dupas

Coldwell Banker Four Seasons owners Norm Brenner, top left, and Carla Dahlen, bottom right, and their team.

Pete Clive and Julie Kells

Andy Brethour, left and Chris Markovic (Photo: Evan Eisenstadt)

Christine Ireborg

resorts and retirement communities, market research, planning and development consulting services, land sales and services, professional sales training and education and mystery site shops services. The company also has offices in Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa.

Samantha Morris

Sylvie Blouin

Dwayne Evens

record Carla Dahlen has previous brokerage ownership experience with a global franchise brand. Coowner Norm Brenner is founder of The Brenner Group and has an extensive book of business, including luxury properties, exclusive listings and new builds, the company says.

■ ■ ■

Exit Realty Corp. International recently appointed Christine Ireborg and Samantha Morris to executive positions in the organization.

Ireborg has been named director of graphic design. She began her career with Exit Realty in 2003 and quickly rose to the position of manager, graphics and advertising standards. In her new role she will continue to work closely with founder and chairman Steve Morris, to develop and oversee the company’s graphic marketing vision as well as mentor a team of graphic artists.

Morris joined Exit in 2010 and rose to the position of marketing projects manager. In her new role as vice president, digital marketing, Morris will continue to oversee the company’s social media presence as well as the graphics team and co-ordinate advertising and marketing initiatives across various platforms.

■ ■ ■

Pete Clive and Julie Kells, the owners of Six Eight Realty Group, have closed their boutique brokerage to join Engel & Völkers Halifax.

“Over the past seven years as brokerage owners in Halifax, Julie and I have seen a significant influx of international buyers and sellers,” says Clive. “We found ourselves searching for ways to successfully market our clients’ investments while also tapping into the global arena.”

He says he believes the new affiliation will help them “service our clients and market their properties with greater ability than ever before.”

Since opening last June, Engel & Völkers Halifax has more than doubled its size. Led by Donna Harding and Sebastien Latulippe, the brokerage recently opened a new retail Continued on page 6

6 REM FEBRUARY 2019

Bill Harrington announces retirement

Multiple Listings Continued from page 4

location at The Pearl in the city’s downtown core on Gottingen Street across from historic Citadel Hill.

■ ■ ■

Royal LePage Tradition has acquired independent agency Century 21 Alliance in Saint-Lambert, Que., on the Montreal South Shore. Steven Souaid, former owner of Century 21 Alliance, will remain with the agency as real estate broker and special collaborator. Sylvie Blouin is the owner of Royal LePage Tradition. Souaid founded his brokerage in 2011.

Blouin says, “I’ve known Steven for many years and I have a lot of admiration for his integrity and attention to detail.”

B

Cover photo: DARLA FURLANI

Terrence B. Philps

■ ■ ■

Bill Harrington

of five boards that I convinced to kick in $10,000 each to participate. That trial site became Realtor.ca, an amazing powerhouse, and although I now understand nothing of how it operates, I remain steadfastly and parentally proud every time I think of it. I have also forged friendships – many of them life-long – with incredible people who have become important parts of my life.

“We remain in exciting times.

Much has yet to be accomplished and a lot is happening. I will not be here to obstruct with legal concerns, but I am confident someone else will!” Harrington says.

He says after retirement he will begin a new phase of his life, “focused on being a grandpa to my two new grandbabies (one of which will be joining the world in March), travelling with my bride, maybe finally learning to cook, and, of course, following my dream to play guitar in a Jimmy Buffet cover band.

“I will be forever grateful for the people and the memories that CREA and the Realtor community have given me,” he says. REM

Dwayne Evens recently joined The Trilogy Team at Sotheby’s International Realty in Toronto.

“He brings his small-town ethics and values to his work and finds great fulfillment in the relationships that he has built with his clients and colleagues,” says the team in a news release.

Evens entered the real estate business in 2011 after a career in renovation and construction. His family includes well-respected Realtors, the company says.

“Dwayne is exceptionally personable. His background is ideally suited to Toronto’s bustling market, bringing renovation and new construction valued-added expertise to both buyers and sellers,” say team founders Paul Maranger and Christian Vermast in the release.

David Yetman

■ ■ ■

Terrence Philps has joined the Victoria office of Devencore, a commercial real estate company with offices across Canada, in the role of vice president and associate broker. Before making his move to the West Coast, Philps served the same role in Devencore’s downtown Calgary office, where his focus was on corporate advisory services.

With over 22 years of commercial real estate experience and 30 years of management and sales experience, Philps’ career has included brokerage management and compliance, office leasing and sales, industrial leasing, land sales, retail leasing and development.

■ ■ ■

Brandon Liston, C21 national Easter Seals ambassador, has joined Century 21 All Points Realty in Halifax.

“Brandon will be responsible for data entry, corresponding with leads and managing Referrals,” says David Yetman, owner of the brokerage. “I am hoping that this part-time position will turn into a fulltime position when Brandon graduates from college.”

Liston has cerebral palsy, which affects his right leg and arm. He uses a walker to get around and a wheelchair for longer distances. He has been a national ambassador for Century 21 Canada since 2013 and often speaks at C21 events. REM

President & CEO WILLIAM MOLLS will@remonline.com

Editor JIM ADAIR jim@remonline.com

Director, Sales & Marketing AMANDA ROCK amanda@remonline.com

Production Coordinator JUDY CUPSKEY production@remonline.com

Brand Design SANDRA GOODER

Art Director LIZ MACKIN

Graphic Design SHAWN KELLY

Questions or comments? info@remonline.com

2255B Queen Street East, Suite #1178 Toronto, ON M4E 1G3

Phone: 416.425.3504 www.remonline.com

REM is published 12 times a year. It is an independently owned and operated company and is not affiliated with any real estate association, board or company. REM is distributed across Canada by leading real estate boards and by direct delivery in selected areas. For subscription information, email distribution@remonline.com. Entire contents copyright 2019 REM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The opinions expressed in REM are not necessarily those of the publisher.

REALTOR® and REALTORS® are trademarks controlled in Canada by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify licensed real estate practitioners who are members of CREA. MLS® and Multiple Listing Service® are trademarks owned by CREA and identify the services rendered by members of CREA. REM complies fully with the CREA’s Trademark Policy (section 5.3.2.6.1).

ISSN 1201-1223

Brandon Liston

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ill Harrington, general counsel at CREA, recently announced that he will retire in April.

“April will be the 26th anniversary of my employment with CREA. It will also represent the 40th anniversary of when I started practising law,” wrote Harrington. “After having given it a lot of thought, I have come to the conclusion that 40 years is long enough.”

Harrington is well-known across the country for his appearances at real estate board conferences and events to explain recent legal issues to members.

He says until April, he will focus on governance issues and special projects. CREA’s legal department will now report directly to CEO Michael Bourque.

“When I began with CREA in 1993, it was my intention to stay for a year or so, while I decided what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. What I didn’t expect was the excitement of this industry and the passion I would develop for CREA, our boards and the Realtor community,” says Harrington.

“It has been a privilege to have played a part in the evolution of this profession and the protection of the Realtor brand. I have travelled from one end of the country to the other countless times and it is endlessly gratifying to see my fingerprints on so much of how we operate.

“I was staff liaison in 1994 to a small task force that created a little website that contained the listings

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10 REM FEBRUARY 2019

Don’t get overwhelmed by lead gen technology

By David Greenspan

T

he roller coaster of marketing ideas continues to take over the real estate industry. As we search for new ways to get business, it seems that the easy answer is to spend money on a technology-based tool – such as a new website, social media, chatbots or any type of online advertising.

Why? Because this new world of “lead gen” is what’s going to make the big difference in the amount of business you will do in a year. Or will it?

It is said that most people know between one and five Realtors. Yet with that knowledge, Realtors are still spending their money chasing leads, also known as “strangers”. It is also said, and I can attest through my own research of bluntly asking

the question hundreds, in fact probably thousands of times, that 90 per cent of Realtors get 70 to 90 per cent of their business from people who know, like and trust them.

These same people who probably already are, and if not, definitely should be, on your contact list.

Now, I am not saying that online lead gen does not work. I am saying that before getting all caught up in spending big money with the hopes of making it back from strangers, you must do three things: 1) Recognize where your business comes from and whether this new tool is best suited to connect with that audience. For example, if all of your business is coming from people you know, why spend a whole bunch of money advertising to people you don’t know? Instead, do an even better job of marketing to the people you do know and have a diligent process to ensure

you’re keeping your database up to date at all times.

This database is your gold mine.

Even any new people you meet from any source should always be going into this list. Work it the right way, make more money. That is your goal every day.

2) Analyze your marketing budget and determine if you’re focusing at least 70 to 90 per cent of it on the audience who delivers 70 to 90 per cent of your income.

Ask yourself whether you can afford to try this new bright shiny tool for the amount of money it costs, and the amount of time it will take to convert this new lead.

Just spending the money to get the lead is not enough, you need to plan and budget to market to these people during the “conversion” process, and you need to do the same during the pre and post “nurturing process”. If you get repeat and referral business from your list,

then if you do get this new lead and you do convert them into a client, you will need to budget to market to them after the fact as well.

3) Recognize that relationships take time to build. When meeting someone who may be this new “online lead”, your goal is always to develop the know you, like you, trust you factor before trying to lock anyone into a contract. Think about it. You’re not the only person who got that “new lead” from that exact same person (lead). So why should they choose you? Just because you got their info online?

Why not the other salesperson who also got their information?

The key is to develop the relationship so they like you more.

That’s where business comes from.

So, it’s up to you to get past the tech and get involved. That will make all the difference in the world. The process for obtaining a client is the same as it has always been. Tech can

help but cannot be the only tool you use. Remember, once you get the deal, you now have a relationship, you are now both real people.

Online is no longer enough.

Although technology has given us new tools, and it has helped speed the process for many aspects of the business, has this business really changed? It is still and always will be a people business.

Technology is helpful, but it can be expensive, and more time consuming than imagined.

Stop making yourself work so much harder than you should because you decided to spend more money than you should. Focus on the right audience, deliver the right message across the right channel, remember that this is and always will be a people business. Don’t get caught in the hype without proper planning and budgeting. Be smarter. You will spend less, work easier and make more.

David Greenspan brings today’s ideas to life with fresh energy and over a decade of experience helping Realtors use Keep-in-Touch marketing to build #MindShare. As a speaker and motivator, he pokes, provokes, challenges and makes people laugh. REM

“You’ll never be alone in your real estate career.”

Costa Poulopoulos

President and Broker of Record

Be a better REALTOR®* Find out how at BetterREALTOR.me *The term REALTOR is a trademark of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

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12 REM FEBRUARY 2019

A foolproof ‘do what it takes’ motto

“If I’m expected to knock on doors, in the rain, on a Sunday when the game’s on, then yes, that’s what I’ll do,” says Michele Cummins. By Sohini Bhattacharya

W

hat surprised Michele Cummins the most when she started her real estate career?

“In real estate they have this ‘have your cake and eat it too’ mentality,” she says. “As in, ‘We’re all Realtors here and we’re all one big happy family,’ and then the next thing you know, your Realtor “family member” is actually your most cutthroat competitor.

But looking back now, she’s not sure why she was surprised. When there are a dozen local Realtors vying for the biggest listing in town, cutthroat competition is expected. This made Cummins more resilient and less lazy, she says. In other words, she picked the hard way by presenting her genuine self to clients and Realtors.

In 2016 and 2017, she was Re/Max’s No. 1 selling agent in Fraser Valley, B.C. and one of the top one per cent agents Canadawide. Now Cummins juggles her full-time real estate career, based at Re/Max Little Oak Realty in Mission, with co-hosting Fraser Valley’s only real estate radio show alongside radio personality Curtis Pope on Country 107.1 FM. Cummins says the secret to her success is simple: “do what it takes. If nobody in my town knows who I am, I go knock on doors. If I’m expected to knock on doors, in the rain, on a Sunday when the game’s on, then yes, that’s what I’ll do. If my client wants to call me at 9 p.m., then I’ll do it, even if I had plans for a movie night,” she says.

Indeed, it’s a door knock that earned Cummins her first sale in the first month of her career.

When she knocked on the doors of her first listing, a couple opened the door. They instantly suspected her because at 28, Cummins looked 10 years younger. “Are

you new?” they asked. “Yes,” she said. “And because I’m new, I have the energy, the newest rules and laws and the most updated information at hand, because I just went through all the courses. I’m eager and hungry and I want to help you make the most money.”

“Well, come on in,” replied the couple. “We like your energy.

Have a look at our place. We’re thinking about selling.”

She helped the couple sell their home and buy a new one. That was 20 years ago. They remain in touch with her to this day and exchange gifts on Christmas, every year.

Cummins didn’t intend to be in real estate. She bumped into it by happenstance.

An American transplant, Cummins has “been making her way north” since she was in her teens. When her family moved from California to Oregon, she was 13. Homeschooled by her mother, she helped her parents in their family-owned candy and gift store. At 15, she got her GED that allowed her to enter college. Cummins grew up in the country surrounded by acres of farm and horses. She developed a love for horses that quickly led to her breeding them and competing in Oregon’s horse circuit. At one point, her family owned 20 horses.

Cummins also had a love for acting. Her Hollywood dreams weren’t too far fetched. She grew up performing in community theatres and traced her ancestry back to MGM Studios, where her great-grandfather worked for 50 years, her cousins acted and her father manned the special effects for seven years.

Acting was in her veins. In 1998, when her boyfriend, soon-to-be husband and Canadian musician Richard Cummins alerted her to

Vancouver’s reputation of being “Hollywood of the north”, she knew what her next port of call would be.

When they moved to B.C., Richard found them a small cottage at a horse breeding farm owned by a Saudi couple who were doctors living overseas but needed a manager to look after their Swedish warmblood Olympic horses. This was a win-win deal.

While pursuing touch-and-go acting jobs, Cummins also worked at a car and truck rental. One day a Realtor with car trouble requested a rental while his car got fixed. Impressed by Cummins’s computer skills behind the counter, he quickly offered her a temporary job to help him as an office assistant. Cummins says, “It was a Tuesday. He showed me his office where he didn’t have a computer. He was old school, but his office was amazing. I met his manager, and then at the end of that one-hour walk-around, I said, well, if I do this, I would want to be a Realtor.”

Since then, Cummins hasn’t looked back.

Her training in the arts was put to good use too. In September 2018, Country 107.1 surveyed the region’s top selling agents to co-host a real estate radio show for their listeners in Langley, Surrey, Abbotsford, Mission, Maple Ridge, Richmond and North Vancouver. They called upon Cummins, and in short order, she got the job.

“Being a radio show host is definitely something that you have to grow into,” says Cummins.

With Curtis Pope, her show is like listening to two good friends having a conversation about real estate over coffee. While information-heavy, the questionanswer format of their show

Michele Cummins (Photo: Darla Furlani)

allows them to convey boring stats engagingly.

“I add to this things like a hot topic where I will do a mini essay on a relevant and current industry issue, and because of the everchanging market and rules, this is a good reason to tune in weekly,” she says.

The president of Canadian Home Builders’ Association, innovative builders, home inspectors, lawyers, mortgage brokers and other trusted subject matter experts are often invited as guests of the show.

Nowadays, Cummins finds herself toggling between getting straight to the point with her real estate clients off-air and elaborating the point on-air.

“Every second counts in radio.

On the radio, people want to hear the multiple layers to an answer, and all the factors that bring you to the eventual reasoning. The ‘why?’ factor. Elaborating is the core of good radio, and so I have to shift into that mode when I get in the studio,” she says.

Over the years, Cummins has become a keen student of the real estate market. She likens it to climbing a mountain where there are peaks and valleys. “It goes up for about two to three years and then it always corrects about 10 to 12 per cent, before stagnating for an average of seven years,” she says.

She predicted the price correction after spring 2018, and since last year, transactions for most Realtors in her region have halved, she says.

Realtors are having to work harder and market more creatively.

Having her radio show has certainly helped Cummins’s career from a marketing standpoint. Most valuable, however, is the respect she receives from her peers.

For Cummins, real estate is more than a nine-to-five job.

“Build your reputation, document your success, be innovative with your services, and you will have plenty to bring to the table in a client interview without ever having to resort to only looking good by making others look bad,” says Cummins. REM

Imagine being able to start dreaming up, building collaboratively and daring to be more than just another broker.

Imagine being part of something different.

Some of the best in the business, like you, represent our network and can tell you what it means to be part of

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

©2019 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.

14 REM FEBRUARY 2019

Going crazy over cannabis

By Mark Weisleder

I

have now given more than 30 seminars about the new Cannabis Act to real estate brokerages, real estate boards and landlord groups. I have interviewed medical cannabis users and growers and spoken to condominium lawyers and insurers. It seems to me that most are fearing the worst, instead of just working towards common sense solutions that will benefit everyone. Here are six things you need to know: 1. Why do people have to grow cannabis when they can buy it now legally?

The fact is that if you grow the cannabis plant safely and economically, it can cost a fraction of the retail price of a gram of cannabis.

For those who have a medical pre-

scription that requires several grams of cannabis per day, growing can actually save thousands of dollars per year.

2. Can condominium boards ban the use or growing of cannabis in a condominium building?

Lawyers will be paid a lot of money to ultimately decide this as a result of human rights and constitutional law issues. This has not stopped countless condominium boards from already implementing rules banning all smoking, grandfathering only those who smoked cigarettes before the rule, and banning any growing of any cannabis plant. Other condominium boards are doing nothing right now and will just step in if one unit owner starts smoking cannabis and bothers their neighbours or damages the unit as a result of growing. This is similar to stepping in if you have wild parties in your unit and it bothers your neighbours.

3. How are condominium boards handling unit owners who

have a medical prescription for cannabis?

Here it gets interesting. The boards will permit someone who has a medical prescription to smoke or grow cannabis provided they ensure that all the smoke, odours and moisture generated is kept inside their unit, so as not to bother anyone in the hallways or in neighbouring units or damage the walls with mould.

4. Can you stop a tenant from smoking cannabis or growing cannabis plants?

Even though it is legal to smoke or grow cannabis, you can include a clause in a lease to stop any tenant from smoking or growing cannabis on the premises. This should be inserted into every lease.

I have created these clauses that are available in my own Ontario Guide for Landlords. If the tenant then smokes, it will be easier to evict them. But you will still have to prove that the tenant is either bothering other tenants or damaging the property.

5. What is going on with the insurance industry?

Some insurers are threatening to cancel coverage if cannabis plants are grown on the property.

This is complete over reacting, since it ignores the fact that we are not talking about a grow house operation and cannabis can be grown safely.

6. It is possible to smoke or grow cannabis safely in an apartment or home without bothering a neighbour or damaging the property?

This is the key point. The answer is yes. If you smoke cannabis using a vaping pen, you can virtually eliminate the smoke and odour. If you use a bong, which operates like a pipe when smoking tobacco, you reduce the odour when you inhale and if you use a device called a “smoke buddy” when you exhale, you again reduce the smoke and the odour.

Supplementing this with air fresheners will also assist with eliminating the nuisance altogether.

You can also now buy a special “grow tent” for about $500, that is two feet by two feet and about fivefeet high. It just plugs into the wall, absorbs the moisture from the plants and emits warm air into the apartment. No odours and no moisture if set up properly. You grow the plants three-feet high, harvest them and then grow again.

As you can see, this is what the solution must be. Tenants should be able to smoke under the new law, but they must make sure they are doing it in a way that does not bother anyone else, and if they must have an actual marijuana cigarette, just go outside. And if you are going to grow any plant, be upfront and show the landlord how you are doing it safely. This should satisfy not only the landlord, but also any condominium board or insurer who has concerns.

Maybe if you are over-stressed about all of this, just take a puff and relax. It will all work out.

Mark Weisleder is a partner, author and speaker at the law firm Real Estate Lawyers.ca LLP. Contact him at mark@realestatelawyers.ca or toll free at 1-888-876-5529. REM

2019 ELECTION Are you a real estate professional dedicated to enhancing consumer protection?

RUN FOR RECO’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Submit your nomination!

January 21 at 9 a.m.

CLOSES: February 4 at 2 p.m. www.reco.on.ca/election OPENS:

#2019RECOelection

16 REM FEBRUARY 2019

Brokerage profitability and sustainability

One of biggest changes to hit the real estate industry over the past few decades is the declining profitability of the real estate brokerage. By Don Kottick

W

hy do people in the real estate industry rarely talk about the one of biggest changes to hit the real estate industry over the past few decades: the declining profitability of the real estate brokerage? Many people talk about the business shift from the broker to agent centric and how it has now evolved to consumer/ tech centric. Throughout each of these paradigm shifts, the net-to-office revenue share for the brokerage has steadily been declining. Interestingly, Canada leads in declining netto-office revenue share when compared to brokerages in the United States. There is also a noticeable decline when you travel east to west in Canada, with British Columbia being the tightest market.

Brokerages in the U.S.A. tend to have more ancillary service revenue from mortgage, title insurance, insurance and their relocation businesses. In many cases, it is this ancillary revenue that prevented many of the U.S. brokerages from going under in 2008.

In Canada, lawyers and title companies typically handle any services related to title, so this is not a revenue source available for the brokerage.

The vast majority of Canadian residential brokerages really just stick to their core competency of operating pure residential brokerages. A small number of brokerages have integrated mortgage services, property management services, new development and marketing services to supplement their main revenue stream.

The arrival of teams has created an interesting dilemma for the brokerage as many

teams enjoy favourable split arrangements with their team members, and do not share any of the liability, risk or exposure from running the necessary infrastructure. Many teams have left the fold of the parent brokerage to set up their own operation, only to find that running a full brokerage comes with many new and unexpected risks, costs and headaches. It is not uncommon to see some of these entrepreneurs folding up their team tents and coming back to the traditional brokerage arrangement.

Recently there has been much discussion about whether a physical office is a necessity and if a virtual type of brokerage is a sustainable option. The challenge for the virtual brokerage is creating a distinct and attractive culture when human interaction and direct relationships are masked or absent. The jury is still out if virtual organizations can create a sustainable culture in a people business.

Some espouse that the day of the traditional real estate brokerage as we know it is coming to an end.

Cliff Stevenson, managing partner and co-owner of Re/ Max First in Calgary says the future of the traditional brokerage is actually quite bright. Stevenson says that brokerages focussed on continual improvement will continue to thrive. “We are tremendously bullish on the brokerage model with some adaptive measures,” he says.

“Corporately, we have a laser focus on creating a successoriented, collaborative, culture-focussed organization that hires only the best talent.

Then it is up to our corporate

Todd Narlinger

Nelson Goulart

Cliff Stevenson

team to provide a unique value proposition that distinguishes us from our competitors.”

then I have not adequately communicated our value proposition to the prospect.”

Todd Narlinger, CEO of Madison & Company Properties in Denver, Colo. shares Stevenson’s enthusiasm for the future of the brokerage.

Narlinger says, “The key to our culture is the thought process of being the best, not the most.

Having like-minded agents who want to bring superior service to our clients will allow us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and the “disruptors” in our market. We constantly tell our Realtors if you provide ‘Nordstrom’ quality service and marketing for your clients, you will not only succeed in today’s market, you will thrive. It’s our corporate mandate to deliver exceptional support and value-added tools to address the needs of both our Realtors and the consumer.”

Goulart, Narlinger and Stevenson, who have all defined themselves as exceptional leaders that embrace technology, social media and innovation, believe in the importance of creating and delivering an exceptional experience for their Realtors through their unique value proposition. This increases the viability and sustainability of their bottom line profit, while being attractive to Realtors in their communities.

The high volume of Realtors required for a fee-based model to be profitable requires substantial managerial and compliance resources to ensure that quality service levels are monitored and maintained.

In order for the full-service model to deliver their unique value proposition, it also requires substantial resources and determined leadership to ensure exceptional service levels are delivered and that innovation is a constant ingredient for their evolving vision.

Nelson Goulart, president of Better Homes & Garden Signature Service in Mississauga, Ont., says, “If I am looking to have someone join our team and if commission and lead generation remain the key decision drivers,

We are definitely witnessing a polarization of the brokerage community with low value, limited managerial support feebased brokerages on one end of the spectrum and with fullservice brokerages operated by strong leaders that serve up compelling value and culture for their members at the other end. This polarization is already underway. We see a hollowing out of the middle ground in the brokerage community as managers and owners are being driven to choose their location on this business spectrum.

The brokerage model is not going away, just as the Realtor is not going to be disintermediated from the real estate transaction. The road ahead is going to be exciting as innovative brokerages adapt and respond to the changing times ahead.

Don Kottick, FRI, CIPS, is currently director at large for the Canadian Real Estate Association, past-president and director of the Real Estate Institute of Canada and Canadian director for FIABCI. Kottick is EVP, corporate development for Peerage Realty Partners. REM

MARCH 18 – 20, 2019 | MGM GRAND, LAS VEGAS

E N G AG E & G E T I N S P I R E D Whether you’re new to the industry or a seasoned real estate professional, the Gen Blue Experience is an event that is sure to impress. This global event is being held at MGM Grand, and will include interactive learning sessions, A-list keynote speakers and an exclusive concert for all attendees.

Contact your local Coldwell Banker broker to find out more about the event or visit genblueexperience.com to register.

For a confidential conversation about franchise opportunities with the Coldwell Banker® system in Canada, contact: Mark Lindsey • Regional Vice President, Franchise Sales • 1-800-268-9599 ext. 402 • Mark-lindsey@coldwellbanker.ca © 2018 Coldwell Banker LLC. All rights reserved. Each office is independently owned and operated. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker LLC. Each sales representative and broker is responsible for complying with any consumer disclosure laws or regulations, as well as applicable Real Estate Association rules and codes of conduct. Not intended to solicit brokers under contract.

CONGRATULATIONS It is my great pleasure to present our 2018 National Chairman’s Club award winners. These extraordinary sales professionals make up the top 1% of our extensive national network of over 18,000 REALTORS®. On behalf of myself and the entire Royal LePage Canada team, I wish to extend sincere congratulations on your remarkable achievement. You make us proud!

TOP 25 UNITS

TOP 25 GCI

Phil Soper, President & CEO, Royal LePage

Paul Annett Royal LePage RCR Realty ‡ Northern Bruce Peninsula, ON

Mani Bagga Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate Edmonton, AB

Caroline Baile° Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Aurora, ON

Brian Baker Royal LePage Martin-Liberty Realty Brandon, MB

Candice Bakx-Friesen Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Jason Ballas Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Trenton, ON

Joe Battle† Toronto, ON

Beatrice Baudinet^ Royal LePage Heritage Westmount, QC

Mathieu Bedard Royal LePage Kelowna Kelowna, BC

Barbara Beers*° Royal LePage Burloak Barbara Beers‡ Burlington, ON

Carson Beier• Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate Spruce Grove, AB

3. Doreen Coughlin Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

4. Thomas Pobojewski Royal LePage Signature Realty‡ Mississauga, ON

5. Tanya Rocca Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

Stu Bell§ Royal LePage Sussex West Vancouver, BC

Johnathon Benedict Royal LePage Atlantic Dartmouth, NS

Stan Bernardo° Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Mississauga, ON

Silvana Bezina° Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty ‡ Georgetown, ON

David Black Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Richmond Hill, ON

Jennifer Blair Manley Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Cornwall, ON

Glen Bohnet Royal LePage West Real Estate Services Coquitlam, BC

Marc Bonenfant^ Royal LePage Inter-Québec Québec, QC

Tracey Bosch*§ Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty Langley, BC

James Boschman Royal LePage Prime Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Neil Bosdet§ Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty Victoria, BC

Andrea Bouma-Legacy Royal LePage Parkwood Realty Bathurst, NB

8. Mike Heddle° Royal LePage State Realty ‡ Stoney Creek, ON

9. Kirby Cox*• Royal LePage Benchmark Calgary, AB

10. Tim Somerville Royal LePage Atlantic Saint John, NB

Angela Boyle° Royal LePage Parkwood Realty Bathurst, NB

Todd Bradley Royal LePage ArTeam Realty Edmonton, AB

Michael Brejnik Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

Libby Broady~ Royal LePage Elite Beaconsfield, QC

Anthony Brown Royal LePage Atlantic Dartmouth, NS

Mary Brown Royal LePage Truro Real Estate Truro, NS

Peter Brown† Oakville, ON

Mark Burke Royal LePage Triland Realty ‡ Woodstock, ON

Jay Burton Royal LePage Frank Real Estate‡ Lakefield, ON

Darryl Butt° Royal LePage Generation Realty Grand Falls-Windsor, NL

Richard Cane Royal LePage Triland Premier ‡ London, ON

Dino Capocci† Toronto, ON

12. Jas Takhar Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

13. Amy Assaad∞ Royal LePage Heritage Westmount, QC

14. Kevin Lapp• Royal LePage Lifestyles Realty Lacombe, AB

15. Loretta Phinney* Royal LePage Real Estate Services Loretta Phinney ‡ Mississauga, ON

Bernard Chan^ Royal LePage Champlain Brossard, QC

Doug Chapman§ Royal LePage Locations West Realty Penticton, BC

Melissa Charlton° Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty ‡ Milton, ON

Paul Chavady Royal LePage Varsity Saskatoon, SK

Michael Christie Royal LePage Royal City Realty ‡ Guelph, ON

Bob Clarke Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka Clarke Muskoka Realty ‡ Port Carling, ON

Janelle Comeau Royal LePage Parkwood Realty Bathurst, NB

Joe Conlon Royal LePage Binder Real Estate‡ Tecumseh, ON

Chris Constantine Royal LePage Atlantic Moncton, NB

Andrew Coppola† Toronto, ON

Chris Coveny° Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Patricia Cui° Royal LePage Real Estate Services Success Team‡ Mississauga, ON

16. Rosemary Ferroni Royal LePage State Realty ‡ Stoney Creek, ON

16. Mike Scrannage* Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Kingston, ON

18. TJ Campbell• Royal LePage True North Realty Fort McMurray, AB

19. E. Martin Mazza Royal LePage State Realty ‡ Stoney Creek, ON

19. Sébastien Parent^ Royal LePage Origine St-Jean, QC

Mike Cullis Royal LePage Key Realty ‡ Sarnia, ON

Sherry Dabir° Royal LePage Your Community Realty‡ Richmond Hill, ON

Daiva Dalinda°† Toronto, ON

Elli Davis*† Toronto, ON

Adil Dinani§ Royal LePage West Real Estate Services Coquitlam, BC

Jacinthe Dubé*∞ Royal LePage Jacinthe Dubé Sherbrooke, QC

David Dunn Royal LePage Atlantic Halifax, NS

André Dussault^ Royal LePage Inter-Québec Québec, QC

Terry Dyck° Royal LePage Top Producers Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Jamie Edwards§ Royal LePage in the Comox Valley Courtenay, BC

Danny Evans Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty Langley, BC

Stacey Falkwin° Royal LePage Atlantic Halifax, NS

21. Amy Flowers*° Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty‡ Milton, ON

22. Nevin Hollett Royal LePage Atlantic Homestead St. John’s, NL

23. Mike Kearns Royal LePage Locations North‡ Thornbury, ON

23. Nathan Lang Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Winchester, ON

25. Lorraine O’Quinn Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Trenton, ON

Chris Fenton§ Royal LePage Port Alberni-Pacific Rim Realty Port Alberni, BC

Royce Finley Royal LePage Prime Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Norm Fisher° Royal LePage Vidorra Saskatoon, SK

Eric Fitzgerald Royal LePage Peifer Realty ‡ Chatham, ON

Susan Forrest § Royal LePage Parksville-Qualicum Beach Realty Parksville, BC

Sheldon Froese Royal LePage Riverbend Realty Steinbach, MB

Christian Gareau~ Royal LePage Méritas du Suroît Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC

Claire Gauthier^ Royal LePage Vallée de l’Outaouais Gatineau, QC

Denis Gauvin~ Royal LePage Tradition Saint-Hubert, QC

Danny Gerbrandt § Royal LePage Brookside Realty Maple Ridge, BC

Paul Germanese Royal LePage Binder Real Estate‡ Tecumseh, ON

Kyle Getty§ Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty Langley, BC

1. Mark Faris° Royal LePage First Contact Realty The Faris Team‡ Barrie, ON

2. Cailey Heaps Estrin* Royal LePage Real Estate Services Heaps Estrin Team‡ Toronto, ON

3. Jas Takhar Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

4. Tanya Rocca Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

5. Loretta Phinney* Royal LePage Real Estate Services Loretta Phinney ‡ Mississauga, ON

6. Marie-Yvonne Paint* ~ Royal LePage Heritage Westmount, QC

7. Amy Assaad∞ Royal LePage Heritage Westmount, QC

8. Paul Nusca*°† Toronto, ON

9. Matthew Regan*° Royal LePage Real Estate Services Regan Real Estate‡ Mississauga, ON

10. Gillian Oxley Royal LePage Terrequity OxleyRobert Real Estate‡ Toronto, ON

11. Sue Mills Royal LePage Signature Realty‡ Toronto, ON

12. Shaheen Zareh* Royal LePage Regina Realty Regina, SK

13. Amy Flowers*° Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty‡ Milton, ON

14. Kirby Cox*• Royal LePage Benchmark Calgary, AB

15. Theodore Babiak*°† Toronto, ON

11. Maxime Tardif ^ Royal LePage Altitude Montreal, QC

16. Dan Cooper*°† Oakville, ON

17. Maxime Tardif ^ Royal LePage Altitude Montreal, QC

18. Michael O’Sullivan*° Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

19. Rina DiRisio* † Oakville, ON

20. Chris Keleher° Royal LePage Locations North‡ Collingwood, ON

21. Mike Kearns Royal LePage Locations North‡ Thornbury, ON

22. Marc Lefrançois^ Royal LePage Tendance Ville Mont-Royal, QC

23. Brent Roberts* Royal LePage Brent Roberts Realty ‡ Surrey, BC

24. David Weir*° Royal LePage ProAlliance Team Weir ‡ Trenton, ON

25. Charles Sezlik Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

royallepage.ca/joinus

Reza Afshar° Royal LePage Terrequity Portfolio Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

1. Mark Faris° Royal LePage First Contact Realty The Faris Team‡ Barrie, ON

2. Shaheen Zareh* Royal LePage Regina Realty Regina, SK

6. Jean-François Bérubé*∞ 7. David Weir*° Royal LePage Evolution Royal LePage Sherbrooke, QC ProAlliance Team Weir ‡ Trenton, ON

CONGRATULATIONS It is my great pleasure to present our 2018 National Chairman’s Club award winners. These extraordinary sales professionals make up the top 1% of our extensive national network of over 18,000 REALTORS®. On behalf of myself and the entire Royal LePage Canada team, I wish to extend sincere congratulations on your remarkable achievement. You make us proud!

TOP 25 UNITS

TOP 25 GCI

Phil Soper, President & CEO, Royal LePage

Paul Annett Royal LePage RCR Realty ‡ Northern Bruce Peninsula, ON

Mani Bagga Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate Edmonton, AB

Caroline Baile° Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Aurora, ON

Brian Baker Royal LePage Martin-Liberty Realty Brandon, MB

Candice Bakx-Friesen Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Jason Ballas Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Trenton, ON

Joe Battle† Toronto, ON

Beatrice Baudinet^ Royal LePage Heritage Westmount, QC

Mathieu Bedard Royal LePage Kelowna Kelowna, BC

Barbara Beers*° Royal LePage Burloak Barbara Beers‡ Burlington, ON

Carson Beier• Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate Spruce Grove, AB

3. Doreen Coughlin Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

4. Thomas Pobojewski Royal LePage Signature Realty‡ Mississauga, ON

5. Tanya Rocca Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

Stu Bell§ Royal LePage Sussex West Vancouver, BC

Johnathon Benedict Royal LePage Atlantic Dartmouth, NS

Stan Bernardo° Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Mississauga, ON

Silvana Bezina° Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty ‡ Georgetown, ON

David Black Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Richmond Hill, ON

Jennifer Blair Manley Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Cornwall, ON

Glen Bohnet Royal LePage West Real Estate Services Coquitlam, BC

Marc Bonenfant^ Royal LePage Inter-Québec Québec, QC

Tracey Bosch*§ Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty Langley, BC

James Boschman Royal LePage Prime Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Neil Bosdet§ Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty Victoria, BC

Andrea Bouma-Legacy Royal LePage Parkwood Realty Bathurst, NB

8. Mike Heddle° Royal LePage State Realty ‡ Stoney Creek, ON

9. Kirby Cox*• Royal LePage Benchmark Calgary, AB

10. Tim Somerville Royal LePage Atlantic Saint John, NB

Angela Boyle° Royal LePage Parkwood Realty Bathurst, NB

Todd Bradley Royal LePage ArTeam Realty Edmonton, AB

Michael Brejnik Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

Libby Broady~ Royal LePage Elite Beaconsfield, QC

Anthony Brown Royal LePage Atlantic Dartmouth, NS

Mary Brown Royal LePage Truro Real Estate Truro, NS

Peter Brown† Oakville, ON

Mark Burke Royal LePage Triland Realty ‡ Woodstock, ON

Jay Burton Royal LePage Frank Real Estate‡ Lakefield, ON

Darryl Butt° Royal LePage Generation Realty Grand Falls-Windsor, NL

Richard Cane Royal LePage Triland Premier ‡ London, ON

Dino Capocci† Toronto, ON

12. Jas Takhar Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

13. Amy Assaad∞ Royal LePage Heritage Westmount, QC

14. Kevin Lapp• Royal LePage Lifestyles Realty Lacombe, AB

15. Loretta Phinney* Royal LePage Real Estate Services Loretta Phinney ‡ Mississauga, ON

Bernard Chan^ Royal LePage Champlain Brossard, QC

Doug Chapman§ Royal LePage Locations West Realty Penticton, BC

Melissa Charlton° Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty ‡ Milton, ON

Paul Chavady Royal LePage Varsity Saskatoon, SK

Michael Christie Royal LePage Royal City Realty ‡ Guelph, ON

Bob Clarke Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka Clarke Muskoka Realty ‡ Port Carling, ON

Janelle Comeau Royal LePage Parkwood Realty Bathurst, NB

Joe Conlon Royal LePage Binder Real Estate‡ Tecumseh, ON

Chris Constantine Royal LePage Atlantic Moncton, NB

Andrew Coppola† Toronto, ON

Chris Coveny° Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Patricia Cui° Royal LePage Real Estate Services Success Team‡ Mississauga, ON

16. Rosemary Ferroni Royal LePage State Realty ‡ Stoney Creek, ON

16. Mike Scrannage* Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Kingston, ON

18. TJ Campbell• Royal LePage True North Realty Fort McMurray, AB

19. E. Martin Mazza Royal LePage State Realty ‡ Stoney Creek, ON

19. Sébastien Parent^ Royal LePage Origine St-Jean, QC

Mike Cullis Royal LePage Key Realty ‡ Sarnia, ON

Sherry Dabir° Royal LePage Your Community Realty‡ Richmond Hill, ON

Daiva Dalinda°† Toronto, ON

Elli Davis*† Toronto, ON

Adil Dinani§ Royal LePage West Real Estate Services Coquitlam, BC

Jacinthe Dubé*∞ Royal LePage Jacinthe Dubé Sherbrooke, QC

David Dunn Royal LePage Atlantic Halifax, NS

André Dussault^ Royal LePage Inter-Québec Québec, QC

Terry Dyck° Royal LePage Top Producers Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Jamie Edwards§ Royal LePage in the Comox Valley Courtenay, BC

Danny Evans Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty Langley, BC

Stacey Falkwin° Royal LePage Atlantic Halifax, NS

21. Amy Flowers*° Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty‡ Milton, ON

22. Nevin Hollett Royal LePage Atlantic Homestead St. John’s, NL

23. Mike Kearns Royal LePage Locations North‡ Thornbury, ON

23. Nathan Lang Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Winchester, ON

25. Lorraine O’Quinn Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Trenton, ON

Chris Fenton§ Royal LePage Port Alberni-Pacific Rim Realty Port Alberni, BC

Royce Finley Royal LePage Prime Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Norm Fisher° Royal LePage Vidorra Saskatoon, SK

Eric Fitzgerald Royal LePage Peifer Realty ‡ Chatham, ON

Susan Forrest § Royal LePage Parksville-Qualicum Beach Realty Parksville, BC

Sheldon Froese Royal LePage Riverbend Realty Steinbach, MB

Christian Gareau~ Royal LePage Méritas du Suroît Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC

Claire Gauthier^ Royal LePage Vallée de l’Outaouais Gatineau, QC

Denis Gauvin~ Royal LePage Tradition Saint-Hubert, QC

Danny Gerbrandt § Royal LePage Brookside Realty Maple Ridge, BC

Paul Germanese Royal LePage Binder Real Estate‡ Tecumseh, ON

Kyle Getty§ Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty Langley, BC

1. Mark Faris° Royal LePage First Contact Realty The Faris Team‡ Barrie, ON

2. Cailey Heaps Estrin* Royal LePage Real Estate Services Heaps Estrin Team‡ Toronto, ON

3. Jas Takhar Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

4. Tanya Rocca Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

5. Loretta Phinney* Royal LePage Real Estate Services Loretta Phinney ‡ Mississauga, ON

6. Marie-Yvonne Paint* ~ Royal LePage Heritage Westmount, QC

7. Amy Assaad∞ Royal LePage Heritage Westmount, QC

8. Paul Nusca*°† Toronto, ON

9. Matthew Regan*° Royal LePage Real Estate Services Regan Real Estate‡ Mississauga, ON

10. Gillian Oxley Royal LePage Terrequity OxleyRobert Real Estate‡ Toronto, ON

11. Sue Mills Royal LePage Signature Realty‡ Toronto, ON

12. Shaheen Zareh* Royal LePage Regina Realty Regina, SK

13. Amy Flowers*° Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty‡ Milton, ON

14. Kirby Cox*• Royal LePage Benchmark Calgary, AB

15. Theodore Babiak*°† Toronto, ON

11. Maxime Tardif ^ Royal LePage Altitude Montreal, QC

16. Dan Cooper*°† Oakville, ON

17. Maxime Tardif ^ Royal LePage Altitude Montreal, QC

18. Michael O’Sullivan*° Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

19. Rina DiRisio* † Oakville, ON

20. Chris Keleher° Royal LePage Locations North‡ Collingwood, ON

21. Mike Kearns Royal LePage Locations North‡ Thornbury, ON

22. Marc Lefrançois^ Royal LePage Tendance Ville Mont-Royal, QC

23. Brent Roberts* Royal LePage Brent Roberts Realty ‡ Surrey, BC

24. David Weir*° Royal LePage ProAlliance Team Weir ‡ Trenton, ON

25. Charles Sezlik Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

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Reza Afshar° Royal LePage Terrequity Portfolio Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

1. Mark Faris° Royal LePage First Contact Realty The Faris Team‡ Barrie, ON

2. Shaheen Zareh* Royal LePage Regina Realty Regina, SK

6. Jean-François Bérubé*∞ 7. David Weir*° Royal LePage Evolution Royal LePage Sherbrooke, QC ProAlliance Team Weir ‡ Trenton, ON

CONGRATULATIONS JoAnne Gludish*† Toronto, ON

Lori Goldhawk Royal LePage Triland Realty ‡ Ingersoll, ON

Stephen Grant § Royal LePage Advance Campbell River, BC

George Grdic† Mississauga, ON

Steven Green Royal LePage Partners Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Jennifer Greenberg°† Toronto, ON

Amir Hamzehali § Royal LePage Sussex West Vancouver, BC

Ed Handja§ Royal LePage Advance Campbell River, BC

Mourad Hanna° Royal LePage Realty Plus ‡ Mississauga, ON

Mike Hartshorne§ Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty Victoria, BC

Thomas Hassan° Royal LePage Sussex Tom Hassan West Vancouver, BC

Christine Hauschild* Royal LePage Team Realty Christine Hauschild ‡ Ottawa, ON

Suzanne Havard Grisé*~ Brad Hawker° Royal LePage Royal LePage Privilège SHG Rocky Mountain Realty St-Bruno-de-Montarville, QC Canmore, AB

Dione Irwin• Royal LePage Innovate Airdrie, AB

Tim Isenor Royal LePage Atlantic Enfield, NS

August Jian° Royal LePage Peaceland August Jian Realty ‡ Richmond Hill, ON

Jackie Jiang°† Mississauga, ON

Luc Jodoin^ Royal LePage Méritas du Suroît Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC

Mark Jontz* Royal LePage Kelowna Kelowna, BC

Dimitrios Kalogeropoulos° Royal LePage Team Realty Agent DK ‡ Ottawa, ON

Karen Kenyon§ Royal LePage Parksville-Qualicum Beach Realty Parksville, BC

Don Ketchum° Royal LePage Atlantic Saint John, NB

Eugen Klein§ Royal LePage Sussex Klein Group Vancouver, BC

Andrena Koch-Schulte§ Royal LePage in the Comox Valley Courtenay, BC

Adam Koven Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Kingston, ON

Jason Laforest ^ Royal LePage Inter-Québec Québec, QC

Roland Lewis§ Royal LePage Sussex North Vancouver, BC

Susan Liovas Royal LePage Binder Real Estate‡ Leamington, ON

Rick Lobb° Royal LePage Heartland Realty ‡ Goderich, ON

Glen MacAngus*° Royal LePage Top Producers Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Blair Mackey† Oakville, ON

Cass MacLeod Royal LePage Brookside Realty Maple Ridge, BC

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Dave Grime Royal LePage RCR Realty ‡ Orangeville, ON

Roman Grocholsky Royal LePage NRC Realty ‡ Welland, ON

Susan Gucci° Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Patricia Guernsey Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Belleville, ON

Tammy Gurr° Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Westport, ON

Bashar Hadi° Royal LePage Realty Plus‡ Mississauga, ON

Margaret Hayes Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Matthew Hill Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty ‡ Georgetown, ON

John Hripko*• Royal LePage Benchmark Calgary, AB

Ross Hughes Royal LePage RCR Realty ‡ Orangeville, ON

Mazher Karimjee Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Mary Ann Keary*° Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Brockville, ON

Colleen Kelly• Royal LePage Community Realty Medicine Hat, AB

Rob Kelly° Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty ‡ Mississauga, ON

Lesley Kennedy† Oakville, ON

Brian Lamb§ Royal LePage West Real Estate Services Coquitlam, BC

Steve Laursen§ Royal LePage Kelowna Kelowna, BC

David Lawrence§ Royal LePage Westwin Realty Kamloops, BC

Richard Leblanc• Royal LePage Gateway Realty Leduc, AB

Eric Léger∞ Royal LePage Humania St-Jérôme, QC

Steven Levac° Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Hawkesbury, ON

Linda Maguire° Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services‡ Burlington, ON

Rocco Manfredi Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

France Mantas^ Royal LePage Patrimoine Repentigny, QC

Robert Marland* Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Derek McCauley Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Kingston, ON

Jamie McCreedy Royal LePage Prime Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Natalie McGuire Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Manotick, ON

Don McKay*• Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate Sherwood Park, AB

Kelly McKelvie*• Royal LePage Benchmark Calgary, AB

Jane McLaughlin Royal LePage Atlantic Sussex, NB

Bob McLean Royal LePage Preferred Realty Mission, BC

Glen McPherson§ Royal LePage Parksville-Qualicum Beach Realty Parksville, BC

Juxhin (Eugene) Mezini° Royal LePage Real Estate Professionals Insider Condos‡ Vaughan, ON

Thul Miles Royal LePage Realty Centre ‡ Mississauga, ON

Karen Millar*° Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Clinton Miller§ Royal LePage Parksville-Qualicum Beach Realty Parksville, BC

Kerry Millican Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Adam Mills° Royal LePage Team Realty Adam Mills‡ Ottawa, ON

Tony Mitchell Royal LePage Cumberland Realty Amherst, NS

Patrick Morris*° Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Andrea Morrison*† Toronto, ON

Scott Moulton Designate Royal LePage Atlantic Halifax, NS

Ravi Munday§ Royal LePage Global Force Realty Surrey, BC

Krishan Nathan Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Kingston, ON

Jeff Nethercott° Royal LePage Triland Community Realty ‡ London, ON

Tod Niblock* Royal LePage Top Producers Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Aaron Nicklen§ Royal LePage Parksville-Qualicum Beach Realty Qualicum Beach, BC

Bruno Noll Royal LePage Riverbend Realty Steinbach, MB

James O’Connor Royal LePage NRC Realty ‡ Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

Patrick O’Donnell° Royal LePage Sussex West Vancouver, BC

Rob Ohs§ Royal LePage Parksville-Qualicum Beach Realty Qualicum Beach, BC

Joel O’Reilly § Royal LePage Sussex Sechelt, BC

Jérôme Paradis∞ Royal LePage de L’Érable Saint-Georges, QC

Garry Parkes Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Patricia Pedreira Royal LePage Binder Real Estate‡ Leamington, ON

Chris Pennycook* Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Rebecca Permack§ Royal LePage West Real Estate Services Coquitlam, BC

Isaac Phillips* Royal LePage State Realty ‡ Hamilton, ON

Sandra Pike Royal LePage Atlantic Halifax, NS

Patrick Pinsonneault° Royal LePage Peifer Realty ‡ Chatham, ON

Joe Rea° Royal LePage Premium One Realty ‡ Vaughan, ON

Gillian Ritchie† Toronto, ON

Monique Robichaud Royal LePage Atlantic Moncton, NB

Leo Ronse*° Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty Langley, BC

James Roy Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Judi Rufo Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty ‡ Belleville, ON

Noreen Russell Royal LePage Atlantic Saint John, NB

Nancy Saedi° Royal LePage Real Estate Services ‡ Nancy Saedi Toronto, ON

Robert Schinkel° Royal LePage Riverbend Realty Steinbach, MB

Jamie Schreder° Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty Langley, BC

Manon Sénéchal^ Royal LePage Heritage Westmount, QC

Wendy Siltamaki° Royal LePage Lannon Realty ‡ Thunder Bay, ON

Martin Simard∞ Royal LePage Vallée de l’Outaouais Gatineau, QC

Steve Simon Royal LePage Locations North ‡ Thornbury, ON

Christine Simpson*† Toronto, ON

Uthayan Sivarajah° Royal LePage Ignite Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Brock Smeaton§ Royal LePage Sussex West Vancouver, BC

Anne Smith Royal LePage Gardiner Realty Fredericton, NB

Dusty Smith• Royal LePage Network Realty Corp.

Red Deer, AB

Phil Smith Royal LePage NRC Realty ‡ Fort Erie, ON

Sandy Smith§ Royal LePage East Kootenay Realty Cranbrook, BC

Sylvia Smith*• Royal LePage Solutions Calgary, AB

Victoria Smith Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Kanata, ON

Angelo Sol Royal LePage Terrequity Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Blair Sonnichsen Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Jason W. Soprovich§ Royal LePage Sussex Jason Soprovich West Vancouver, BC

Jennifer Stewart° Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Wes Stewart § Royal LePage Locations West Realty Penticton, BC

Monica Stohr Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Aurora, ON

Kathleen Sturba Royal LePage Binder Real Estate ‡ Windsor, ON

Eugenio Sturino Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Vaughan, ON

Leigh Sugar° Royal LePage RCR Realty ‡ Newmarket, ON

Kristina Tardif Royal LePage Locations North‡ Wasaga Beach, ON

Steve Thompson§ Royal LePage Locations West Realty Penticton, BC

Rina Trepanier Royal LePage NRC Realty ‡ Fonthill, ON

Roxanna Trottier Royal LePage Atlantic Moncton, NB

Raymond Tsim*~ Royal LePage Champlain Brossard, QC

Mike Turner° Royal LePage Turner Realty Gander, NL

LIFETIME

CONGRATULATIONS Joe Ungaro° Royal LePage Kelowna Kelowna, BC

Francis Vallée^ Royal LePage Vallée de l’Outaouais Gatineau, QC

Jacob Vanderbreggen† Oakville, ON

Eric Van Hofwegen° Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Leslie Battle† Lifetime Toronto, ON

Joseph Brazeau Lifetime Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty ‡ Milton, ON

Mary T. Cardamone† Lifetime Oakville, ON

Maureen Chan Lifetime Royal LePage Westside Vancouver, BC

Norm Cholak• Lifetime Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate Edmonton, AB

Yves de Niverville Lifetime Royal LePage Performance Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Paul Delaney° Lifetime Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Anthony vanLieshout° Royal LePage Lakes of Haliburton‡ Haliburton, ON

Adam Virgilio Royal LePage Alliance Winnipeg, MB

Emil Vojkollari° Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Jason Walker° Royal LePage Signature Realty Walker Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Jean Dunn Lifetime Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty Sidney, BC

Anthony Fata° Lifetime Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Richmond Hill, ON

Morley Forsyth°† Lifetime Toronto, ON

Evelyn Froese Lifetime Royal LePage Westside Vancouver, BC

Serge Gabriel^ Lifetime Royal LePage Heritage Real Estate Agency Westmount, QC

Ben Gauer° Lifetime Royal LePage Ben Gauer & Associates Surrey, BC

John Gerber° Lifetime Royal LePage Signature Realty ‡ Toronto, ON

Kip Walker Royal LePage Atlantic Dartmouth, NS

Yucong Wang Designate Royal LePage du Quartier St-Laurent, QC

Brandon Wasser Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Richmond Hill, ON

Les Wellman Royal LePage West Real Estate Services Surrey, BC

Jeff Greenberg Lifetime Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Margorie Grime° Lifetime Royal LePage RCR Realty ‡ Orangeville, ON

Todd Guergis Lifetime Royal LePage First Contact Realty ‡ Barrie, ON

Heather Heaps Lifetime Royal LePage Real Estate Services Heaps Estrin Team‡ Toronto, ON

Robert Johnston Lifetime Royal LePage First Contact Realty ‡ Barrie, ON

Doreen Kirkwood∞ Lifetime Royal LePage Champlain D.K. INC., Real Estate Agency Brossard, QC

Philip LeMay∞ Lifetime Royal LePage Vallée de l’Outaouais Gatineau, QC

Jason Wheeldon§ Royal LePage East Kootenay Realty Cranbrook, BC

Penny Wilton° Royal LePage Peifer Realty ‡ Chatham, ON

Sarah Wright Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Manotick, ON

Zuo Xing Ye~ Royal LePage du Quartier H.Y. Saint-Laurent, QC

Dario Mattei° Lifetime Royal LePage Porritt Real Estate‡ Toronto, ON

Paula Mitchell Lifetime Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty ‡ Georgetown, ON

Mary Montgomery Lifetime Royal LePage Realty Plus‡ Mississauga, ON

Yoki Nichol• Lifetime Royal LePage Solutions Calgary, AB

Barbara Polson† Lifetime Toronto, ON

Cathy Rocca Lifetime Royal LePage Burloak R.E. Services‡ Burlington, ON

Karen P. Scott Lifetime Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Ottawa, ON

Jeremy Zdrill Royal LePage Prime Real Estate Winnipeg, MB

Shawn Zigelstein Royal LePage Your Community Realty ‡ Richmond Hill, ON

Fernande Sirois^ Lifetime Royal LePage Vallée de l’Outaouais Gatineau, QC

Joan M. Smith° Lifetime Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Kanata, ON

Lauretta Stewart°† Lifetime Toronto, ON

Kate Vanderburg† Lifetime Oakville, ON

Frances Wedlake† Lifetime Oakville, ON

James Wright Lifetime Royal LePage Team Realty ‡ Manotick, ON

A unit: end in a real estate transaction where a buyer or seller is represented. GCI: gross commission income. †Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. ‡ Denotes firms are Real Estate Brokerages. * Denotes Lifetime National Chairman’s Club Members. ° Denotes Broker/Associate Broker, all other members are considered licensed Sales Representatives and/or REALTORS®. § Denotes Personal Real Estate Corporation (PREC). ∞ Denotes Certified Real Estate Broker. ^ Denotes Real Estate Broker. ~ Denotes Real estate broker Certified AEO. • Denotes Associate. Designate: A sales professional who has joined Royal LePage after February 1 of the previous year. Royal LePage is a registered trade-mark used under license. This is not intended as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, including a solicitation of any sales representatives or broker that is currently under contract. All offices are independently owned and operated, except those marked as “Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage”, “Royal LePage West Real Estate Services” and “Royal LePage Sussex.” Any copying, reproduction, distribution or other use of these materials is prohibited. ©2019 Brookfield Real Estate Services Manager Limited. All rights reserved.

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REM FEBRUARY 2019 23

Industrial, Commercial & Investment C

ommercial property services giant Colliers and technology innovator Techstars have created a proptech accelerator that helps technology companies develop and fine-tune products to serve the commercial real estate industry.

The partnership selected 10 companies from hundreds evaluated, placed them together in a Toronto lab, and with 150 mentors, helped them advance their commercial real estate products and services. The companies are from seven countries.

The idea is “to find efficient solutions . . . to evaluate a broad range of property technology opportunities in the commercial real estate property space,” says David Bowden, CEO, Colliers Canada.

“Some of these companies (two are from Toronto) aim to create efficiencies in construction, building systems (the Internet of Things),” Bowden says. Upgrading building systems is often capital intensive and much of the sector is aging and due for upgrades, so the timing is right for a fresh approach.

He says one of the 10 compa-

J

ane Hoffman of Kelowna, B.C., Maggie Garvey of Vernon and Jim Grieve of Salmon Arm recently received the 2018 Realtors Care Award from the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) for

nies – Raybased – “provides a smart building control platform connected to all of a building’s systems. It can forecast when any system has a problem or is about to fail.”

Raybased’s technology can be installed in a small existing building in about a week with little retrofit work. “It is not invasive,” Bowden says, adding that it can reduce overall operations cost and energy usage by 25 to 75 per cent.

Another company – A Retail Space – helps retailers find space by using data analytics that factor in customer traffic patterns.

Tracking is done via mobile phone movements and considers age, diversity, gender and income.

“We think there is a big demand for that type of data-driven analytic solution,” says Bowden.

Other startups, he says, are focused on technologies to improve commercial clients’ risk profile.

The 10 companies spent three months working with the mentors in a Techstars space in downtown Toronto, close to Colliers’ international headquarters, says Ben Liao, managing director of the proptech accelera-

making a difference in their community.

“Recipients of the prestigious Realtors Care award are exceptional individuals, worthy of recognition for the outstanding and extensive charitable work

Proptech accelerator launches in Toronto

By Don Procter

tor powered by Techstars.

Mentors are following up by helping to introduce the companies to potential investors.

“This is the first time that two global organizations have come together at the intersection of real estate and technology,” says Liao.

“We have the ability and opportunity and support to be able to help shape this emerging industry.”

Liao says the accelerator had the startups working in a co-operative space over three months before their products were demonstrated to industry experts – many of whom were mentors – in December. Among the mentors were Colliers customers, while others came from companies such as Oxford, OMERS and Tishman Speyer. Other mentors were successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Liao says Techstars worked closely with Colliers on “companies with near-term valueenhancing opportunities,” adding that companies with mid- and long-term objectives for the industry were also evaluated.

The primary objectives are to either help real estate companies boost revenues or decrease the operating costs of their real estate assets, he says.

Bowden and Liao say commer-

cial real estate – traditionally “a fourth quarter tech adopter” – is changing.

“What we’re seeing is technology is finally successfully being deployed in the industry,” says Liao, describing the global real estate market as a $220 trillion (total assets) industry “that represents a tremendous opportunity.”

“Every industry is looking for efficiencies. Every industry is looking for information that will help them make better decisions and these products help solve these two issues,” Bowden says.

Along with the two Canadian companies from Toronto, others in the “inaugural (accelerator) class” include three from the U.S., three from Europe and two from Asia.

Liao says a second class of 10 will be selected for the proptech accelerator program later this year. “We’re looking to invest in companies that address both nearterm, value-enhancing opportunities for our clients and professionals as well as longer-term opportunities that, with strong technology platforms, will help us push industry boundaries.”

Colliers’ global footprint and its work in various disciplines are reasons that the company is looking to proptech firms around the

they have done and continue to do in their respective communities,” says OMREB president Marv Beer. Recipients are chosen by their peers within each of the three regions OMREB serves.

Hoffman contributed extensive fundraising efforts for a host of charities, including Central Okanagan Hospice Association, Make a Wish Foundation, B.C. Cancer Foundation, United Way and Kelowna General Hospital.

Garvey contributed many years volunteering at the Interior Provincial Exhibition for Cedar Hill Ranch and almost 20 years

helping to organize local Realtordriven community and charitable events.

Grieve contributed his time to a wide range of community causes, including Rotary, Shuswap

Jane Hoffman

David Bowden

world, Bowden says.

He credits the accelerator’s success with Techstars. “They look at about 40,000 companies a year in a large variety of industry disciplines.”

Bowden says that Colliers and Techstars have been assessing ideas on how to advance the industry for years. “What was appealing about this program is it looks at hundreds of potential companies to invest in rather than centering on a single idea.”

He says most of the companies have market-ready technologies, although some have products that will take two to five years to gain traction in the industry.

Feedback from companies in the program has been positive, Bowden says. “It advanced their Continued on page 25

Hospital Foundation, Aspiral Youth (an at-risk youth support organization), Community Futures, Salmon Arm Economic Development Society and numerous sports teams. REM

Maggie Garvey

Jim Grieve

24 REM FEBRUARY 2019

Good Works M

ichelle Yu has been selling homes in Vancouver with her team at Re/Max Real Estate Services since 1994. She has helped many local Vancouver charities and organizations over the years and recently became involved with World Housing as a way to also give back globally through her work.

Yu recently sold a home in Vancouver’s wealthiest neighbourhood and is now donating 100 per cent of her commission – more than $56,000 – from the sale. This donation will enable a World Housing Community to be built in El Salvador, providing homes for

10 families currently living in absolute poverty on less than $2 a day, says the charity.

“I understand how lucky we are to live and work in Vancouver and feel privileged to be in a position where I can help others in the world,” says Yu. “Through World Housing I can make a difference to these families, giving them the safety and security of a home.”

■ ■ ■

The third annual Lip Sync Battle hosted by Amy Layton of Royal LePage NRC Realty in Niagara Falls, Ont. brought in $6,400 for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. Proceeds were

directed to Women’s Place of South Niagara, an organization that provides support services and shelter to women and children experiencing abuse.

While 120 guests looked on, eight volunteer performers competed against each other in battles of two, over three rounds, with winners of each battle determined by audience applause.

This event has now raised $13,200 since its inception in 2016.

■ ■ ■

Keller Williams Energy Real Estate, with several offices in Durham Region in Ontario, hosted its 11th Annual Turkey Drive campaign before Christmas. The brokerage’s slogan is “Give Where You Live.”

The Turkey Drive began 11 years ago, providing 50 families with complete turkey dinners. The goal for the 2018 Drive was to provide 2,000 families with turkey dinners. Each family received a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, including turkey, potatoes,

vegetables, gravy, stuffing, cranberries, applesauce, a pan to cook the meal and a recipe.

■ ■ ■

Engel & Völkers offices across Canada took part in charitable endeavours just before Christmas.

License partner Anita SpringateRenaud at Engel & Völkers Toronto Centre is the Shoebox Project co-ordinator for GTA Central. Last year her team picked up, checked and delivered more than 6,000 boxes to women’s shelters. The boxes are filled with high-quality items needed by women in the shelter. This year Springate-Renaud rented a retail space at Sunnybrook Plaza and transformed it into her workshop, collecting more than 6,500 boxes that were delivered to 62 shelters in Toronto.

The Engel & Völkers Ottawa Central team presented an end-ofyear donation to Special Olympics.

License partner John King donated $5,000 to Special Olympics Greater Ottawa. On the same day, the team also held a Christmas

Kiki Smith performs as Pink during her first song of the night at the third annual Lip Sync Battle in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. Smith went on to become the evening’s grand prize winner.

Every Christmas for the last 10 years, administrative assistant Kelly Gouveia at Re/Max Unique in Toronto has organized a toy drive. This year with the help of the agents in the office, she collected 124 toys for the CP 24 CHUM Christmas Wish.

Keller Williams Energy provided turkey dinners for Durham Region families.

The Engel & Völkers’ team on Vancouver Island set up the first Realtor Food Bank Challenge with other real estate brokerages

From left: John King, license partner of Engel & Völkers Ottawa Central, hands a $5,000 cheque to Jason Hussak, community development officer for Special Olympics Greater Ottawa.

Michelle Yu presents a cheque to World Housing co-founder Pete Dupuis.

party collecting toy donations for CTV’s Toy Mountain.

Engel & Völkers’ team on Vancouver Island set up the first Realtor Food Bank Challenge with other real estate brokerages, competing with Re/Max Camosun, Pemberton Holmes and Royal LePage to collect nonperishable food items. The initiative raised more than 5,000 lb. of food for The Mustard Seed Street Church. The team also attended the Oak Bay Street Light Up and served hot apple cider and cookies to guests, raising more than $650 for the food bank at the event.

Adding in donations from advisors, the team then went shopping with $1,400 to add more to their food pile.

The Engel & Völkers Toronto Uptown shop served as the official drop-off location for CTV and the Salvation Army’s Toy Mountain Drive. As special sponsors of St. Vincent de Paul’s Sponsor-aFamily campaign, the Toronto Uptown team helped underprivileged families in Toronto have a special holiday. The team is also a

At the C21 Foothills golf tournament, from left: Blair Gordon, Beverley Gordon, Cheryl Walker-Harper and Jamie Ellice.

REM FEBRUARY 2019 25

strong supporter of the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada’s Holiday Season Celebration, benefitting youth in foster care over the holidays.

bers include: Manson Kelly, Leslie Hatfield, Sarah Ball, Rebecca Munro, Teresa Lawrence, Nancy Stuart and Yvonne Bainbridge.

■ ■ ■

The team at Sutton - Premier Realty in Surrey, B.C. recently delivered food and gifts to Ronald McDonald House at the Surrey Memorial Hospital.

“As an office we were able to donate 500 diapers, 30 onesies, 40 toys, Tim Hortons gift cards and toiletries. (We) filled up the kitchen with dry food goods,” says broker Larry Anderson. “In total, we delivered about $1,800 worth of items purchased thanks to the efforts of our entire office at multiple fundraisers this year.”

Royal LePage South Country Real Estate Services in Lethbridge, Alta. raised $77,744 at its 21st annual Royal Gala, held in support of local women’s shelter, YWCA Harbour House.

While enjoying a “New York, New York” theme, 300 guests bid generously on 450 silent auction items. “I was pleased to invite women who had resided at Harbour House in the past to attend the event as my guests for the evening,” says committee member Ally Keith. “It was very touching for them to come and see how much effort goes into raising funds for the emergency shelter and just how many people care about Harbour House and the women and children they serve.”

Other gala committee mem-

■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■

Royal LePage County donated $5,000 to the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes fundraising event in Athabasca, Alta. recently to support a local relationship abuse prevention and intervention program.

The brokerage participates in

the annual event in several capacities: assisting the local Prevention of Relationship Abuse Action Committee with event organization and registration, cooking and serving the barbecue lunch and walking in the march itself. This year’s walkers from Royal LePage County were broker/owner Trevor Yurchak and sales representative Alex Weinberger.

■ ■ ■

Salespeople at Avison Young’s Vancouver office donated a portion of their annual fees to St. Paul’s Foundation to support Foundry – a provincial network of youth centres that break down the barriers and stigma young people face in finding a place to access mental health support, substance use, primary care and social services.

■ ■ ■

Living Realty, based in Markham, Ont. held a winter coat drive for the New Circles’ GLOW (gently loved outfits to wear) Clothing Bank. The brokerage

launched the winter coat drive at the beginning of November and stationed donation boxes at its five branches across the GTA. The response of employees, agents, visitors and the local community was overwhelming, and the donation boxes were overflowing at all of the company’s branches, Living Realty says in a news release. At the end of the drive, 200 gently-used or new winter coats had been collected.

Staff collected the coats and delivered them to the GLOW Clothing Bank in Toronto, where they will be redistributed to families in need.

■ ■ ■

Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty in KitchenerWaterloo, Ont. collected more than 325 new toys for the Waterloo Knights of Columbus Toy Drive. This brings the total toys donated since the annual Trees for Toys event started in 2006 to approximately 4,800.

Realtors participating in the event purchase trees, wreaths or poinsettias for their clients and invite them to come and pick up their gifts and enjoy refreshments, pictures with Santa, face painting and pony rides.

Participants are encouraged to donate toys, which will be distributed to local children.

■ ■ ■

Presenting funds from the gala hosted by Royal LePage South Country Real Estate Services, from left: Manson Kelly, chair; Jeff Reimer; Ally Keith; John Guliker; Pam Nicholson; Sam Oyemala; Jennifer Lepko, CEO, YWCA Harbour House; Nancy Stuart, YWCA Harbour House; Jillian Chaffee; and Yvonne Bainbridge, YWCA Harbour House.

From left: Oliver Zihlmann of St. Paul’s Foundation, Malcolm Jenkins of Foundry, Broek Bosma of St. Paul’s Foundation, and Avison Young’s Cally Zering, Russ Bougie and Kevin Kassautzki.

From left: Shivani Cheema, Nissa Clarkson, Dee Soriano, Vish Chandra, Bree Berman, Jayson Pingol, Jessica Pleich, Kelvin Neufeld, Sadaf Baig, Nicholas Lal, Keldon Lemon and Ronn Diaz with Sutton - Premier’s donation for Ronald McDonald House in Surrey, B.C.

For the last 10 years, Keller Williams Golden Triangle Realty in Kitchener, Ont. has been helping local families in need have a better Christmas.

“This local outreach began in

2008 as a local businessman wanted to bless local families that needed some help, and hope, during the holiday season,” says Roy Cleeves, broker and leader of the Call Cleeves Team. He says the charity organization Possibilities International made the event its local Christmas outreach this year.

Partnering together, the plan was to give at least 100 families age appropriate gifts, a holiday dinner with all the fixings and a large stocking full of other gifts says Cleeves.

“An independent organization that has a pulse on the hurting, helpless and hopeless in KitchenerWaterloo provides the names and addresses. Apart from the delivery, their names and locations stay anonymous and so do the names of those who are responsible for helping,” says Cleeves.

■ ■ ■

In August, Century 21 Foothills Real Estate, which has six Alberta offices, participated in the J.C. Anderson Memorial Golf Tournament, raising almost $38,000 for Easter Seals. The event will send more than 21 kids to Easter Seals camps next summer.

Owner Blair Gordon says, “Our favorite part of the event, was our ‘21 Kids To Camp’ hole in one sponsorship component. At the dinner afterwards, when it was revealed that we didn’t have a hole in one winner, the live auctioneer asked for donations for the equivalent amount of money to send 21 kids to camp. Within minutes, we had raised an additional $32,000.”

REM

Proptech accelerator...

Continued from page 23

Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty Realtors Tracey Appleton and Dave Tidd

learning curve dramatically from what they anticipated the market to need.”

Colliers is committed to about a US$1.5 million annual investment in the proptech accelerator program, which, Bowden says, is expected to continue for years to come.

The Colliers CEO says Colliers and Techstars will continue to work with the first 10 companies. “We’ll partner with all of them to advance their products.”

While there are other proptech accelerators – MetaProp and the 5th Wall are examples – the joint initiative between Colliers and Techstars is the first with a global reach. “I expect we’ll see more in the future as our initiative continues to flourish,” says Bowden, suggesting the accelerator movement will help trigger a significant evolution in the commercial real estate sector in the next five years.

REM

26 REM FEBRUARY 2019

What RECO heard at town hall events

By Joe Richer ast fall, my colleagues from the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) and I crisscrossed the province to meet with industry leaders in a series of town hall events. We arranged this round of town halls to discuss some big-picture topics such as the importance of RECO and the industry working together to help raise the bar of professionalism, the educational requirements for real estate salespeople and brokers, RECO’s new Strategic Plan that will help us become a modern regulator, and our work with government to reform the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 (REBBA).

Much like the 2017 town halls, the 2018 events were lively at

L

times, but always thoughtful and respectful. The industry leaders who attended provided a lot of valuable feedback that will help us better understand what’s happening in the marketplace.

Raising the bar of professionalism: The industry leaders were engaged and highly committed to working with RECO to raise standards within the profession to better serve and protect consumers. A few attendees told me there’s a perception in the industry that RECO only listens to complaints from consumers, not our registrants, and that some brokers of record could do a better job of fulfilling their regulatory obligations.

Let’s dispel the myth about registrant complaints: we assess every complaint we receive, and we provide the same investigative effort regardless of who contacts us. On an annual basis, 25 to 30 per cent of the complaints we receive come from salespeople and brokers. I think that shows the industry is serious about working with us.

I’ll add that we have worked

hard to improve our complaints process, and it now takes an average of about 70 days to resolve a complaint.

The law requires and RECO expects brokers of record to take responsibility for the people they hire. We understand that the size of brokerages today makes it difficult to directly oversee everyone personally, but that can’t be the excuse for looking the other way.

Brokers of record must have the right managers and systems in place to do things correctly.

My experience has been that most brokers of record – including the industry leaders who attended the town halls – understand RECO’s expectations and value the work we do to maintain public trust in the profession.

OREA’s proposed REBBA reforms: My colleagues and I received a number of questions about Roadmap to a New REBBA, the list of recommended changes to REBBA that was released last year by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). More specif-

ically, industry leaders wanted to know if the industry’s regulator (RECO) and the industry’s association (OREA) are on the same page.

For the most part, I’d say we are. Our colleagues at OREA put a lot of thought into their recommendations, and I’m glad we’re having important conversations about protecting consumers while balancing the needs of the profession. We need to strike the appropriate balance and the only way to get there is to discuss the benefits and impacts on everyone involved.

In 2017, RECO submitted its own set of recommended REBBA reforms.

Personal real estate corporations: Industry leaders were very interested to hear RECO’s position on the introduction of personal real estate corporations (PRECs).

Though we don’t have a position on the government providing salespeople with the option of being taxed as corporations, we would support a system that creates the least disruption or burden on registrants – one that does not

require a new class of registration if it is possible to do so. We have to balance the needs of consumers and registrants.

Electronic file storage: Some of the town hall attendees also asked for clarification on the rules regarding electronic file storage and inquired about whether or not REBBA could be reformed to allow brokerages to store their files outside Ontario. To be clear, it’s perfectly acceptable to store files (electronic or paper) outside of the province so long as there’s at least one copy somewhere in Ontario.

The reason is enforcement: RECO needs to be able to access a brokerage’s files during an inspection or an investigation and RECO’s authority applies only in Ontario.

Joseph Richer is registrar of the Real Estate Council of Ontario. He is in charge of the administration and enforcement of all rules that govern real estate professionals in Ontario.

You can find more tips at reco.on.ca, follow on Twitter @RECOhelps or on YouTube. REM

President & Co-Founder Walter Schneider and CEO Pamela Alexander of RE/MAX INTEGRA are pleased to announce the promotions of Dolores Doherty and Ben Morton.

Dolores has been promoted to Chief Financia cial Officer of RE/MAX INTEGRA North America and RE/MAX Europe, overseeing corporate finance. Since joining RE/MAX IN INTEGRA in 2000 as Regional Accountant, Dolores has continuously excelled in her numerous senior roles in finance, e, eventually becoming Corporate Controller in 2009 and later appointed as Vice President, Finance in 2012. Dolore ores has a CPA/CGA designation and holds a degree in Applied Arts, Computer Studies from College of the North Atlantic, A as well as a Bachelor of Administrative Studies from York University.

Dolores Doherty

Responsible for day to day busi usiness operations, Ben Morton has been promoted to Vice President of Operations, North America for fo RE/MAX INTEGRA. As the Director of Operations, North America since 2016, Ben has done exemplary w work to integrate the administration functions of both our Canadian and U.S. regions. He has spearhea eaded a variety of major initiatives including the progressive evolution of our operating systems. Ben en earned Master of Business Administration degrees from Cornell University and Queen’s Univers rsity and a bachelor’s degree from McGill University.

RE/MAX INTEGRA RA is a privately held real estate franchisor headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canad ada. RE/MAX INTEGRA’s regions comprise the largest sub-franchisor of Denver, Colo lorado-based RE/MAX, LLC and represent approximately 30 percent of RE/MAX AX worldwide with over 40,000 agents.

Ben Morton

remaxintegra.com

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28 REM FEBRUARY 2019

Nurturing a neophyte buyer

By Ross Wilson “He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted. - Lao Tzu

F

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or a neophyte, buying real estate is usually uncharted territory. Worse, realty virgins sometimes suffer from misinformation from unreliable sources.

As their trusted representative, it’s your job to educate, to gently coach and coax them into appropriate home ownership with as little stress as possible. That means no unpleasant pressure. By winning your buyer’s trust, your task is typically easier. Plus, you’ll be rewarded – emotionally and financially. And if your service is exemplary, you’ll earn referrals.

Seize the opportunity to learn more about your buyers. Find out what makes them tick by way of an extensive initial consultation.

During this personal meeting with both spouses, ask pertinent questions about both of their respective wants and needs. I emphasize both because they each may have quite different ideas – sometimes contradictory – as to what constitutes the ideal home. It’s in your and their best interests to understand each of their individual as well as collective wants and needs.

If you fail to satisfy both parties with the right home, one may block the other from offering on anything. If this happens, you lose and so do they. Compromise means that neither party gets everything they want. But to remain within their budget, it may be unavoidable.

During the first consultation, I once asked a wife for her wants and needs. I recall her replying effusively with a long, detailed feature list, from kitchen cabinetry to floor covering and everything in between. She had obviously been envisioning her new home for some time. The husband, when asked, replied simply that he wanted a big master bedroom, a bathroom and an attached double garage… (pause)… and whatever

she wants.

The list of questions you can ask is limited only by your imagination and their affordability factor. What basics do they absolutely need? What would they like to have? As you make suggestions. they’ll tend to say yes to everything. Thus, it’s a good idea to initially allow them to volunteer this info without your prompting.

Often, the unprompted features are what excite them the most.

Make notes throughout the meeting and categorize the list by “needs” and “wants”.

The needs become your primary search parameters and the wants are a close second. Satisfaction of the needs list will get them through the front door for a viewing. But it’s the exciting stuff from the wants list that will ignite their emotional excitement engine and get them to the offer table.

To ascertain a feasible target price range, it’s important to include basic financial questions so you don’t waste their time or yours.

How much cash do they have for the down payment? Is it from borrowed funds? What’s their approximate gross combined income and outstanding debt with minimum monthly payments? Estimate their gross debt and total debt service ratios to ensure their dream home is within their financial grasp. You might be surprised to discover that they can comfortably afford a larger home. Their lender will repeat this procedure when they seek mortgage pre-approval, but at least you can do a pre-screen.

If they already own a home, to determine their net transferable equity, a property evaluation supported by a comparative market analysis is obviously a prerequisite, and as early in the process as possible. You should clarify any difference between how much they believe they can spend and what they can actually afford. Since homeowners often over-estimate the value of their homes, the figures could be quite different.

Your thorough and thoughtful inquiry will attest to your serious intentions to make their home

transition a happy reality. Plus, the sharing of their personal financial information, along with their feelings, cracks open the door to their inner trust circle and begins to nurture the growth of a mutual bond.

For comfort and peace of mind, buyers often prefer to spend well under their lender-approved maximum purchase price. Do your best to accommodate their wishes, at least initially. But during my career, I found that they were often disappointed with the less expensive homes and end up increasing their limit a little, sometimes a lot.

Perhaps you’re uncomfortable advocating buying to their highest technical affordability level because they may feel you’re just trying to increase your commission. Nevertheless, your prime motivation shouldn’t be self-serving. As a matter of fact, it should be the exact opposite.

You don’t want them to excessively compromise their wish list because the more space and features they sacrifice to remain within their emotionally preferred budget, the sooner they’ll need or want to upgrade to a larger, more expensive home. This will entail a move sooner than later with all the stress and associated expenses – real estate commission, legal fees, land transfer taxes and movers – all over again. At least increase their emotional maximum to include an estimate of these future expenses.

It’s arguably wiser to invest in a larger home now and stay longer, provided they don’t buy a home too big for their britches. They might not sleep well worrying about bigger debt. Health is our first wealth.

Ross Wilson is a retired real estate broker with extensive experience as a brokerage owner, manager, trainer and mentor over a highly successful 44-year career. His book, The Happy Agent – Finding Harmony with a Thriving Realty Career and an Enriched Personal Life is available where print and e-books are sold, including the TREB, MREB, RAHB and OMDREB stores. For more details, visit Realty-Voice.com.

REM

BWC REM_FullPageAd_January2019

THANK YOU to all those who attended and contributed to the 2019 Banff Western Connection – the conference was another great success!

This event could not have been made possible without the generous support of our sponsors:

We look forward to welcoming you back for the 2021 BWC Conference

JANUARY 28-30, 2021

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30 REM FEBRUARY 2019

R

ick Linklater, principal of the Edmonton-based Orkney Asset Management, will serve a second term as president of the Canadian Chapter of the International Real Estate Federation, known as FIABCICanada. He is joined on the newly elected 2019 Chapter Board of Directors by Aziz Kanjee from Ontario as president-elect and directors Nichola Ryhanen from Alberta; Maria Belkelova, Don Kottick, Margaret Liu, Melissa Salazar and Carlos Sousa from Ontario; Adrian Schulz from Manitoba; and Dean Lapointe,

Rose Marra, Ursula Morel and Nora Valdez from B.C. At the recent Annual General Meeting in Vancouver, the association voted to hold symposiums in Toronto and Vancouver about the application of blockchain and cryptocurrency within the real estate economy. In addition, twoway cross-border exchanges are to be scheduled with the Seattlebased Pacific North-West and New York City Councils of FIABCI-USA. Digital Technology is the theme of the 70th World Congress in Moscow May 27-31, which is expected to attract close to 1,000

Aziz Kanjee, president-elect, left, and Rick Linklater, 2019 president, FIABCI-Canada Pictured: Broker, Vito Casella

Welcome RE/MAX Noblecorp Real Estate!

We are proud to announce Broker Vito Casella is making the exciting move from Homelife to RE/MAX. The definition of a real estate family, the Casella’s have been in the industry for 50 years, with Vito being the third generation in his family to take over the business as a new Broker. The new office, RE/MAX Noblecorp Real Estate, will be managed

by Vito’s mother Carmelina and uncle Vince.

RE/MAX Noblecorp Real Estate is ready to make an impact on its primary transaction areas in the GTA consisting of Vaughan, Peel, Woodbridge, and the King City area. Vito’s knowledge of the industry, customer service, client relationships, and Broker dedication will set up his brokerage for success under the RE/MAX name.

For Vito and the Casella’s, the timing was perfect in their transition from Homelife to RE/MAX – the home of the top producer and those who aspire to

participants.

Chapter secretary-general Jerry England says, “FIABCI has always attracted globally minded real estate professionals and a recent increase in chapter membership corresponds with an upswing in enrolment in the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation courses through CREA and the National Association of Realtors.”

■ ■ ■

Bob Van de Vrande, broker of record of Apex Results Realty, has been inducted as president of the Realtors Association of HamiltonBurlington (RAHB) for 2019.

Van de Vrande has been a member of the association since 1988. He was first elected to the RAHB Board of Directors in 2012 and elected again in 2016.

“I’m looking forward to serving the over 3,150 RAHB Realtors in the greater Hamilton-Burlington Continued on page 32

First row, from left: Jack Loft, RAHB 2018 president; Mark Loeffler, RAHB Charity Auction Task Force co-chair; Lisette Culley, C h i l d r e n ’s Fund director; Brian Shaw, RAHB Charity Auction Task Force co-chair. Second row: Jackie Corcoran, RAHB Charity Auction Task Force; Krista Taaffe, Children’s Fund Director; and Kristeena Berube, RAHB Charity Auction Task Force.

Left: The Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board and the Ontario Realtors Care Foundation recently made donations of $4,000 each to local charity the Inn of the Good Shepherd and to Habitat For Humanity. Steve Park, president of the board and Kathy Murphy, PR and communications chair show the cheque for Habitat For Humanity.

be. The brand power, consistent focus on being #1, and industry knowledge brought the Casella’s home me to RE/MAX. Like many of our RE/MAX brokerages, Vito and nd his Agents are committed to supporting the Chi hildren’s Miracle Network, along with Autism Speak aks.

Their annual golf tournament, which the hey will be continuing as a new RE/MAX brokerage ge, will donate all proceeds to Autism Speaks.

Please join us in celebrating thee growth of our great network by welcoming RE/MAX R Noblecorp Real Estate to our wonderful ul brand. Congratulations on this decision and we caannot wait b] support your continued success!

RE/MAX Noblecorp Re Real Estate is located at 4040 Steeles Ave W. Suit uite 11, Woodbridge, ON

If you are interested in ownership opportunities with RE/MAX, the largest most productive real rea estate brand, contact Jennifer Dominey at 1.647.519.7735 to arrange your confidential meeting, or visit remaxinteg tegra.com.

remaxintegra.com

Bob Van De Vrande

Dougal Shewan

KWAR volunteers with the donated toys

REM FEBRUARY 2019 31

New Brokerage is creating lucrative opportunities for many more agents Justo is spreading the wealth beyond the top 10 percent The following is paid, promotional content.

To the average homeowner, it would seem that Realtors have a sweet deal. A an explosion in the housing market and new technological advancements have made buying and selling homes much easier, and much more lucrative, for agents.

And yet last year, more than half of all TREB registered agents sold only one home, or none at all. A large percentage sold three or fewer.

Take a drive around any neighbourhood and you’ll likely get a sense of why this is. A quick scan of for sale signs and you’ll likely see the same face smiling at you on eight out of ten of them.

This is the fundamental challenge for the bulk of GTA agents; a mere 10 percent of them are responsible for roughly 90 percent of real estate transactions in the region.

To be fair, those at the top have more than earned their success; they’ve clawed their way up the ranks, through high interest rates and down markets, to establish themselves as the go-to agents in their various localities.

But what does that mean for the rest of the field? We don’t mean the part-timers who have their license in order to help out friends and family on the odd transaction. We’re talking about

the young up-and-comers eager to make a career out of real estate but prohibited by the costs of marketing themselves in a very crowded and competitive marketplace. In an industry dominated by a select few, how can anyone hope to break through?

One new player in the space believes it has the answer. Justo Inc. Brokerage is Toronto’s newest real estate concept. They are working hard to disrupt the residential market in the GTA by leveraging technology to streamline the sales process, enabling them to charge sellers far lower listing fees, offer free value-added services like staging, home inspections and lawyers fees, and share commissions with their buyers, giving them half of their commission in cash back upon closing.

But the disruption doesn’t only apply to clients; their model is changing the game for agents as well.

“Justo is derived from the latin word Justus, meaning fair and transparent, which is the foundation upon which the company is built,” said Vicki Schmidt, co-founder and Justo Broker of Record. “And with this foundation, we’re not simply looking at making the process more fair for buyers and sellers, but for agents as well. There are many talented agents out there, and we’re hoping to provide them with the opportunity they’ve been

lacking until now.”

It’s an opportunity that aims to level the playing field and spread the wealth out more equitably throughout the industry.

Unlike existing brokerages where agents must fend for themselves, Justo takes the lead, providing its agents with leads, marketing support, and a back office, so rather than constantly worrying about that next deal, they can instead focus on providing outstanding, personalized customer service for their existing clients.Justo also takes on any risk, by covering additional marketing costs like MLS listing, staging, and professional photography, costs that might be lost by independent agents if the home doesn’t sell in a timely manner. They also offer a welcome change to the isolation that comes from working independently.

“I love the client interaction and feeling of satisfaction that comes with finding my buyers the perfect home, or getting an amazing price for my sellers, but when I was on my own, so much of my time was spent on finding that next listing, rather than servicing the clients I already had,” said Hiba Kamal, Broker and senior agent with Justo. “So I jumped at the chance to work with Justo. Here, I really get to focus on the parts of the job that I love, and have an amazing team supporting me to make sure my clients have an

incredible experience working with us.”

Justo’s agents have exclusivity in within their territories, and are afforded the opportunity to build their own teams as demand increases, providing strong growth potential and residual income on top of their own deals.

With Toronto homeowners

rapidly catching on to Justo’s fair and transparent model, the company is seeking enthusiastic, experienced agents to service its growing clientele. Things are changing, and you can be a part of this real estate revolution. If you are interested in joining the Justo team, visit justo.ca or email your resume to us at hello@justo.ca

Justo Inc., Brokerage is Toronto’s hottest new real estate concept, and has been making waves in the residential market in the GTA since launching late last year. Justo’s team of local agents provides value added all-inclusive services and harness innovative technologies to put extra cash in in their clients’ pockets. Using data-driven business intelligence, Justo lowers their costs and passes the savings on to their customers by charging half of what a typical brokerage would.

32 REM FEBRUARY 2019

Boards and Associations...

Continued from page 30

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and outlying areas.” says Van de Vrande. “In 2019, our board will continue to provide quality services to our members and focus on professionalism, so consumers know they are working with Realtors who are held to the highest standard.”

Joining Van de Vrande on RAHB’s 2019 Board of Directors are: Nikola Bucalo, presidentelect; Jack Loft, immediate past president; Hank Balfoort; Kathy Della-Nebbia; Jacqueline Norton; Stephanie Pinet; Andrew Robertson; Julie Sergi; Brian Shaw; and Nicolas von Bredow.

RAHB recently raised $76,525 for the 900CHML/Y108/Fresh Radio 953 Children’s Fund through its annual charity auction.

The fund offers assistance to over 40 different charities each year. During the last 30 years of partnership, the Realtors 4 Kids Charity Auction has raised $1,165,525, making RAHB the fund’s single largest contributor.

■ ■ ■

Branch Manager Position Looking for more than just a job?

Begin your adventure with us.

An opportunity exists for an experienced Branch Manager, to join our team in Ottawa. Royal LePage Performance Realty has been voted one of Canada’s Best Workplaces since 2008.

It all stems from our Company values.

If you are interested in an exciting career with us, please email your resume, with a cover letter, to jmulligan@performancerealty.com by March 30th

We thank all who apply. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

For more information, visit our websites!

More than 39,000 Lower Mainland residents will receive blankets and warm clothing this winter from donations collected during the 24th annual Realtors Care Blanket Drive.

Between Nov. 13 and 20, more than 150 real estate offices in the Lower Mainland served as drop-off locations for donations. Realtor volunteers then collected, sorted and delivered the donations to local charities. More than 70 Lower Mainland charities received Blanket Drive donations this year.

The drive is a partnership between the Realtors of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board and their communities.

The program is the largest and longest running blanket drive in British Columbia. Since it began in 1994, it has helped nearly 380,000 people keep warm and dry during the winter months.

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www.letstalkperformance.ca www.performancerealty.ca

Dougal Shewan of VWR Capital Corp. in Langley B.C. has been elected chair of the Real Estate Compensation Fund Corporation. John Evans of Sound

Investments of Terrace, B.C. was elected vice chair of the corporation’s Board of Directors for a twoyear term. The members of the 2019 Board of Directors also include Susan McGougan, Patrick O’Donnell and Jorda Maisey.

The RECFC’s Board of Directors consists of three directors appointed by the Real Estate Council of British Columbia and two directors appointed by the British Columbia Real Estate Association. The Real Estate Special Compensation Fund provides financial protection for members of the public who have lost money because of the actions of a real estate licensee.

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Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) raised $92,180 for the Ontario Realtors Care Foundation last year and provided grants to 25 shelter-related charities in the Ottawa area. The funds were raised through the board’s annual charity golf tournament, the $2 per member per month campaign, a RONA rebate program and additional donations.

The charities assist local residents who may not have adequate shelter along with those who may be dealing with homelessness, addiction, mental or physical illness, spousal or familial abuse, physical disability, poverty or aging.

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Members of the Southern Georgian Bay Association of Realtors (SGBAR) donated almost $9,000 to provide turkeys for local families during the holiday season. The association partners with local grocers for the annual event. The retailers

exchange the donations for turkey vouchers of greater value; the vouchers are then distributed by charitable organizations in each community.

SGBAR members also presented cheques to various local charities representing proceeds of almost $8,000 from the Ontario Realtors Care Foundation – Every Realtor Campaign. The recipients were Home Horizon, My Friend’s House, La Maison Rosewood Shelter and Shelter Now. “We’re very proud of the great work our foundation does,” says Matthew Lidbetter, 2018 president of the association. “It belongs to all of us and through it we can effect positive change in our communities and improve quality of life in Southern Georgian Bay.” ■ ■ ■

Realtors and their families spread holiday cheer and donated hundreds of new, unwrapped toys to the Tree of Angels toy drive at the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtor’s annual Children’s Christmas Party.

The event has been held annually for many years. Santa visited over 75 good boys and girls this year, listening to their Christmas wishes and smiling for photos. Along with Santa, the children enjoyed face painting, games, balloon twisting and musical entertainment. Admission to the annual event was a new unwrapped gift.

Realtors also collected toys at participating real estate brokerages and could also take them directly to KWAR’s headquarters, where they were being gathered for pick up by the Salvation Army’s Tree of Angels volunREM teers.

At the Ottawa Real Estate Board cheque presentation to Maison D’Amitie, from left: John Rogan, broker of record, RLP Performance Realty; Judy Mulligan, manager, administrative support, RLP Performance Realty; Francine Groulx, executive director, Maison D’Amitie; Deborah Burgoyne, 2018 Realtors Care Committee Chair/2019 OREB president-elect and salesperson, RLP Team Realty; and Tony McDermott, 2018 Realtors Care Committee member and salesperson, Homelife Capital Realty.

LEARN. ENGAGE. NETWORK. GROW. Wednesday, May 29 & Thursday, May 30, 2019 Toronto Congress Centre

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34 REM FEBRUARY 2019

Warning: This may offend you

By Tina Plett

I

n Canada, it’s okay to be offended. It might even be a prerequisite to being Canadian, I’m not sure. It does seem that walking around feeling offended about all things great and small seems to be a popular activity.

We ban sports team logos because they are “racially insensitive� and demand funding be cut from sports teams to force submission to such opinions. Forced submission is the same as agreement, right?

We take away Halloween costumes in school because they’re too scary or embody a racial stereotype or reduce Anne Frank to a mere costume.

Even real estate ads can be highly offensive here in Canada.

Like mine.

For real.

Every December I place the same holiday greeting in the local real estate publication. I’m about to describe what it says, so fair warning, this is about to get really offensive. The greeting says Jesus’ name four different times and declares Christ as the reason, not just of the Christmas season, but the reason for my faith and for all that exists. I believe Jesus, and He is the core, driving reason and motivation for every value and moral and decision I make. Love. Peace. Grace.

Forgiveness. Eternity. These are at my core because of Jesus.

Sorry if that offends you.

Anyway, after placing the ad, I got a phone call. An angry one.

Someone had been deeply and personally offended that I would declare such things aloud and muddy up a business publication with such nonsense as Jesus’ name.

They said something like, “I’m offended by your ad! Keep your religion in church, this isn’t the place for that.� Then they added a promise. “And I will NEVER buy a house from you because of your ad.

Just wanted you to know that.�

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If the phone message this woman left didn’t offend you, I’m glad.

But this part might. When I heard the message, I kind of laughed to myself. Did this stranger really, honestly think I would change my whole business because of her opinion? That I would tremble in fear and never place my usual holiday greeting because it hurt their feelings somehow? Or perhaps she thought her threat would cause me to cower beneath the table, questioning whether or not faith and work really do go together.

Kind of presumptuous of her, isn’t it?

I mean, if someone has a problem with something I’m saying or doing, I’ll absolutely consider it. I do care about how my actions and inactions affect others. But I’m not going to hop around like my feet are on fire just because someone has a loud or abrasive opinion of me and isn’t afraid to tell me about it. If I change my direction every time someone tells me I should, if I’m moved by every wind that blows, then who the heck am I? But here’s the thing, and the whole reason I’m talking about this at all.

Opinions don’t define you.

(Or at least they shouldn’t.)

Opinions are just that.

Opinions. Everyone’s got one, at no time do they all agree, and every opinion is subject to change.

Take them with a big grain of salt.

I mean, that same day, someone else called with an opinion about that same holiday greeting. You know what they said? “Tina, this is amazing! I love this ad! It made my day!� She went on to tell me how she’d cut it out and kept it. That’s

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how much it had meant to her.

So, who was right? Whose opinion should I choose as truth?

The reality is, despite the highly offended nature of our culture and every single person around us, who we are is not found in people’s opinions. (And if it is, we’re in a big, deep identity crisis.)

All this to say, know yourself.

Know what you stand for, what you believe and why.

Then do the work of sorting through how that fits together with your work.

For me, faith is a core part of who I am. Really, what we believe is at the core of each of us and drives all of our actions whether we’re aware of it or not. Everyone has a worldview.

With a fresh new slate of a year starting, it’s a perfect time to reflect

on who you really are, outside of cultural pressures or public opinion. I invite you to explore your own personal foundation. I hope, as you do, you find the foundation is the bedrock of truth, from which true hope, love and peace spring forth.

May Jesus bless you richly with wisdom, peace and the strength that comes from knowing you are His. That’s right, I said Jesus.

Attentive from sign up until sign down, rural agent Tina Plett wins the affections of people near Steinbach, Man. with her unique blend of forward-thinking business savvy and down-home, countrified lifestyle.

Sutton Group-Kilkenny proudly calls her their own. www.tinaplett.com REM

Trade Shows and Conferences For complete listings, visit www.remonline.com 2019 Realtors Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo National Association of Realtors May 15 - 16 Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington, D.C. www.legislative.realtor

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