Thank you to everyone who attended Sing’s birthday lunch.

Photos:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19RTlIQwKmrX2pgVV9dX3t6TyhOqs67Z7

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozJAu8JeOo4 

SURREY, BC – Sluggish seasonally-adjusted sales and a continued rise in inventory has the Fraser Valley market slowly shifting to favour buyers.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board recorded 1,230 sales in July, down by seven per cent over last month and down by 26 per cent over the 10-year seasonal average.

Inventory levels in the Fraser Valley reached a 10-year seasonally adjusted high in July with active listings at 8,731, up 5 per cent over June and 41 per cent higher than July 2023.

New listings were flat in July, down by less than half a per cent from June, to 3,412. With a sales-to-active listings ratio of 14 per cent, overall market conditions are balanced. The market is considered balanced when the ratio is between 12 per cent and 20 per cent.

Download: FVREB Stats Package (July 2024)

VANCOUVER, BC – August 2, 2024 – Newly listed properties registered on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) rose nearly twenty per cent year over year in July, helping to sustain a healthy level of inventory in the Metro Vancouver housing market. On the demand side, the Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) reports that residential sales in the region totalled 2,333 in July 2024, a 5 per cent decrease from the 2,455 sales recorded in July 2023. This was 17.6 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (2,831).

There were 5,597 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the MLS® in Metro Vancouver in July 2024. This represents a 20.4 per cent increase compared to the 4,649 properties listed in July 2023. This was also 12.7 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (4,968).

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® in Metro Vancouver is 14,326, a 39.1 per cent increase compared to July 2023 (10,301). This is also 21.5 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (11,788).

Download: GVR Stats Package (July 2024)

In the immediate wake of publicly voiced concern from the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA), the BC Government has reversed course on two recent changes to the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) as they relate to buyers of tenanted properties. 
  
The initial changes laid out in Bill 14, which came into effect on July 18, 2024, required four months' notice – instead of the previous two months' notice – for evictions due to personal or caretaker use. The legislation also raised the dispute period from 15 days to 30 days. 
  
Now the government is amending the regulation to lower the personal-use notice period to three months and the dispute period to 21 days for situations when a landlord gives notice to a tenant on behalf of a purchaser. These changes come into effect on August 21, 2024. 
  
"Since the amendments came into force, government has listened to feedback from industry stakeholders that a four-month notice period could prevent first-time buyers from purchasing a tenanted property," the government said in a statement on Thursday. 
  
The BCREA Government Relations department is proud to have been a key part of the industry response, along with partners from the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association – BC (CMBA-BC). In open letters and a joint press release, the two organizations pointed out the flaws with lengthening both the personal-use notice period and the dispute period, including their effect on first-time homebuyers. 
  
"We appreciate the government responding quickly to our concerns," said Trevor Hargreaves, BCREA Senior VP, Government Relations, Marketing & Communications. "This legislation caused confusion and concern amongst both REALTORS® and the public, including buyers and sellers, and we're happy to see changes made to alleviate that." 
  
In BCREA's open letter, the organization reiterated its call for government to launch a permanent housing roundtable made up of housing policy experts and other stakeholders from across the BC housing sector, as it would have allowed for this round of feedback to be delivered before the legislation took effect. 
  
Related links:

To read the full statement from the BC Government, click here.
To read CBC coverage of these latest developments, click here.
To read BCREA's letter to the BC Government, click here.  
To read BCREA and CMBA-BC's joint press release, click here.  

For more information:
  
If you have questions or concerns about changes to the RTA or any other policy issue, please email Trevor Hargreaves at thargreaves@bcrea.bc.ca. 

Strata Corporation Documents - including but not limited to two (2) years of strata council minutes and strata corporation minutes, registered strata corporation by-laws, financial statements, registered strata plans, information concerning special assessments, either proposed or levied, and a current Information Certificate (Form “B”).

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Representatives from Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR), along with the Fraser Valley and Chilliwack real estate boards, have finalized a series of changes to the Rules of Cooperation, which will take effect on August 1, 2024.

Since we announced these changes, we’ve received a few questions about the new rules. To help you understand how these changes will affect your business, we’ve put together an FAQ explaining the new rules.

What changes are coming to the Rules of Cooperation?

There are seven key changes coming to the Rules of Cooperation:

• All members will need to communicate with each other in a timely and effective manner.

• Members are responsible for the actions of their unlicensed assistants, administrators and employees.

• Members are accountable for upholding the reputation of the profession.

• Brokers will have an obligation to report completion date changes.

• Listings that are part of a residential land assembly are exempt from CREA’s REALTOR® Cooperation Policy that specifies that all Realtors across Canada must place their residential listings on the MLS® System within three days of public marketing.

• Manufactured, modular, and park model homes must have a photograph of the CSA or BC Electrical Inspection label must be posted as an associated document to their listing.

• Members must have, or order, a current Information Certificate (Form B) before they post a strata listing to the MLS®.

When will the new amendments to the Rules of Cooperation come into effect?

The changes will be effective August 1, 2024.

Why are we updating the Rules of Cooperation?

The changes are a key part of our ongoing work to raise standards in the profession and implement recommendations from our professionalism white paper.

These amendments clarify areas of confusion and, most importantly, eliminate behaviour and practices that commonly frustrate members.

Will Realtors need a Form B in hand before a listing goes live?

No, like with strata documents under the current rules, the Form B doesn’t have to be in hand when the listing goes live, but you must have proof that those documents were ordered.

Simply put, under the amended rules, the Form B will be included in the list of documents that must be ordered up front before a listing goes live.

How will these rules be enforced?

If you encounter someone who chooses to disregard their professional obligations, we want to hear about it. We encourage members to hold each other accountable by reporting misconduct to concerns@gvrealtors.ca. 

Do these changes only affect GVR members?

Once implemented, these changes will be required standards for all Lower Mainland Realtors.

Where can I read more about these rules?

• Read the full wording of the changes

• Review a side-by-side comparison of the previous and new standards