Dear Member,
For over sixty years, OREA, and the OREA Real Estate College have been the provider of real estate education in Ontario. In March of 2016, RECO issued an RFP for the selection of an organization to deliver its new Registration Education Program. However, following an extensive RFP process, RECO has informed us that OREA has not been chosen as the designated organization to deliver the required educational courses for real estate professionals in Ontario. This means that the OREA Real Estate College will only continue to provide quality real estate education under the current agreement, which runs until December 31, 2020. RECO’s decision did not come without significant disappointment. OREA is indeed synonymous with registration education, but we are so much more. RECO’s decision will no doubt have many unfortunate consequences, however, it also presents an important opportunity for OREA to refocus and strengthen its core member services.
As the current designated provider of Salesperson Registration Education and Broker Registration Education, the College has made education accessible province-wide through multiple delivery channels, while ensuring that a consistent standard of education is delivered to all students. In the last five years, more than 75,000 students have enrolled in the programs offered by the College and, as OREA has been the sole provider, 100 per cent of Ontario REALTORS® have completed our programs. Over the years, the College has garnered many awards, including the Education Excellence Award from the Association of Real Estate Licensing Law Officials, the 2015 LERN International Award for Excellence in Programming, and the 2015 Education Program of the Year Award from the Real Estate Educators Association.
What does this mean for you, our members? It means that our mission to help REALTORS® succeed grows ever stronger. Our association continues to forge ahead with renewed energy and focus and a reinvigorated outlook on an exciting future for OREA. In short, we are committed to building a ‘new’ OREA with increased effort and focus directed towards our key member services and we are working hard to become the most effective professional association in the province delivering high impact advocacy on behalf of REALTORS® and quality services that our members need and want.
OREA’s role in real estate education may be changing, but know for certain that our efforts to consistently raise and uphold the high standards of education we helped set will remain unchanged.
Sincerely,
Ettore Cardarelli
President, Ontario Real Estate Association
Brampton Real Estate Board 