Author: bramptonrealestateboard

The Canadian Real Estate Association’s (CREA) office will be closed on Friday, April 7 and Monday, April 10. The offices will re-open on Tuesday, April 11.

On Friday, April 7 (Good Friday), CREA’s Member Experience Centre will not be available. Members can call in for CREA WEBForms^® related issues between 8 a.m. and midnight (EDT). 

CREA WEBForms^® support will be available all weekend.

On Monday, April 10 (Easter Monday), the Member Experience Centre will be running support for boards, associations and members from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EDT). After-hours support for CREA WEBForms^® is available until midnight.

If you have any questions, please contact support@crea.ca. 

Have a safe and happy long weekend.

Starting today, you can use BREB’s new Add/Edit to enter and edit new listings in Stratus, REALM™ or Matrix.

The new Add/Edit is available in parallel with the old Add/Edit through Tuesday, May 2. After this date, the old Add/Edit will no longer be available.

Exciting new Add/Edit features include:

• Easily add and edit listings with a new auto-fill feature from land registry.
• Upload a variety of documents and sizes.
• Listing photos are instantly watermarked with your brokerage name.

How the Parallel Transition Period Works

During the parallel transition period, you are encouraged to enter and manage all new listings using the new Add/Edit. Listings entered using the new Add/Edit are only manageable in this version. To make any changes or updates to your existing listing(s), you must use the system you originally used to enter it.

Until Tuesday, May 2, listings entered using the old Add/Edit are only manageable in the old Add/Edit. After this date, all listings must be entered and managed using the new Add/Edit.

Accessing the New Add/Edit

When you click the Add/Edit link in Stratus, REALM™ or Matrix, you will see a new pop-up menu.

• Click the Start Now button to access the new Add/Edit.
• The old Add/Edit is available using the Continue button.
• Find training resources and news by selecting the Learn More button.

Getting Help

Contact Help Desk at 416-443-8111.

You can also email your feedback to add_editfeedback@trreb.ca

Getting or Providing Permission to Access the New Add/Edit

Access to Add/Edit is provided by Brokers of Record or Managers. All existing permissions apply to the new Add/Edit.

Plus, visit Add/Edit Central for the latest news and training opportunities.

Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland tabled the second budget of the 44th parliamentary session, “A Made-in-Canada Plan”. This budget is heavily focused on measures to address the cost-of-living crisis, provide inflation relief, invest in public health care, and build Canada’s clean economy.

The budget followed an announcement of amendments to the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, on Monday, March 27. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has been actively lobbying for changes to the prohibition since it was announced.

The announced amendments include:

• Enable more work permit holders to purchase a home to live in while working in Canada. Amending the exception for temporary workers to enable work permit holders with 183 days or more of validity remaining on their work permit or work authorization to purchase a residential property.
• Repealing existing provision so the prohibition doesn’t apply to vacant land. Repealing the vacant land provision from the definition of residential property so that the prohibition does not apply to the purchase of vacant land zoned for residential and mixed use.
• Exception for development purposes. This exception allows non-Canadians to purchase residential property for the purpose of development. The amendments also extend the exception currently applicable to publicly traded corporations under the Act, to publicly traded entities formed under the laws of Canada or a province and controlled by a non-Canadian.
• Increasing the corporation foreign control threshold from 3% to 10%. Increasing the control threshold from 3% to 10% so that any corporation or entity with 10% or more direct or indirect ownership of shares or ownership interests by a non-Canadian is subject to the prohibition. 

Housing Measures in Budget 2023

As anticipated, “A Made-in-Canada Plan” reiterates existing housing measures and investments the government has previously announced and, while these investments are considerable, they’re not sufficient to address the current housing crisis. We’ll continue to advocate for solutions to address the urgent nature of the housing crisis, and the need for more housing supply across the entire continuum. 

The following measures were included: 

Building More Affordable Housing
The government intends to support the reallocation of funding from the National Housing Co-Investment Fund’s repair stream to its new construction stream, as needed, to boost the construction of new affordable homes for Canadians. 

Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy
Budget 2023 proposes to commit an additional $4 billion to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to implement a co-developed Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.

Mortgage Lenders Code of Conduct
The federal government, through the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, is publishing a guideline to protect Canadians with mortgages who are facing exceptional circumstances. They intend to ensure that federally regulated financial institutions provide Canadians with fair and equitable access to relief measures that are appropriate for the circumstances they are facing. This includes extending amortizations, adjusting payment schedules, or authorizing lump-sum payments. Existing mortgage regulations may also allow lenders to provide a temporary mortgage amortization extension—even past 25 years. 

Flood Insurance Program
The government proposes to provide $31.7 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to Public Safety Canada and CMHC to work with the Department of Finance Canada to create a low-cost flood insurance program, aimed at protecting households at high risk of flooding and without access to adequate insurance.

Raising Awareness of Flood Risks
Budget 2023 proposes to provide $15.3 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to Public Safety Canada to create a publicly accessible online portal where Canadians can access information on their exposure to flooding.

Financialization of Housing
The federal government reiterated their commitment to tackling the financialization of housing through existing measures, including the two-year ban on foreign investment in Canadian housing, the tax on underused foreign-owned homes, taxing assignment sales and making sure properties held for less than 12 months are taxed fully. 

The government believes more could be done to ensure homes are affordable, which is why policy changes applicable to large corporate landlords could be considered to ensure affordability and fair treatment of tenants. They want to ensure that investor activity, especially among those who own a significant number of investment properties, is helping, not hurting, housing affordability and will review whether there’s a need to rebalance the housing market.

Equity in Housing
The government will consult on changes required to remove regulatory barriers for home buyers from diverse communities seeking access to alternative financing products.

Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights
The government remains committed to developing a Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights, but has heeded CREA’s warnings and understands the authority of provinces in setting these rules, stating they will work with provinces and territories to develop this plan. We will continue to engage with the government on this issue during consultations, ensuring the rights of sellers are balanced with those of buyers; asserting provincial jurisdiction in this area.

Additionally, we’ve previously highlighted a number of government housing programs and initiatives that REALTORS^® should keep in mind.

Below are several initiatives that were reiterated in the budget, including: 

• Financial institutions will be able to start offering the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA) to Canadians as of April 1, 2023;
• The government finally launched a new $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund to remove barriers and incentivize housing supply growth on March 17, 2023;
• A two-year ban on non-resident, non-Canadians purchasing residential property, amended on March 27, 2023;
• A 1% annual underused housing tax on the value of non-resident, non-Canadian owned residential property that is vacant or underused;
• A $200 million stream under the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund to develop and scale up rent-to-own projects; and
• A third round of the Rapid Housing Initiative, which is providing $1.5 billion to create new affordable housing units for Canadians in severe housing need.

As a result of our collective lobbying efforts, the attention the housing sector has received over the last few years is unprecedented. There is a lot of work that still needs to be done and we will continue to engage with the government on federal housing initiatives that impact our industry and members, ensuring REALTOR^® positions are heard. We will also continue to work with boards, associations, and REALTORS^® to present a unified approach.

As most REALTORS^® are aware, January 5 marked the official transition date to the new MPAC propertyline™ e-store. With the legacy (former) propertyline™ and BREB’s Public Records switching to a records only view until June 30, we want to ensure that users are familiar with the new interface and know how to access MPAC data through the new single-sign on process integrated directly with GeoWarehouse™ and possibly your Board’s MLS provider.

To help with user transition, MPAC has scheduled a special training webinar that it will continue to run weekly on the new propertyline™. See below for the more information, as well as upcoming dates and registration details.

Special training webinar – new propertyline™ e-store

Enhanced Assessment Data, REALTOR® Insights, and Bundle Savings –A look at the new data in GeoWarehouse and our new propertyline™ e-store

Join MPAC’s Real Estate Team for an in-depth walkthrough of the new data and propertyline™ e-store, where you will learn about:

• Enhanced data points now included with GeoWarehouse, such as new phase in and assessment details as well as site area and year built
• Our modernized interface, now integrated with a direct link in GeoWarehouse, to improve the purchasing experience
• The increased functionality of our property search module, making it easier to find specific properties, save details and search through comparable properties
• Updated reporting styles and formatting, with the addition of our free Assessment Details Report, available and included with every property
• Report Bundling that allows members to choose from a variety of bulk reporting packages and offers significant savings on the retail price for our most popular reports
• New REALTORS^® Insights to keep you informed with the latest property market data, resources, personalized support and training materials.

APRIL 2023 SCHEDULE

Earlier yesterday, the Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario’s Minister of Finance, announced Ontario’s 2023 Budget titled Building a Strong Ontario. The budget focuses heavily on strengthening Ontario’s economy and ensuring the province is investing in infrastructure to support future growth.

The government used today’s budget to introduce new policy related to mental health funding, economic success and to reiterate the action being taken through More Homes Built Faster. In this year’s budget, Ontario’s 2022-23 deficit is projected to be $2.2 billion, and the government is looking at a $1.3 billion deficit in 2023-24. OREA has summarized other highlights from Budget 2023 below:

Homelessness

• The government pledged an additional $202 million to support community organizations that are delivering supportive housing and homelessness programs, with an emphasis on Indigenous communities.

Senior Supports

• The government plans to introduce legislation that would expand the number of seniors eligible for Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) payments (these payments provide seniors with monthly payments to qualifying pensioners and are on top of the federal Old Age Security pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments).

HST Relief for New Housing Projects

• Ontario will be pushing the federal government to consider a proposal on potential HST relief for new housing projects through the form of rebates, exemptions, or deferrals in payments to encourage the construction of new rental units in the province.

Immigration:

• Ontario will be enhancing the Immigrant Nominee Program, with a $25 million investment over three years to attract more skilled workers and tradespeople to the province.

Mental Health Supports: The government will be providing an additional $425 million over three years to connect more people to mental health and addictions services, including a five per cent increase in the base funding of community-based mental health and addictions services.

More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022

As many of our leaders are aware, the Ontario Government released their latest piece of housing legislation in 2022 (the More Homes Built Faster Act).

Some of the highlights of the Act included:

• Addressing the Housing Affordability Task Force’s recommendation to build 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years in Ontario (there were 96,000 housing starts in 2022; this is 30% higher than the annual average for the past 20 years)
• Reduce government-imposed costs on new rental projects and affordable housing (OREA recommendation)
• Explore affordable homeownership programs, like rent-to-own or co-ownership models (OREA recommendation)
• Strengthening consumer protections for purchasers of new homes by doubling fines and extending building license suspensions to address unethical conduct by developers (OREA recommendation)
• Pushing back on NIMBY forces by limiting the influence of groups that oppose new housing to streamline planning approvals and get houses built faster (OREA recommendation)

OREA Analysis

The 2023 budget predicts that housing starts are projected to decline from 96,000 to 80,300 this year, dropping further to 79,300 in 2024. Accordingly, OREA will continue to work diligently and lobby on key issues to ensure there is enough housing supply to meet current and upcoming demand, including:

• Leveraging Ontario’s public lands to increase affordable housing supply.

• Encouraging the government to revisit successful housing policy, such as the Home Ownership Made Easy (HOME) plan.
  • In the 1960s, the HOME plan saw the province purchase land across Ontario and lease it to homebuyers, allowing them to own the home (but not the land) that it was on.
  • This greatly reduced down payments and resulted in getting more people into the market.
  • After five years, the homeowner could buy the land from the government, assuming full ownership.

• Going further to end exclusionary zoning province-wide
  • Under the current Act, a single-family home can be converted into a multi-unit dwelling but must conform with local zoning bylaws, meaning many conversions will still need special approvals.
  • OREA is encouraging the government to go one step further by rolling back exclusionary zoning for single-family lots to allow for the building of multiple units as-of-right.

• Continue to strengthen consumer protection in real estate with the passing of the Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA) and introduction of supporting regulations, specifically related to increasing professional training standards for REALTORS® through specialty certifications and penalizing bad actors by giving the regulator the ability to use Administrative Monetary Penalties for minor infractions.

These individuals will be appointed as industry directors by ordinary resolution at RECO’s annual general meeting on Thursday, May 25, 2023.

In the case of region 1, the winning candidate will serve a three-year term, where the candidate in second place will serve the remaining two years of a vacated position.

Region 1 (Central Ontario)

Successful nominee (three-year term):
John Lusink
Right at Home Realty

2nd place nominee (two-year term):
Katie Steinfeld
On the Block Realty Inc.

Region 2 (Western & Southern Ontario)

Successful nominee (three-year term):
Brent King
RORE

Region 3 (Eastern, Northeastern & Northern Ontario)

Successful nominee (three-year term):
Sandra Lee Marques
Keller Williams Integrity Realty, Brokerage

Here is the complete list of voting results.

The TRESA Explained page is available on RECO’s website. Information about the key changes, and bulletins on a variety of TRESA-related topics will be posted on this page as they become available. TRESA videos can be found there too.

Also, a TRESA mandatory continuing education (MCE) course is being developed.

If you have questions, please contact us at information@reco.on.ca. Include “TRESA Question” in the subject line.

Your new Member benefit, SkySlope Forms, is here.

SkySlope makes it easy to find, fill, and sign real estate forms with auto-populating data fields and embedded e-signatures. Best of all, this new tool is included in your membership dues, and it is easily accessible on the TRREB Home Page, REALM™, Stratus, and Matrix.

How to Get Started

Your first step is to set-up your profile, then confirm your email address in SkySlope. This is a mandatory step for all salespeople, administrators and unlicensed assistants.

To confirm your email, follow these steps:

1. Click on your name in the upper right corner of the SkySlope menu bar.

2. From the drop down menu, click User Profile.

3. Confirm the email address in your profile is correct. If not, enter your correct email address and click save at the bottom of the page.

Unlicensed Assistants

If you are a Member with an unlicensed assistant, contact SkySlope to link your profile to your assistant.

Transform How You Handle Forms

A Centralized Forms Library

Easily locate and access the forms in the SkySlope portal.

Data Entry Simplified

Automatically pull in property data from the MLS^® System with auto-populate technology that pre-fills matching data fields in the forms.

Built-in Electronic Signature

Get your forms signed quickly with DigiSign, the embedded e-signature tool that auto-formats the forms for digital signature.

Sign Up for Training

Learn how to get started with SkySlope, including how to navigate the dashboard with free webinars. Save your spot for the free weekly training sessions. Or, watch this training video now.

You can also visit SkySlope support to explore more tips.

OREA is excited to announce that we are officially launching a new home for REALTORS® at our 2023 AGM.

On March 2^nd, a new and improved OREA.com will become publicly available. We are thrilled to provide our Members with a site that works for them and prioritizes the OREA products and services they value most. OREA Standard Forms and guidance, advocacy, professional development, and Member discounts will be at the forefront of the site and will be more easily accessible to Members than ever before.

Some new features we’d like to highlight ahead of the launch are:

1. Personalization 
   The new OREA.com will allow Members to identify the topics that interest them most so that we can make sure they see relevant content first. Members will also be able to save content (including Standard Forms) so they can easily return to it at a later date.
2. MyAcademy
   We are very excited to also be launching MyAcademy, a professional development hub for Ontario REALTORS®. MyAcademy will house courses, webinars, tutorials, and open learning content like episodes of The Standard, YPN Master Series and REALiTY+ panel recordings.​​​​​​
3. Easy Access to the Board Portal
   We’ve also made accessing the REB Portal easier for leaders across the province. Simply login to OREA.com, select “My Account” and a link to the Board Portal will be there in the dropdown menu.

We understand that this new site is a big change from the current OREA.com so if you’d like to set up a virtual walkthrough for your members, please reach out to Samantha Morneau at samantham@orea.com.

Wishing you a great rest of your week.

Stacey Evoy
OREA President

The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA.