Vancouver, BC – April 30, 2018. BCREA today released the following statement: As the organization representing REALTORS® in BC for more than 40 years, the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) strongly disapproves of any unethical activities that reduce housing affordability, take advantage of consumers or undermine transparency. “Such practices don’t reflect the standards that …
One often hears the phrase “timing is everything.” In a recent case,1 a pair of unfortunate buyers found that out the hard way. The buyers entered into a Contract of Purchase and Sale (CPS) to acquire a residential property. The parties used the standard form residential CPS, although no REALTORS® were involved. The purchase price …
The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) contains land where agriculture is recognized as the primary use and non-agricultural uses are restricted. The Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) is the independent administrative tribunal responsible for preserving land in the ALR. In January, the BC Minister of Agriculture created an Advisory Committee tasked to make recommendations on revitalizing the …
On February 20, the provincial government announced new tax measures to curb housing affordability in Budget 2018. Part of the measures introduced were to increase the percentage and geographical areas affected by the foreign buyer tax. Unlike the proposed speculation tax, which is still being developed and has a much longer implementation timeline, the changes …
For the complete news release, including detailed statistics, click here. Vancouver, BC – April 12, 2018. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,409 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) across the province in March, a 24.6 per cent decrease from the same month last …
Managing broker oversight is an important theme that runs through several of the recommendations from the Independent Advisory Group (IAG). The Superintendent of Real Estate has said that implementing these recommendations is a priority for his office. In late 2017 and early 2018, BCREA worked with NRG Research Group Inc. to understand the realities of …
The BC Government has announced a review of BC’s real estate regulators to ensure that consumers in the real estate market are effectively protected. While more details are still to come, this review will examine the roles and responsibilities of the two co-regulators, the Real Estate Council of British Columbia and the Office of the …
BCREA continues to advocate for a review on the impending ban on limited dual agency, which is scheduled to come into force on June 15, 2018. Limited dual agency occurs when a REALTOR® represents more than one party in a real estate transaction, such as a buyer and a seller or two or more buyers. …
Housing measures featured prominently in BC Budget 2018. Of particular concern to BCREA is the proposed speculation tax. It will target homeowners in urban areas who pay little or no income tax in BC and owners of second properties that are not long-term rentals. We believe there are opportunities to minimize the impact of this …