Good news from the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board. The local resale market got off to its best start in four years, with a 10 per cent increase in sales across all housing types.
There were 10,600 sales during the first three months of 2016, compared to 9,645 a year earlier. Sales were up across the Greater Montreal area, which is divided into five different census area.
Revenue properties with two to five units saw the biggest jump, up 20 per cent. That represented 958 properties sold. Condo sales were up 12 per cent, though prices edged down 1 per cent compared to a year earlier. Single home sales rose by six per cent, to 6,449 units.
The average prices of a Montreal home rose to $285,000, a two-per-cent bump. That average prices takes into account all sales from unrenovated bungalow in the furthest reaches of the 450 to the grandest mansion sold in Westmount. Obviously, there have been many more of the former than there were of the latter. Don't takes the average prices as an indication of what a house will cost you on the island.
The first-quarter results represent the seventh consecutive quarterly increase since 2000, when the board began keeping trimestrial statistics in 2000. Good times!
There were 34,208 properies listed for sale in the Montreal area, down five per cent compared to a year earlier.
Showing posts with label GMREB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GMREB. Show all posts
Friday, April 15, 2016
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
December Housing Sales Up vs 2012 & 2013
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A total of 2,203 homes were sold in the final month of '14, a 9-per-cent increase over the same month in 2013, which, if we're being honest, was a pretty crappy year for the local housing scene. (I am looking at you Pauline Marois and your trio of ill-behaved frat boys, Drainville, Peladeau and Lisée.)
It is no secret that the housing market took a dive during the Parti Québeois' 18-month chair-warming tenure as government. That took care of the final quarter of 2012, all of 2013 and the first bit of 2014. Happily, sales began to regain equilibrium in the second half of last year.
The North Shore and Laval led the charge, registering an eye-popping 26 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Sales were up on the island by 8 per cent and 4 per cent on the South Shore.
Somewhat surprisingly, sales of both single-family homes and condominiums rose by 9 per cent and plex sales rose by 10 per cent. This despite an abundance of new and resale condos available. The median home prices remained unchanged at $284,000, while condo prices inched up by two per cent.
The number of active listings also rose December over December by 8 per cent. More choice for everyone!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Montreal Real Estate Board says Buh-bye to Cdn Real Estate Association
The Greater Montreal Real Estate Board, Canada's second largest, has served notice that it will withdraw from the Canadian Real Estate Association at the end of 2013. Quebec members pay about $3.4 million in CREA dues annually.
The GMREB represents 10,000 or so brokers, roughly a tenth of all CREA's membership. The national organization represents boards across Canada. The two have been at odds for years, with Montreal complaining about CREA's weak defense of Quebeckers' interests, spending, dues increases and the services members receive in return.
The big item is CREA's unwillingness or inability to block "for sale by owner" (FSBO) properties from the realtor.ca system in Quebec. These listings are legal in other jurisdictions but not in Quebec, where only brokers licensed through the provincial licensing agency, the OACIQ, are allowed to market and sell properties on behalf of a third party. This makes Quebec different from the rest of Canada.
Quebec's 12 boards were worried enough about the possibility of FSBOs being listed on the realtor.ca that they launched their own property-search website, centris.ca. It has asked CREA to default to Centris rather than Realtor for all Quebec property searches. So far, no response.
In a letter to members, the GMREB included links to two Montreal area FSBO listings recently posted to realtor.ca through a Toronto listing service affiliated with the Toronto Real Estate Board. That back door move bypasses Quebec's licensing and professional oversight requirements.
You can see how there would be irritation and hurt feelings, right?
But FSBOs aren't the only irritant. Montreal is also reluctant to take part in a national data distribution system that would put information collected by GMREB members into the hands of cut-rate sales firms and FSBOs. Data like average selling prices, days on the market, etc is gold to real estate professionals and, presumably to those who would feast on our labour. We've paid to have it collated by our association. We aren't about to give it away to the Du Proprios of the world.
There are other issues, as well. CREA wants to create a national code of ethics for real estate professionals. GMREB opposes the idea because its primary role is to protect and promote its membership. Quebec brokers are bound by a code of ethics administered by the OACIQ. The OACIQ fields complaints from the public, investigates, adjudicates and punishes brokers who break the rules. Best of all, every broker pays dues to maintain the agency even though we get no benefit from it. Needless to say, GMREB has no interest in paying for the implementation of a second code of ethics.
Finally, GMREB has been asking questions about where the CREA dues end up. Remember, this is Quebec, where we know a thing or two about expense-account padding, lavish dinners, cocktail parties, exotic meeting locales etc etc. Quebec's federation of real estate boards complained about lavish spending and duplication of services. For its part. GMREB managed to claw back $1.5 million in CREA dues in the last two years and has used the money to promote centris.ca and for other advertising tailored to the Quebec market.
Talks have been ongoing, but now the time of talking seems to be over. CREA is having a special general meeting later this month in Vancouver. According to the Montreal board, despite promises to the contrary, none of Quebec's concerns are addresses on the meeting's agenda.
Unless something changes between now and then, Quebec will cut itself loose from CREA's mothership. Says GMREB president Patrick Juanèda:
The board reserves the right to change its mind, especially if CREA responds to its concerns at the upcoming general meeting. Stay tuned.
************************************************************
While we're on the topic of people being annoyed by the way in which their dues are spent, there's a petition going around that takes issue with the way the OACIQ is spending brokers' money.
The straw that broke the camel's back is a recently announced mandatory course for all real estate brokers on the importance of "collaboration". Collaboration is what happens when one broker calls another broker to see a property. If you show it, you are collaborating. If you ignore the call or multiple calls, you are not collaborating. Pretty simple. The OACIQ is requiring all license holders to take take this 2-hour on-line course at a cost of $150 each.
$150 each and they don't even have to rent a room, put on a pot of coffee or lay out a tray of danish. That's an easy $2.6 million for the licensing agency. That's on top of the $16.3 million it collected in annual dues from saps like me in 2012.
People see this training as little more than a cash grab. They are concerned that if the OACIQ gets away with this it will implement more and more "imporatant" mandatory training at extra cost to the dues payers. It's the Quebec way, right? Can't balance your budget? Raise fees! Implement surcharges! Create a new tax! Easy money, right? The English version of the petition has 450+ signatures. The French version, nearly 2,900.
Here's the petition.
The GMREB represents 10,000 or so brokers, roughly a tenth of all CREA's membership. The national organization represents boards across Canada. The two have been at odds for years, with Montreal complaining about CREA's weak defense of Quebeckers' interests, spending, dues increases and the services members receive in return.
The big item is CREA's unwillingness or inability to block "for sale by owner" (FSBO) properties from the realtor.ca system in Quebec. These listings are legal in other jurisdictions but not in Quebec, where only brokers licensed through the provincial licensing agency, the OACIQ, are allowed to market and sell properties on behalf of a third party. This makes Quebec different from the rest of Canada.
Quebec's 12 boards were worried enough about the possibility of FSBOs being listed on the realtor.ca that they launched their own property-search website, centris.ca. It has asked CREA to default to Centris rather than Realtor for all Quebec property searches. So far, no response.
In a letter to members, the GMREB included links to two Montreal area FSBO listings recently posted to realtor.ca through a Toronto listing service affiliated with the Toronto Real Estate Board. That back door move bypasses Quebec's licensing and professional oversight requirements.
You can see how there would be irritation and hurt feelings, right?
But FSBOs aren't the only irritant. Montreal is also reluctant to take part in a national data distribution system that would put information collected by GMREB members into the hands of cut-rate sales firms and FSBOs. Data like average selling prices, days on the market, etc is gold to real estate professionals and, presumably to those who would feast on our labour. We've paid to have it collated by our association. We aren't about to give it away to the Du Proprios of the world.
There are other issues, as well. CREA wants to create a national code of ethics for real estate professionals. GMREB opposes the idea because its primary role is to protect and promote its membership. Quebec brokers are bound by a code of ethics administered by the OACIQ. The OACIQ fields complaints from the public, investigates, adjudicates and punishes brokers who break the rules. Best of all, every broker pays dues to maintain the agency even though we get no benefit from it. Needless to say, GMREB has no interest in paying for the implementation of a second code of ethics.
Finally, GMREB has been asking questions about where the CREA dues end up. Remember, this is Quebec, where we know a thing or two about expense-account padding, lavish dinners, cocktail parties, exotic meeting locales etc etc. Quebec's federation of real estate boards complained about lavish spending and duplication of services. For its part. GMREB managed to claw back $1.5 million in CREA dues in the last two years and has used the money to promote centris.ca and for other advertising tailored to the Quebec market.
Talks have been ongoing, but now the time of talking seems to be over. CREA is having a special general meeting later this month in Vancouver. According to the Montreal board, despite promises to the contrary, none of Quebec's concerns are addresses on the meeting's agenda.
Unless something changes between now and then, Quebec will cut itself loose from CREA's mothership. Says GMREB president Patrick Juanèda:
Your Board of Directors has evaluated the situation carefully and considers that, at this time, the risks and disadvantages outweigh the benefits of our membership in CREA. It is important to note that the code of ethics and data distribution rules are already in place. If we stay in CREA, we must ensure that we implement the necessary structures and have all of our members comply with them.
The board reserves the right to change its mind, especially if CREA responds to its concerns at the upcoming general meeting. Stay tuned.
************************************************************
While we're on the topic of people being annoyed by the way in which their dues are spent, there's a petition going around that takes issue with the way the OACIQ is spending brokers' money.
The straw that broke the camel's back is a recently announced mandatory course for all real estate brokers on the importance of "collaboration". Collaboration is what happens when one broker calls another broker to see a property. If you show it, you are collaborating. If you ignore the call or multiple calls, you are not collaborating. Pretty simple. The OACIQ is requiring all license holders to take take this 2-hour on-line course at a cost of $150 each.
$150 each and they don't even have to rent a room, put on a pot of coffee or lay out a tray of danish. That's an easy $2.6 million for the licensing agency. That's on top of the $16.3 million it collected in annual dues from saps like me in 2012.
People see this training as little more than a cash grab. They are concerned that if the OACIQ gets away with this it will implement more and more "imporatant" mandatory training at extra cost to the dues payers. It's the Quebec way, right? Can't balance your budget? Raise fees! Implement surcharges! Create a new tax! Easy money, right? The English version of the petition has 450+ signatures. The French version, nearly 2,900.
Here's the petition.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Agreement with the Competition Bureau Ratified by CREA
Members of the Canadian Real Estate Association have aceepted the agreement negotiated by CREA and the federal Competition Bureau with regards to access to the Multiple Listing Service.
I haven't seen the whole agreement yet but the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board has just issued a press release highlighting what it considers the main points.
Here's what jumps out at me. The GMREB is making a point about the role and responsibility of agents in the real estate transaction. It looks like vendors will be able to post their properties on MLS, but they will still have to go through an agent to do it.
Some agents may choose to offer this service at a discounted rate but A) they still won't be paid until after the deal is concluded. No cash up front. B) Agents will still be responsible for the accuracy of the information on the MLS listing. Agents will still have to provide accurate tax and evaluation information, cadastral numbers and other pertinent listing details.
In conclusion, the board reminds its agents that they/we are bound by the terms of the Brokerage Act, Quebec legislation ratified by the National Assembly. The act says that agents have an obligation to honestly and faithfully represent the interests of their clients. That obligation means that I can't just list your property and then leave the rest to you, the client. I can't waive my responsibility to you, even if all I've agreed to do is let you list your house under my name.
UPDATE
I'm not feeling the love. Here's a pithy comment from some disgruntled - is there any other kind? - Internet commentator on the Globe and Mail's site.
I haven't seen the whole agreement yet but the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board has just issued a press release highlighting what it considers the main points.
As the GMREB has already indicated, this agreement will not have a significant impact on the way that real estate brokerage is practiced in Québec, for the following reasons:· It does not give the public direct access to the MLS ® system or to the centris.ca ™ and realtor.ca websites; the MLS ® system remains a service that is reserved for members of a real estate board;· It does not require real estate brokerage agencies to change their business models;· It does not change the fact that the listing broker is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained in a real estate listing and in the MLS ® system ; your obligation to comply with the Québec Real Estate Brokerage Act remains unchanged;· It does not preclude the Boards or CREA from having rules for the efficient operation of an MLS ® system, provided that these rules are not contrary to the agreement;· It does not impact compensation.The fundamental point is that CREA and real estate boards/associations cannot prevent or discriminate against "mere postings" or against real estate broker members who offer mere postings.The GMREB has never restricted this type of business model and has never discriminated against others in this regard. We can assure you, however, that the GMREB will continue to make every effort to ensure the accuracy of information published in the MLS ® system so that consumers are well served and the professional image of real estate brokers is enhanced. The quality of the information found in the MLS ® system is what sets us apart from "for sale by owner" websites.Finally, the agreement stipulates that seller contact information is limited to the member-to-member portion of an MLS ® system and recognizes seller contact information will not be published on centris.ca ™ and realtor.ca.As a real estate broker, you are still responsible for providing advice to your clients, and you still have the obligation to share compensation with the selling broker as well as inform sellers that they need to pay compensation to selling brokers.This agreement reached with the Competition Bureau concludes the litigation between CREA and the Competition Bureau, and ensures that the Bureau waives further legal action against CREA for "anti-competitive practices". The agreement will be in force for 10 years.
Here's what jumps out at me. The GMREB is making a point about the role and responsibility of agents in the real estate transaction. It looks like vendors will be able to post their properties on MLS, but they will still have to go through an agent to do it.
Some agents may choose to offer this service at a discounted rate but A) they still won't be paid until after the deal is concluded. No cash up front. B) Agents will still be responsible for the accuracy of the information on the MLS listing. Agents will still have to provide accurate tax and evaluation information, cadastral numbers and other pertinent listing details.
In conclusion, the board reminds its agents that they/we are bound by the terms of the Brokerage Act, Quebec legislation ratified by the National Assembly. The act says that agents have an obligation to honestly and faithfully represent the interests of their clients. That obligation means that I can't just list your property and then leave the rest to you, the client. I can't waive my responsibility to you, even if all I've agreed to do is let you list your house under my name.
UPDATE
I'm not feeling the love. Here's a pithy comment from some disgruntled - is there any other kind? - Internet commentator on the Globe and Mail's site.
Realturds have replaced lawyers as the least respected vocation, for very good reasons. The sooner this group of clowns go the way of the dodo bird, the better.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Bun Fight at the GMREB Corral Yields its First Crumb
It looks like Beausejour is falling on his sword after making some rather ill-considered remarks to La Presse last month about the impact Quebec's new brokerage act will have on the industry. Among other, things, he said the new laws governing the business will help "professionalize" the industry and put and end to the "époque des peddlers".
Nice!
You can imagine how well this sat with many of the 10,500 members of the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board. The GMREB is a business group whose only purpose in life is to promote the practice of real estate in the metropolitan area and to operate the MLS system for local agents.
The Beauséjour interview went on to make good and valid points about changes to the brokerage act that were five years in the making and why the public should care, but the use of the word "peddler" was an insult too far for some. Was it too much to hope that Beauséjour, whose salary is paid by agents, would advocate for agents without besmirching them?
A petition demanding Beausejour's resignation circulated on the Internet and was followed by a letter delivered by bailiff demanding the same.
The board of the GMREB didn't much like that and sicced lawyers, again paid for by the members, on the petition writers. The board then sent out a communiqué to the membership:
"Your Board of Directors reviewed this issue and while also disappointed with the tone of the article, realized that one cannot control content in a newspaper article. Also, given that the CEO has given over 1,000 excellent interviews over the course of 11 years, the Board of Directors has unanimously decided to stand in support of the CEO who has always had the industry’s best interests at heart. This viewpoint and support are also openly shared by the Board of Directors of the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards. Each and everyone of these people, on both Boards and who are my colleagues volunteering on your behalf, are 100 per cent in support of the CEO. We publicly stand behind him and will not allow him to resign, nor does he have any intention of doing so.
As a matter of fact, we are all, to say the least, dismayed and frankly appalled at the tactics being used by some people to undermine an individual who is held in the highest regard by our industry.
According to our lawyers, there are potential severe legal consequences to these latest tactics. Therefore, our solicitors have sent a warning letter to the petition website, to request that the petition be retired because it is potentially defamatory . . . "
That was on June 4th. Beausejour's departure was announced today in a terse three-sentence communiqué signed by Patrick Juanéda, president of the GMREB's board of directors.
In his leter (available in French only, ahem!) Beauséjour noted the radical changes afoot in the real estate sector, the entry of new players and the insecurity that is causing some agents. Having taken the GMREB as far as he can in the last 10 years, it has become apparent that it is time for a new leader to lead the organization forward, he said.
Maybe that's all there is to it, but I suspect Mr. Beauséjour was feeling the heat from the rank and file. As the old saying goes, we wish him well in all his future endeavors.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Pent-Up Demand Propelled a Busy July for Montreal Real Estate
July is usually considered the dog days of Montreal's resale market. With so many buyers and sellers focused on finding a place and moving by almighty July 1, business tends to tail of for the rest of the month and everyone heads off for a well-earned vacation, or to recuperate after helping a friend move a sectional sofa into a third-floor walk-up.
Not this year!
Housing resales across greater Montreal rose by 19 per cent last month, compared to July, 2008. Median home prices rose by 7 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier.
In reality, I think the sales increase could be pinned on pent-up demand. The real estate market got off to a slow start this year. Buyers usually start kicking tires in early February with an eye towards closing the sale sometime in mid June. This year, sales were down in February, March and April before recovering in May and June. July's increase was an example of pent-up demand in action.
For a period of about seven months the Montreal housing market decided to wait and see. The terrible headlines from south of the border and points west put homeowners on edge and made buyers clutch their wallets a little tighter.
Thank goodness for the first-time buyers, who recognized that low interest rates and steady prices meant great deals were to be had.
Here's the breakdown of sales on the island of Montreal, courtesy of my industry overlords at the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board.
July 2009
Active listings: 7,695 (-6 per cent)
Total sales: 1,325 (+19 per cent)
Single-family: 454 (+23 per cent)
Condominium: 930 (+17 per cent)
Plexes 2-5 units: 275 (+16 per cent)
Volume of sales: $448,600,429 (+20 per cent)
Overall sales still trail 2008, but with recessionary jitters hopefully safe in our rear-view mirrors, I'm looking forward to finishing the year strong.
Not this year!
Housing resales across greater Montreal rose by 19 per cent last month, compared to July, 2008. Median home prices rose by 7 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier.
In reality, I think the sales increase could be pinned on pent-up demand. The real estate market got off to a slow start this year. Buyers usually start kicking tires in early February with an eye towards closing the sale sometime in mid June. This year, sales were down in February, March and April before recovering in May and June. July's increase was an example of pent-up demand in action.
For a period of about seven months the Montreal housing market decided to wait and see. The terrible headlines from south of the border and points west put homeowners on edge and made buyers clutch their wallets a little tighter.
Thank goodness for the first-time buyers, who recognized that low interest rates and steady prices meant great deals were to be had.
Here's the breakdown of sales on the island of Montreal, courtesy of my industry overlords at the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board.
July 2009
Active listings: 7,695 (-6 per cent)
Total sales: 1,325 (+19 per cent)
Single-family: 454 (+23 per cent)
Condominium: 930 (+17 per cent)
Plexes 2-5 units: 275 (+16 per cent)
Volume of sales: $448,600,429 (+20 per cent)
Overall sales still trail 2008, but with recessionary jitters hopefully safe in our rear-view mirrors, I'm looking forward to finishing the year strong.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Fewer Sales But Higher Prices
The Greater Montreal Real Estate Board has just released its March sales numbers. It's a mixed bag, but we'll take it!
MLS sales for the month were down 12 per cent compared to March, 2008. Still, that's an improvement over February, when sales declined 30 per cent, or January, when sales were off by 37 per cent.
Despite the decline in transacations and a growing inventory of properties, prices are holding steady. The average single-home price rose by 1 per cent, while the average price of a condo rose by 2 per cent and the average plex (2- to 5 units) rose by 3 per cent last month.
Not all parts of greater Montreal fared the same during March. Sales were down by 4 per cent in Laval, 11 per cent on Montreal island, 14 per cent on the South Shore and a whopping 27 per cent in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, off the western tip of the island.
I'm curious about the large dip in Vaudreuil Soulanges. The area has seen a tremendous build up in recent years, perhaps there's surplus inventory of new construction putting pressure on the resale side. Maybe fear about the return of $1.50 a litre gasoline has people rethinking life in the far distant 450. Maybe it's a one-month anomoly thay will right itself next month.
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