This week, as part of its Political Action Committee (PAC) Days, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is hosting realtors from across Canada to meet with their local Members of Parliament to advocate for critical housing policies encouraging access to housing for all Canadians.

CREA notes that as realtors are experts on market conditions and consumer interests, they’re well-positioned to contribute to discussions around housing policy.

Much work still to be done

Though CREA has been working to encourage federal initiatives that address the ongoing housing supply crisis, the organization notes there’s still much work to be done with all levels of government and key stakeholders.

“It’s essential we strive together to advance effective policies that foster increased housing supply while ensuring affordability and accessibility for Canadians across the entire housing continuum,” says Janice Myers, CREA CEO.

This year’s housing policy & solution ideas

With housing demand increasing along with the country’s population, yet inventory and new construction not keeping pace, realtors are advocating for innovative solutions and policies to increase housing supply, such as emergency shelter and community housing, rental accommodation, homeownership and more.

This year, specific ideas include:

• Stimulating supply across the housing continuum by embracing innovation through offsite construction technologies
• Establishing a permanent mechanism to collaborate and coordinate housing policy and development, such as a national housing secretariat
• Extending HST/GST relief for non-profit-built affordable ownership housing

Re/Max recently held its annual Activate Conference in Toronto. The company notes that attendees gained valuable insights, built meaningful connections and discovered innovative strategies to elevate their business. It shares several key moments of the event:

Basketball tournament and live auction in support of Children’s Miracle Network

Five basketball teams participated in the tournament, raising $4,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Also, over $110,000 was raised for the organization during the live auction and several other breakout sessions including prize drawings. Donations raised will benefit the 13 Children’s Hospitals across Canada. The event featured CMN patient ambassadors Ava and Cash.

Alyssa Rae Johnson Fund hits $1 million milestone

Bruce Johnson, agent with Re/Max By The Bay Brokerage, and his family were also recognized for reaching the $1 million mark in donations for the Alyssa Rae Johnson Fund, benefitting the SickKids Hospital.

The network raised $165,635 at the conference to help reach this goal. Johnson was also awarded the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Community Care Award for his outstanding fundraising efforts, including his renowned Motorcycle for Miracles campaign.

Canada’s economic outlook: CIBC economist Benjamin Tal

At the event, Tal revealed that the real estate sector is facing its toughest challenge since the 1991 recession due to aggressive interest rate hikes from the Bank of Canada, which have inadvertently increased inflation through higher mortgage payments.

He predicts that interest rates will drop by 50-75 basis points this year, reaching about 2.5 per cent by the end of 2025, supporting a market recovery.

Artificial intelligence decoded

Dr. R. David Edelman, founder and director of Project TENS at MIT and former White House tech advisor, discussed artificial intelligence and its impact on our work and the world. He emphasized that these technologies can “transform our interactions,” and help improve business practices.

Arlene Dickinson: Entrepreneur, on CBC’s Dragons’ Den

Dickinson shared her entrepreneurial journey to becoming a visionary leader and influential figure in Canadian business. Despite facing numerous challenges in life, her vision, dedication and perseverance have been her guiding forces. She highlighted the importance of taking risks on yourself, regardless of fear or the opinions of others.

Coldwell Banker Canada recently announced the addition of Coldwell Banker Executives Realty to its network. The brokerage is led by Bill Hubbard and based in Vernon, in British Columbia’s interior.

The company notes Hubbard’s decision to join was a strategic one, due to Coldwell Banker’s advanced technology, progressive approach and growing presence in the Canadian market. With over 35 years of industry experience, Hubbard is forward-thinking and takes an innovative perspective.

Hubbard’s background and experience

Hubbard’s real estate career began in Alberta and continued in B.C. after he relocated in 1996. With his previous brokerage, he earned its Franchisee of the Year Award for all of Canada in 2015. His offices have consistently ranked among the top 30 in the country and received Century 21’s highest production award, the Grand Centurion.

Hubbard is also committed to community and actively supports Easter Seals Send a Kid to Summer Camp.

Business change and growth

With the shift in industry dynamics, in 2018 Hubbard restructured his business model to blend traditional practices with modern, digital-first strategies. This helped him grow his business from 55 to 160 realtors by 2024.

His brokerage now offers full-time sales coaching, training and education services, and simplified business fees.

“The changes coming at the real estate industry require brokerages and franchisors to think outside the box. Six years ago, we chose to build a hybrid business model between traditional brokerages and the new cloud-based business models.

The second step was to find a strong brand that consumers already trusted that was progressive enough to embrace our new business model. After an intense search, Coldwell Banker was clearly the brand. Our growth is proof that realtors are ready for this change,” Hubbard explains about his journey and what led to the switch.

The goal moving forward is to “cement a leading position across the eight market areas Hubbard’s offices serve in B.C.: Castlegar, Enderby, Kamloops, Maple Ridge, Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Sicamous and Vernon.”

On September 28, Louis Eliopulos, retired vice president of HomeLife Realty Services, passed away at the age of 80. Eliopoulos’ industry career spanned 50 years as a realtor, manager and corporate executive with HomeLife.

The company’s founder and CEO, Andrew Cimerman, issued a memorial announcement commemorating Eliopulos. He notes the early role Eliopulos played in shaping HomeLife and that he wasn’t just a leader but also a mentor and friend to many.

‘Louis had a commitment to excellence, a passion for real estate and a desire to help others’ 

“Louis had a commitment to excellence, a passion for real estate and a desire to help others,” Cimerman writes. “These were all qualities that led to his success within our organization and a legacy that continues to inspire HomeLife members.”

He concludes with thoughts and prayers to Eliopulos’ family and loved ones and, “He will be greatly missed. With a million thanks, may you rest in peace, my friend.”

Details on the visitation/funeral can be found here.

This week, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) announced the launch of its Canadian Realtors Care Award 2025. The award recognizes the long-lasting impact of realtors nationwide who dedicate their time and efforts to charities and causes important to them.

Nominations are now open to recognize a realtor who has played a vital role in lifting their communities. The recipient of this year’s award will be announced at CREA’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

10th anniversary of the award

To celebrate the award’s 10th anniversary, the recipient will receive a $10,000 contribution to their charity of choice in their honour.

Latest recipient and past nominees

Since 2016, 10 realtors from five provinces have received the award, including 2024’s recipient, Kelly Byers of Woodstock, Ontario.

“It feels awesome to know that we are able to do so much for our community and for those who are struggling,” says Byers. “And it’s pretty cool to see how many realtors step up year after year.”

The award has also helped highlight the many stories of realtors across Canada who give back through their own charitable endeavors. Past nominees include Crystal Hung of Vancouver and Chris Dunlop of Toronto.

Nominations for the Canadian Realtors Care Award 2025 are open until Sunday, December 1, 2024. Learn more and nominate a realtor here.

REVEL Realty, an independent real estate brokerage with headquarters based in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is excited to announce that The Prior Group has accepted an invitation to join forces with REVEL for the purpose of REVELutionizing real estate in West Toronto and surrounding areas.

Led by Michael Prior, who has been servicing the West Toronto quadrant for close to 10 years, The Prior Group has created a real estate reputation based on a close knit family philosophy bonded by a love for real estate and serving those with similar passions. Prior leads his group with a clear vision — live the life of your dreams by unlocking the investment potential of home ownership. Aligned with REVEL’s similar principles, The Prior Group finds a likeminded home at one of the fastest growing brokerage brands in the province.

A move reflecting ‘my commitment to growth, education and helping other agents succeed’

“I’m excited to join REVEL! The brokerage’s culture, which focuses on fostering agent growth and community involvement, is a perfect match for my mission to support both the agents on my team’s growth and the broader agent community. The flexibility to create my own add-on programs for agents, tailored to the local market, meant I could adapt the existing programs at REVEL and add my own touch, ensuring the success of agents around me,” Prior explains.

The hybrid model between brick and mortar and virtual provides modern services along with affordable brokerage splits. It’s the ideal environment for agents to thrive. Finally, I was also drawn to the modern branding and the variety of opportunities available, such as REVshare and mentorship programs, which sealed the deal for me. This move reflects my commitment to growth, education and helping other agents succeed.”

A transformative partnership with great promise and ideal extension of REVEL’s expansion pursuits

An alliance with REVEL in West Toronto provides an ideal extension of REVEL’s recent expansion pursuits, which have stretched a reach as far as Timmins and Manitoulin in 2024. The Prior Group will establish a gateway of influence and a bolstering of the REVEL network, which has expanded to four offices alone in REVEL’s 10 year anniversary in business.

REVEL regards this most recent alliance as a transformative partnership, and one that inspires growth and agent membership in the Greater Toronto Area.

“We are honoured to have the reputation, credibility and energy of MIchael Prior and The Prior Group join REVEL. We share business values and goals, as well as ambitions to grow and offer our creative energy to our clients and colleagues,” explains founder of REVEL, Ryan Serravalle. “Michael and his team understand the importance of family values as they apply to growing a business. Together they have created a special bond and we appreciate these homegrown values embedded in their mission statement.”

REVEL will welcome The Prior Group to leverage REVEL’s focus on education, coaching, training, mentorship and creative marketing, not to mention REVEL’s top 10 branding influence in the province of Ontario, in order to create opportunities for agents, affiliations and client networks throughout the province and beyond. REVEL sees great promise welcoming The Prior Group into the family and insists that the personality and authenticity of the team will remain intact and primed for more growth and prosperity in this next phase of its business trajectory.

“We can’t express enough how proud we become when we connect with agents, brokers and teams that share our core principles of business,” adds Nicki Serravalle, founder of REVEL. “At REVEL, and as we celebrate 10 reputable years in the real estate business this year, we are ecstatic to embrace The Prior Group with the confidence that we can achieve more together based on our family, and team-first approach to real estate.”

A credible and promising option for all-star agents, brokers & teams

From its inaugural launch in 2014, founders of REVEL, Ryan and Nicki Serravalle, have built an alluring brand that has inspired a demographic of real estate professionals, like The Invidiata Team, who aspire to conduct business in a REVELutionary manner. Attracting some of the highest selling teams in the nation, while developing a contingent of industry-leading agents through its innovative REVEL Ed and REVEL Mentorship programs, REVEL has established itself as a credible and promising option for reputable real estate agents, brokers, and all-star teams like The Prior Group, who are seeking to take the next step in their career paths: leadership, ownership of, or partnership with a REVEL office.

In this ambitious tradition, Michael Prior will lead The Prior Group under the REVEL umbrella as a head coach. REVEL expects to foster more growth for The Prior Group and provide a support system conducive to sales success and agent development.

“We respect Michael and his team as intelligent, ambitious business people with a progressive vision that matches the energy and spirit we have tried to infuse into every one of our expansion offices,” explains Nicki Serravalle. “The Prior Group is a proven and reputable real estate name and this reputation of elite client service harmonizes with our philosophy and ability to attract strong local professionals throughout the province.”

Never a brokerage to back down from growth, provision of opportunity or expansion, even in tough times, REVEL has always created its own space in competitive real estate markets throughout Ontario. As a result of this commitment to creating opportunities for like-minded professionals, the brand continues to attract top-performing and community-respected agents as well as legacy teams like The Prior Group, who look to diversify their business, real estate and investment interests through leadership of a REVEL office.

Editor’s note: As of October 1, 2024, the Motorcycle Ride for Charity raised $53,818.10, which surpassed the ORCF’s original goal of $52,000.

On September 12, 2024, the Ontario Realtors Care Foundation (ORCF) is holding its 17th Motorcycle Ride for Charity.

With a mission to enable and empower realtors across Ontario to fundraise in support of shelter-related causes in the communities in which they live and work, ORCF funds registered charities that improve the quality of Ontarians’ lives by providing refuge, a haven or another type of protection from the effects of hunger, the elements, abuse, disabilities and illness.

The event

Participants will choose to ride one of two routes this September. At the end, they’ll meet to end their day together in Peterborough over dinner.

While the full itinerary is still coming, the Eastern and Western routes are:

• Ottawa — Smiths Falls — Kingston — Peterborough
• Kitchener — Barrie — Peterborough 

Previous years help but need still great

In 2023, ORCF granted out over $1.8 million dollars in funds to over 170 organizations to support individuals who need it the most. This included the Motorcycle Ride for Charity’s best year ever, when it raised approximately $49,000.

And the need is great. In Ontario:

• 45 per cent of tenant households spend 30 per cent or more of their total income on shelter — the highest rate in Canada.
• Food bank use has increased 42 per cent over the past three years and a third of those visitors are using this service for the first time.

Source: Association of Municipalities of Ontario

Goal for 2024

This year, ORCF has set an ambitious goal to raise $52,000, which it will use to support shelter-related causes in Ontario.

“In 2023, the Foundation made a major impact on shelter and food insecurity in Ontario by donating $1.8 million to over 170 charitable organizations. But the need is great, and we can do more,” Shannon Ketelaars, ORCF’s executive director, explains.

She notes that skyrocketing housing costs and food inflation are causing more households to choose between feeding their families or putting a roof over their heads. “Now more than ever, it’s important that our community stays connected and comes together to build awareness, raise much-needed funds and discuss the positive impact that realtors and our industry can make through the work of the Ontario Realtors Care Foundation,” expresses Ketelaars.

Get more information, register to ride or pledge a rider here.

Image: Ontario Realtors Care Foundation, event final stop and dinner

Last week, Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) announced two new members of its team. The organization has appointed Ashutosh “Ash” Anil as its first-ever chief membership officer (CMO), and Craig Munn as its chief corporate development officer (CCDO), also a new role.

CMO role ‘signals our long-term commitment to providing an innovative and superior customer service experience’

The CMO is a new senior leadership position created to help GVR identify the tools and technology, systems and process improvements needed to service over 15,000 realtor members and 500 real estate brokerages.

“The establishment of the CMO position signals our long-term commitment to providing an innovative and superior customer service experience to our members day in and out,” Jeff King, GVR’s CEO shares.

What Anil brings to the CMO role

Anil commenced the role on September 23 and is responsible for the strategy, direction and service enhancement for the MLS, professional development, member services, events and professional standards areas.

He brings extensive experience leading customer experience operations and transformations across industries and countries, including Canada, the United States, India and the United Kingdom. Anil has worked in various sectors including telecom, retail, public service and technology for brands like Three Telecom UK, Rogers Communications, Best Buy Canada, Stern Partners, Technical Safety BC and Hughes Network Systems.

“We are excited to welcome Ash to our leadership team. He brings a wealth of experience and talent to this newly developed role within the organization,” King says.

‘We need talented people exploring new partnerships & other opportunities that allow us to disrupt, evolve & innovate’

As CCDO, Munn will help lead strategy implementation and stakeholder engagement, pursue key business opportunities and build and strengthen GVR partnerships and relationships across the profession and business community. 

“The purpose of this new leadership role within GVR is to ensure we’re dedicating the time and resources to think differently about our business. Times and conditions are changing, and we need talented people exploring new partnerships and other opportunities that allow us to disrupt, evolve and innovate our products and services,” King says.

What Munn brings to the CCDO role

Munn most recently served GVR with distinction as the vice president of communication and events, for which his responsibilities included internal and external communication, media and public relations, content strategy, issues management and stakeholder engagement. 

Prior to joining GVR, he worked as the press and public affairs officer at the British Consulate General in Vancouver and a reporter for newspapers across the Lower Mainland.

“Craig is an astute and results-focused business leader who will play a pivotal role in helping us drive toward (our) goals in the immediate and long term,” notes King.

Photo: GVR

On September 16, the Ontario government announced a formal consultation process to implement pay-on-demand surety bonds as an alternative to Letters of Credit (LOCs) for home builders.

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) recognizes this is a significant and progressive step forward for the housing industry and notes its appreciation for the efforts and commitment of Minister Calandra and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to modernize how new housing approvals are administered.

‘Precisely the type of innovative regulatory updates we need to effectively increase our housing supply’

OHBA has advocated for this financial security tool to help home builders access capital for new housing projects for years, as it will streamline the construction of more homes in Ontario. In a release, the organization says it’s proud that its efforts were able to highlight the benefits of surety bonds as an effective tool, and it’s eager to collaborate with municipalities to facilitate its adoption.

“This is a great step forward for Ontario’s housing industry and the issue of housing affordability,” OHBA CEO Scott Andison, who played a significant role in moving the initiative forward and worked closely with Minister Calandra and Municipal staff, says.

“Allowing builders to access capital held up in LOCs and reinvest it into new projects is precisely the type of innovative regulatory updates we need to effectively increase our housing supply.”

What’s next

A key focus for the organization during this consultation will be to ensure that builders currently using LOCs can easily transition to surety bonds, freeing up essential capital for new projects.

As part of the legislative framework established under Bill 109 and Bill 185, the government is exploring regulations to authorize using surety bonds for securing municipal obligations tied to land-use planning approvals.

The consultation is open for 30 days, concluding on October 16, and OHBA will be submitting feedback on behalf of its industry and the 28 local associations across Ontario.

Sotheby’s International Realty Canada recently announced the appointment of Erin Henry as managing broker for the company’s Kingsway (Toronto) and Mississauga offices. This happens as the company continues its expansion across Ontario.

‘Fortunate to have leaders of this calibre who understand strategic growth & human connections that drive our industry’

“Throughout her over 30-year real estate career, Erin has shown an unwavering commitment to professional excellence and to being a source of support and inspiration for those around her,” says Don Kottick, president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.

“She is a very welcome addition to our Ontario management team, which is a beacon of leadership excellence and expertise in Canadian real estate. Beyond their expertise, they are a team that is genuinely passionate about the success of every agent in our network. We are fortunate to have leaders of this calibre who understand the importance of both strategic growth and the human connections that drive our industry forward.”

Henry’s experience and community commitment

Prior to joining Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, Henry was senior managing broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd. Brokerage and an award-winning realtor, specializing in residential sales in Central Toronto, West Toronto, Mississauga and Oakville. She shares her expertise as a featured expert realtor and writer for Adamo Nest, Toronto’s condominium living magazine.

Henry also founded The Children’s Charter for Compassion, a global non-profit organization dedicated to teaching kindness and compassion to young people, and co-founded Artistic Bridges, an international initiative encouraging youth to express their dreams and perspectives on world peace through the creative arts.