Does my agent need a RECO certificate for showings?
Yes. All real estate agents are required to carry their RECO certificate while working, in case they are asked for it to prove their registration.
Let me explain what this certificate is.
All salespeople and brokers have to be registered with the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) to legally trade in real estate in this province. Once registered, each real estate agent receives a RECO certificate, which provides proof that the person you have hired to help you buy or sell a home is authorized to do so.
The certificate states the agent’s legal name, designation as a salesperson or a broker, registration number, employer’s name and an expiry date. Agents have the option to carry a hard copy or use a RECO app on their cellphone or other electronic device.
It is worth noting that agents are more commonly asked for this when looking at condos as opposed to houses. This is because condo apartment buildings may have concierge security staff who are responsible for the entire building, including confirming the identities of all visitors.
Prior to the appointments taking place, listing brokerages are also encouraged to confirm that buyer agents are registered. The seller and their agent have the right to verify this information to protect themselves from fraud and individuals who may not be licensed real estate agents.
Aside from the certificate being proof that an agent is licensed to practice real estate, it also provides prospective buyers, like you, a level of trust in your agent’s credibility to properly support your home purchase.
How so? Well, every agent has to complete a prescribed number of educational courses before they are certified to trade in real estate. As well, once they have started working, they must continue to take courses every two years to further hone their knowledge and skills. This ensures that all agents in the industry are equipped with information and tools to support buyers and sellers with real estate transactions.
All agents are also mandated to follow the requirements outlined in the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 (REBBA). This legislation highlights consumer protection and contains a code of conduct and ethics that real estate professionals are expected to abide by.
On behalf of the government, RECO enforces REBBA and as the industry regulator, we have the authority to review and manage complaints about the conduct of real estate agents and brokerages in Ontario.
Further, agents are required to be insured, as is the case with other regulated sectors. The insurance program administered by RECO includes consumer deposit insurance. This coverage protects your deposit in the event of fraud, misappropriation of funds or insolvency, and is available under the insurance program at no cost to you.
In addition to seeing your agent’s certificate, I would recommend that you visit the Real Estate Professional Search tool on RECO’s website to confirm that the registration of the agent is active and in good standing.
If you have a question about the home buying or selling process, please email information@reco.on.ca.
Joe Richer is registrar of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO). This column is for general information purposes only and is not meant as legal or professional advice on real estate transactions. Follow RECO on Twitter: @RECOhelps
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
