A real estate brokerage has suspended a Vaughan-based realtor who was allegedly behind a social media post that appeared to make light of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The post was made over the weekend on the Facebook, X, and Instagram accounts belonging to Vadim Vilensky, the broker of record and CEO of Realtron Vadim Vilensky Realty.
It was titled “Coming soon to the market” followed by two laughing-face emojis and includes a photo of several buildings in Gaza that were destroyed by bombs.
That image is overlaid by the following text: “Off market.130 square miles. Ocean front lot. No utility. No power/water.”
The post has since been removed and Vilensky’s accounts on the social media platforms appear to have been deleted or disabled. CP24.com has, however, reviewed multiple screengrabs of the initial posts.
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7 more than 4,000 people on both sides of the conflict have died and the United Nations has warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“RE/MAX Canada deeply disagrees with the actions and sentiments of Mr. Vilensky. Our business is a franchise organization made up of hundreds of independently owned and operated real estate offices, and each RE/MAX broker and agent is an independent contractor, including Mr. Vilensky,” the company wrote in a statement provided to CP24.com.
“The franchise owners that Mr. Vilensky works under are aware of this matter and they are addressing it directly, as we continue to hold our franchisees to the highest standards.”
In a follow-up email, RE/MAX told CP24.com that Re/MAX Realtron has suspended Vilensky “pending further investigation.”
A screengrab of a now-deleted social media post by Vadim Vilensky, the broker of record and CEO of Vaughan-based Realtron Vadim Vilensky Realty.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, which represents more than 73,000 licensed real estate brokers and salespersons in and around the Greater Toronto Area, said it is aware of the social media posts in question and has launched a “formal Professional Standards investigation.”
“We are dealing with it according to our By-Law, rules and Code of Conduct as there is no place for intolerance or insensitivity during these concerning times in global affairs,” Paul Baron, TRREB President, said in a statement provided to CP24.com.
“The industry regulator, the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), should also look into the matter.”
In a statement posted online, RECO said that it is aware of the post and is “investigating.”
“As this is already under investigation, additional complaints on the same issue are not necessary for RECO to proceed with its process,” the provincial real estate professional regulator wrote.
CP24.com has made repeated attempts to contact Vilensky directly for comment through both phone and email, but had not received a response as of publication.
In a message that appears to have been shared on his now deleted Facebook account, Vilensky did apologize for posting the image, which he described as “insensitive and wrong.”
“I am sorry to those that it offended. In my hurt, I didn’t realize the hurt it would cause others and shortly after I posted, I realized the mistake I made and removed it,” the post, which was shared with CP24.com by a source, read.
On Tuesday, an online petition that calls for the revocation of Vilensky’s real estate license was created.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, upwards of 7,000 people have signed it.
Scores of people have also taken to social media to denounce Vilensky’s post.
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.
A screengrab of a now-deleted social media post by Vadim Vilensky, the broker of record and CEO of Vaughan-based Realtron Vadim Vilensky Realty.
