VANCOUVER —
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is “strongly recommending” against its members holding open houses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board, which has approximately 14,000 Metro Vancouver real estate agents as members, announced the recommendation Thursday. It has also suspended its rule requiring properties that are listed for sale to be made available for showings.
“Realtors want to do their part to help prevent the spread of illness in our communities and to meet the housing needs of residents in a responsible way,” said REBGV president Ashley Smith in a news release. “We’ve heard from some in the community who are unhappy that their realtors are not holding open houses. To those people, we ask for your understanding given the public health crisis we all face today.”
In its announcement, the REBGV urged anyone looking to buy or sell a home to “discuss COVID-19 preparedness with their realtor.”
The board recommended that its members follow the instructions of health authorities for limiting the spread of the coronavirus, including staying home if you are sick or have recently returned from travel abroad, as well as washing hands regularly and practicing “social distancing.”
It also offered specific advice to buyers and sellers of real estate during the pandemic. For sellers, the REBGV recommends taking “alternative approaches to open houses, such as virtual showings and other technology-based solutions.”
For buyers, the board recommends limiting the number of people participating in a property viewing, sanitizing hands before and after the showing and avoiding touching doorknobs and other surfaces while inside the listed property.
As of Thursday, real estate boards on Vancouver Island and in the Fraser Valley had not joined the REBGV in recommending against open houses, though they have taken other measures in response to the pandemic.
Both the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board have closed their offices to the public and cancelled events and classes for members.
A spokesperson for the VIREB told CTV News Vancouver Island the organization would be discussing the possibility of a recommendation against open houses, similar to the one made by the Greater Vancouver board, at its meeting on Friday.
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.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
