By Danny Kucharsky
The divorce between Quebec’s two largest boards and CREA appears to have been short-lived but the renewed marriage vows between the organizations means the relationship will be different than it was before.
After announcing their departure last month, the Montreal and Quebec City boards have reached an agreement to return as CREA members.
Details of the deal were outlined in a joint letter sent to Quebec brokers by CREA president Laura Leyser, Greater Montreal Real Estate Board president Patrick Juanéda and Quebec City Real Estate Board president Luce Fecteau. The three said the organizations operated in an “open-minded” fashion that allowed the deal to be reached.
Under the deal, listings for properties in Quebec posted by brokers not licensed by the OACIQ – Quebec’s real estate regulatory body – are being removed from Realtor.ca. Agents from outside Quebec will no longer be able to post such properties on Realtor.ca. CREA has also created a process to deal with this issue on an ongoing basis.
Juanéda and his board were upset that brokers from outside the province were allowed to list For Sale by Owner properties and flat-fee listings on Realtor.ca without being subject to Quebec regulations, which only allow Quebec properties to be sold by brokers in the province. “Ultimately, I think members are ending up with a beneficial agreement,” Juanéda told the Montreal daily La Presse.
Regulations regarding real estate brokerage are stricter in Quebec, particularly when it comes to divulging information, which is a “major problem,” Juanéda says.
As well, CREA will propose at its AGM in March that Quebec member dues be reduced to $225 in 2014 to reflect the previous credit for the national ad campaign and the fact Quebec members do not use WEBforms due to regulatory restrictions.
The proposed agreement “addresses our demands concerning issues facing the industry,” Manon Stébenne, manager, communications and public relations of the Montreal board told REM. “We firmly believe this agreement provides significant gains for brokers.”
“The fact that the parties have agreed to work together to find solutions means we are confident that a return is in our members’ best interests,” Stébenne says.
In addition, the three organizations have agreed to address issues surrounding CREA’s data distribution facility and its code of ethics.
Stébenne says the national code of ethics conflicts with that of the OACIQ and that Quebec brokers were being double-billed for services already available to them.
Montreal board members are being consulted by Internet on the agreement until Jan. 30 at noon. Quebec City members are also being consulted on the deal.
All listings from brokers belonging to those boards will remain on Realtor.ca until Jan. 31.
“It is important to mention that this agreement arose from willingness by all three presidents to find solutions in the best interest of members,” the three presidents wrote. “We believe that this agreement will be positive for all Quebec real estate brokers and hope that other Quebec boards that have left CREA will follow Quebec City’s and Montreal’s lead.”
Quebec has its own listings website, Centris.ca, which Juanéda says is superior to Realtor.ca. However, some Montreal members expressed concern that losing the ability to list on Realtor.ca would reduce exposure to potential buyers outside the province.
