There are only two months until our membership, and five other Board memberships, vote on REALTORS® of BC and the future of real estate in our province.
This is a significant proposal with many moving parts (some of which are still being developed, tinkered with, and finalized), and it has implications on how your business will operate moving forward.
Our Board of Directors believes that those implications are positive for you and our industry, and want to share some examples of just why that is:
1. We need to ensure REALTORS® remain central to real estate transactions.
- The pace of change in the world today means that technology, new service offerings and the expectations of our clients are evolving, often times faster than we can keep up. We need to ensure REALTORS® have the right tools and support to quickly meet client and market demands, in order to stay relevant and central to the real estate transaction into the future.
2. We need to design a smarter organizational structure.
- Never before have REALTORS® from across the province collaborated to this extent, with this level of detailed data and analysis. Thousands of hours have been invested into creating a more effective and capable design for our organizations. We’ve taken stock of where we are now – our weaknesses and strengths – and we now have a clear vision of how we can position ourselves to be stronger moving forward.
3. We need to make important decisions faster.
- Our current structure, with 11 boards and BCREA, is fragmented, outdated and unable to quickly respond to current and future challenges. By working separately and with differing goals and priorities, we allow our collective impact to be diluted and our resources wasted on duplication. Any opportunities for collaboration take longer and cost us more. In order to be more effective, we need to eliminate barriers and work together with a shared vision.
4. We need to strengthen our public perception.
- Public trust is low. We need to strengthen and uplift the REALTOR® brand consistently across the province. With more resources and a powerful, united voice we can have a stronger impact with the government, media and consumers.
5. We need to enhance our professional standards.
- Our consumers don’t believe there is a difference between a REALTOR® in Vancouver, Kamloops or Prince George. So why do we have 11 interpretations of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, 11 different sets of rules and best practices, and 11 different ways of enforcing infractions? A REALTOR® should be held to the same, high standards across the province. This is our opportunity to turn our industry into a profession.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for REALTORS® to define the future of our profession. The Board of Directors strongly recommends that you vote ‘Yes’ for REALTORS® of BC and support the amalgamation of six BC Boards plus BCREA.
If you have questions or concerns that you’d like to talk with one of the Directors about, please contact communications@fvreb.bc.ca. More details on the project are available at www.realtorsofbc.ca