From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   No oversight by the Real Estate Boards or the Real Estate Council.  Why?  Read   
   the last paragraph and you'll see why Christy Clark's government is also not   
   concerned about the many illegal and shady practices taking place in the Lower   
   Mainland markets.   
   ____________________________________   
   Globe and Mail -  May 31, 2016   
      
      
   Oversight of British Columbia's housing market is a sham   
      
   At the heart of the problem are real estate boards (B.C. has 11) that derive   
   their power from the local MLS systems, which they control   
      
      
   If you needed any further evidence of how badly broken and dysfunctional the   
   real estate industry is in B.C., look no further than the case of Keith Roy.   
      
   Until last month, Mr. Roy was a member of the professional standards committee   
   of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.  He has said he was dumped   
   because he pressed for greater accountability. One board member was upset   
   enough over it to quit in    
   protest.  Mr. Roy told The Globe and Mail that it was divulged to him a board   
   member said he "had it coming" because of his views.   
      
   Given the rogue nature of the industry in this province, I'm not surprised   
   someone calling for more transparency and professionalism would be considered   
   a threat.   In a sector that often seems unregulated, it has never been easier   
   to make gobs of cash †  
   “ legally or illegally.  Few want to jeopardize the dynamics that are allowing   
   many to get filthy rich very quickly.   
      
   You might be wondering what radical suggestions Mr. Roy was proposing the   
   board adopt.  Glad you asked. . . .   
      
   In a letter to its president, Dan Morrison, the long-time real estate agent   
   laid out his concerns.  Among them: He said realtors who practice in Metro   
   Vancouver should be proficient in English to serve their clients better.    
   (Many new realtors speak    
   Mandarin only.)   He suggested the board end its relentless pursuit of new   
   members and instead toughen standards and "start to focus on bringing in   
   members who grow to become trusted advisors and consumer protection advocates."   
      
   In his correspondence, Mr. Roy also advocated making public the board's   
   decisions on professional conduct – currently everything is conducted in   
   secret. Consequently, people have no idea if the realtor they have just hired   
   has been fined several times    
   for infractions. (This scenario is not uncommon, according to Mr. Roy).   He   
   also suggested making it safe for whistle-blowers inside the business to   
   express concerns.  Right now, anyone who makes an internal complaint is   
   subject to being investigated    
   himself.   
      
   He made other recommendations of a similar commonsense variety, the kind of   
   proposals that would be considered standard practice in many other lines of   
   work. But that is not how the real estate industry in this province   
   operates.   At least, certainly    
   not the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, an old boys' club if there   
   ever was one.   
      
   Mr. Morrison told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Roy's dismissal from the board's   
   professional standards committee had nothing to do with his advocacy for more   
   openness and stricter standards.  No, rather it was because Mr. Roy worked for   
   Re/Max and too    
   many people from that firm were on the board.  Strictly a numbers game.    
   Nothing more.   
      
   What a complete and utter sham this whole industry is.   
      
   We have three separate real estate associations in the province, all   
   over-lapping.  We have real estate boards and the provincial real estate   
   council, all with the power to discipline real estate agents.  In practice,   
   all are lame, ineffective overseers    
   of an industry that has failed repeatedly to put the consumer first.   
      
   At the heart of the problem are real estate boards (B.C. has 11) that derive   
   their power from the local MLS systems, which they control.   
      
   Why boards are allowed to control these listings fails me.  The Competition   
   Bureau of Canada takes a similar view.  The bureau argues that realtor boards   
   limit competition and artificially keep costs high by preventing the public   
   from having access to    
   data on the Multiple Listing Service, which is used for the preponderance of   
   real estate transactions in this country.   
      
   In fact, the country's competition tribunal (an appeal body) recently upheld   
   the bureau's position on this matter in an ongoing dispute with the Toronto   
   Real Estate board.  The board had argued it owned the MLS data and needed to   
   restrict access to it    
   for privacy reasons.  It is unclear as yet just what the ramifications of the   
   tribunal's decision could be nationally.  Let's hope it ends the monopoly   
   boards currently enjoy over this information.   
      
   Meantime in B.C., we await the results of an advisory group headed by Carolyn   
   Rogers, the province's superintendent of real estate, which is looking at   
   bringing regulatory change to the industry.  Ms. Rogers is making the right   
   sounds about what she    
   would like to see done, including having the real estate council, not the   
   boards, handle complaints from the public.   
      
   Ultimately, the provincial government will make the final call.  And given all   
   the donations the industry has given to the governing Liberals, I would think   
   it has to be feeling pretty good about the future.   
   ____________________________________________   
      
   Oh, and PS . . . . with regards rewarding all those 'donations the industry   
   has given to the governing Liberals . . .   
      
   B.C. real estate companies join Christy Clark on trade mission to Asia   
      
   http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-christy-clark-   
   rade-mission-asia-real-estate-1.3604817   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)