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Financials
CANADIAN REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
For the Year Ended December 31, 2018
The following discussion and analysis of financial condition, and results of operations of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.
Contact
200 Catherine Street, 6th Floor
Ottawa, ON K2P 2K9
Phone: (613) 237-7111
Fax: (613) 234-2567
Toll Free: (1-800) 842-2732
Email: info@crea.ca
Trademarks are owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA (REALTOR®) and/or the quality of services they provide (MLS®).
Messages
Together is our best strategy.
Barb Sukkau
President
Leading into my year as President, we had a lot coming at our industry:
The seismic progression of technology.
Government policies at times at odds with the dream of homeownership for Canadians.
Debates about the structure of “organized real estate”.
These challenges aren’t new, but I made it my personal goal this past year to rally the REALTOR® community, as I believe our best strategy for facing any hurdle is together.
That’s why I’ve spent the past year travelling across Canada to speak with and hear from members about how we can make a positive impact with a unified voice. I’ve seen all three levels of the REALTOR® community become less siloed and, instead, use each other’s strengths to work in concert for REALTORS®.
The strides we’ve made this year with REALTOR.ca, with a brand-new site focusing on lifestyle enhancements like school catchment areas, interesting blog content and providing an improved user experience, will help us keep this secret weapon – a site owned by REALTORS® and designed for REALTORS® – the leading real estate website in Canada.
We are the national voice of the REALTOR® community in Canada. More importantly, our unified voice can help influence decisions and policies that impact homeowners, buyers and sellers. We know we can’t win every battle – like the legislation we fought to prevent unregulated home growing as part of the legalization of cannabis – but we are making headway. Our work has helped put housing affordability into the spotlight. And, as we head into an important election year, we commissioned new research on first time buyers and are asking for new policies that will help support this key customer segment.
All this great work we’re doing – in our communities, for our clients, on behalf of home buyers and sellers – is because being a REALTOR® means something. The consultations we started toward the end of 2018 are just the first step to ensuring the REALTOR® Code of Ethics is something we can all embrace and enforce consistently. Ultimately, it will help reiterate the meaning and value of our profession and role as REALTORS®.
The progress we’ve made this past year is proof of our collective strength. After all, we are all part of the leadership that is going to move us forward.
REALTOR.ca
REALTOR.ca Expands its Reach to Consumers
On February 14, 2018, we launched our consumer-facing blog on REALTOR.ca: Living Room. Featuring a steady stream of articles in English and French covering all things “home” – Living Room is committed to lifelong relationship-building with Canadians, bringing them back time and time again and creating more opportunities to connect with REALTORS®.
At the same time, we also launched REALTOR.ca Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest pages to help amplify this great new content. As a bonus, the content found on Living Room and these REALTOR.ca social platforms is perfect for REALTORS® to share and keep in touch with clients on a regular basis.
And this approach is working. In less than a year since its launch, we were recognized by the 2018 Content Marketing Awards as a finalist in the “Best Content Strategy” category.
(*stats collected November 30, 2018)
REALTOR.ca
REALTOR.ca Launches Fresh New Features
We know 62% of REALTOR.ca traffic comes from mobile. We also know consumers expect a seamless experience no matter their preferred device. That’s why we started the year redirecting mobile and tablet users to a new REALTOR.ca mobile responsive website.
A few months later, we launched a redesigned desktop website, the second phase of our project to deliver an improved and responsive experience to all visitors. Both sites feature a host of impactful design changes to the site navigation and listing details pages to make it easier for home buyers to find their dream home and connect with REALTORS®.
Enhanced neighbourhood information
Lifestyle is more important than ever for today’s real estate consumers and REALTOR.ca is making the transition from utility-type tool to lifestyle-focused resource. After a successful pilot project with Local Logic™, all listings across desktop and mobile now include sought-after detailed neighbourhood information like nearby schools and catchment areas, transit, daycare, grocery stores and more.
Refreshed REALTOR.ca logo
It wasn’t just the desktop and mobile REALTOR.ca websites that got a new look in 2018. To simplify and modernize the well-established REALTOR.ca brand, we also introduced a refreshed logo and brand guidelines. The changes more accurately reflect a dynamic and future-focused brand while honouring the iconic REALTOR® trademark.
First-ever REALTOR.ca Hackathon
From October 12-14, 2018, we hosted our inaugural REALTOR.ca Hackathon. For the first time ever, we opened-up a suite of data sets and challenged competing teams to design, build and demo a real-world solution that provides smarter and faster ways for buyers to find the right home and drive more meaningful connections between REALTORS® and consumers. The event attracted a diverse group of university students, Canadian and international developers, established companies, real estate startups and REALTORS® who presented their ideas to a panel of judges comprised of industry leaders and REALTOR® members of our Technology Committee.
"The real estate industry in Canada is evolving rapidly and technology provides even more opportunities to improve the consumer experience."
James Mabey, Chair of CREA's Technology Committee.
With this hackathon, we demonstrated our commitment to maintaining REALTOR.ca as consumers' first choice when looking for a new home by constantly adding the features they demand and expect.
Expanded REALTOR.ca DDF®
The REALTOR.ca Data Distribution Facility (DDF®) extends the reach of members’ listings and saves time by simplifying the process of distributing listing content online. With it, consumers know they’re getting information certified by REALTORS®. This year, we continued the expansion of the DDF® network of real estate advertising websites with the addition of the popular online classifieds site, Kijiji.
REALTOR.ca
REALTOR.ca: By the Numbers
REALTOR.ca remains the leading real estate website in Canada. 2018 saw improvements like an enhanced mobile and desktop experience, a steady stream of valuable content from the new blog, Living Room and more lifestyle-focused features.
We know consumers are liking what they’re seeing as we also reached 1 million active consumer accounts toward the end of the year.
That increased traffic paid off for REALTORS® with more than 2.4 million leads generated, an increase from 2.3 million in 2017.
The following numbers are 2018 totals ending October 31, 2018.
Advocacy
REALTORS® Travel to Parliament Hill
Our 2018 Political Action Committee (PAC) Days brought more than 350 members of the REALTOR® community to the nation’s capital to share ideas on making #HomeComeTrue for more Canadians.
With a federal election looming and discussions about homeownership top of mind, PAC reps attended more than 180 meetings with Members of Parliament (MPs) equipped with our research on millennials, a group that will make up the largest portion of the electorate in 2019.
During the three-day event, participants also heard from insiders, pundits and government representatives, including, for the second year in a row, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Leader of the Official Opposition, the Honourable Andrew Scheer.
Attendees took over social media by sharing photos of their time in Ottawa, meetings with MPs and from our on-site photo booth.
Advocacy
REALTORS® Advocate for Housing Affordability
Millennials care about homeownership
Housing affordability is a top issue for Canadians with many struggling to afford their first home. And while the federal government launched its first-ever National Housing Strategy in late 2017 to address some of these concerns, more needs to be done to address housing affordability.
In turn, we conducted our own research to explore the attitudes and perceptions around housing with Canada’s largest generation: millennials. This research disproved the myth that millennials are not attached to buying a home. In fact, they’re extremely motivated; 86% who don’t currently own a home say they’d like to someday.
This research formed the basis for our latest policy proposal: Increasing the existing $750 non-refundable Home Buyers’ Tax Credit to a $2,500 non-refundable tax credit per qualifying home.
One size does not fit all
This new mortgage stress-test that took effect at the beginning of 2018 to help address active and expensive markets like Vancouver and Toronto not only lowered how much mortgage home buyers across Canada can qualify for, it has had a lasting impact on home sales right across the country, including in areas that didn’t need correction.
REALTORS® know all real estate is local and the consequences of “one size fits all” policies should not be applicable in all regions. This is the basis of our secondary policy proposal: Assessing regional differences before implementing nation-wide regulations that affect home buyers.
Advocacy
REALTORS® Raise Over $60,000 in Response to Natural Disasters
For many communities across Canada, natural disasters made 2018 a devastating year. The REALTOR® community responded generously, raising more than $60,000 in support of victims.
In the spring, rising temperatures and rapidly melting snow caused record flooding across areas of New Brunswick and British Columbia. Within days, REALTORS® across Canada raised more than $11,400 for flood victims in these two regions.
“The ways REALTORS® responded to the floods appeal speaks to how deeply they care about the communities they serve.”
Darlene Hyde, CEO of the British Columbia Real Estate Association.
In the summer, more than 13,500 square kilometers of British Columbia were lost as a result of a record-breaking wildfire season. The REALTOR® community raised more than $29,000 for the Canadian Red Cross’ British Columbia Fires Appeal as part of a national REALTORS Care® fundraising campaign.
“There is typically widespread support from REALTORS® across Canada when the Canadian Red Cross makes calls for donations, but it has been incredible to see the magnitude of support the B.C. Fires Appeal received.”
Corinne Caldwell, Chief Operating Officer of the British Columbia Real Estate Association.
On Friday, September 21, 2018, six strong tornadoes touched down in the Ottawa-Gatineau area, the first time a major Canadian city has been hit by a tornado in decades. Once again, REALTORS® from across the country rallied together to help those affected, raising more than $19,900.
These acts of generosity and solidarity are a clear and continuous demonstration of how REALTORS® from across the country are here to help in times of need.
Advocacy
REALTORS®’ Fundraising Total Reaches a Whopping $131,367,261
Each year, we ask the REALTOR® community to share with us how much they raised and/or donated to charity. By quantifying these efforts, we’re demonstrating to the public and government, the contributions and collective impact REALTORS® have across Canada.
In fact, in the six short years we’ve been collecting these results, an incredible $131,367,261.96 has already been reported, a whopping $21,689,928.35 of that in 2017, alone.
To bring added attention to the great work REALTORS® do in their communities, the third REALTORS Care® Award winner was announced in the spring. Carolyn Swinson, a salesperson and REALTOR® in Toronto, tragically lost two members of her family to impaired driving: her father in 1981 and her son, Rob, in 1993. MADD Canada helped Carolyn and her family cope with the terrible loss and, soon after, she began volunteering to help other victims of impaired driving.
Learn more about this REALTOR®’s outstanding charity work and see a list of all of our 2018 award nominees.
We encourage all REALTORS® to inspire others to use their time, money or skills to help make a difference by letting us know about your charitable activities.
Reputation
Modernization of the REALTOR® Code
The REALTOR® Code is the underpinning of our REALTOR® trademark. Without a code that enforces standards in ethics and professionalism, the value and meaning of our trademark is eroded.
Stemming from a commitment made during our 2018 AGM and as a result of feedback from the National Association of REALTORS® who co-own the REALTOR® brand, we launched consultations with REALTOR® members, boards and associations to come up with options to achieve consistent national enforcement of the REALTOR® Code.
Reputation
Canada’s Pricing Tool: the MLS® Home Price Index
Developed using data from boards’ MLS® Systems, the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) provides a comprehensive look at trends in home prices for a specific type of house in a given neighbourhood.
Our in-house realignment has created new opportunities to focus marketing efforts on products and services – beyond REALTOR.ca – that clearly demonstrate the benefits of using a REALTOR® and that help REALTORS® in their day-to-day lives.
As the only tool of its kind in Canada, the MLS® HPI is a tangible demonstration of value and professionalism and further validates the credibility of REALTORS®.
Messages
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Advocacy
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Trademarks are owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA (REALTOR®) and/or the quality of services they provide (MLS®).