The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry associations. Our membership includes more than 160,000 real estate brokers, agents and salespeople working through 75 real estate boards and associations across Canada.
Our areas of focus:
Advocacy
We empower REALTOR® activism on behalf of Canadians. We work for a policy and legislative environment that supports and enables homeownership and acknowledges the importance of REALTORS® and housing to communities and the Canadian economy.
Reputation
We champion REALTORS® through awareness, education, and furthering excellence in the profession to build brand equity and support REALTORS®’ business needs.
REALTOR® and Consumer Tech
We support REALTORS® with competitive tools and technology: most notably, Canada’s No. 1 real estate platform*, REALTOR.ca.
This is a collection of noteworthy highlights and achievements from 2022.
Throughout 2022, we focused on culture and the overall employee experience at CREA. Being able to attract, motivate, and retain top talent is critical to our success. As a result, we’ve incorporated enhancements to the onboarding process, our technology platforms, and reviewed our recognition platform, all with a focus on employee experience from candidate through to retiree.
We’ve completed employee pulse surveys and an annual Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (DEIA) survey to measure progress with respect to workplace diversity and feelings of inclusion, gauge interest in initiatives and events, and improve planning for future employee-focused efforts to fulfill our DEIA commitment statements.
Highlights of our ongoing internal DEIA work in 2022 included our hosting of virtual workshops and discussions with guest speakers on topics of mental wellness and in recognition of special events throughout the year, including Black History Month, International Women’s Day, and Pride Month. CREA staff also proudly participated in the 2022 Capital Pride Parade in downtown Ottawa.
With a continued focus on our culture and employee experience, the People and Culture team will strive to ensure CREA meets its strategic objectives, driven by amazing talent.
For decades, we’ve worked to strengthen our relationship with government officials and industry stakeholders. It’s a cornerstone of our national lobbying efforts. By working together, we can build a unified, purposeful approach to create more housing options and ensure Canada remains a fair and equitable place to live.
We saw several successes in 2022 thanks to the continued and consistent, disciplined advocacy efforts of boards/associations, REALTORS® and CREA’s Government Relations team.
We commissioned several research papers and polling on a range of policy issues to leverage in our discussions with policy makers, including EnerGuide Labeling of Homes at the Time of Sale by the Smart Prosperity Institute. Using research and taking a data-based evidence approach bolsters our efforts and supports our decisions when making policy recommendations.
The successes we’ve seen are a testament to the influence and credibility we’ve earned, as well as the collective power of more than 160,000 REALTORS® speaking with one unified voice.
As we have in years past under CREA’s advocacy umbrella, in 2022, we sponsored several initiatives and/or events that enhance public policy processes and promote equity in the public sector, including the Broadbent Institute, Canada Strong and Free Network, Equal Voice, Empire Club of Canada, the Parliamentary Internship Program, and the Institute for Research on Public Policy’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Since launching in 2012, the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) has been the go-to source for accurate, timely and detailed data on neighbourhood home price levels and trends.
As housing market trends evolve, so too does the MLS® HPI. In June, the MLS® HPI underwent improvements to its methodology for calculating price levels and trends.
On June 23, 2022, Parliament passed the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act. Coming into force January 1, 2023, CREA made several recommendations to the government as part of the consultation process to minimize the impacts these new rules on the businesses of REALTORS®. (Note: The federal government released the regulations just days before the new year. CREA was extremely disappointed by the government’s decision to move forward with the legislation, and we don’t believe this piece of legislation will increase housing supply in a meaningful which is at the core of Canada’s housing crisis.)
These submissions are an important facet of our advocacy work. They allow us to reinforce our voice as industry experts, advance our policy positions and influence policy decisions on issues impacting the real estate industry.
On April 7, 2022, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland tabled “A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable”, the first budget of the 44th parliamentary session. This Budget focused heavily on addressing the housing crisis in Canada and acknowledged the importance of housing to both Canadians and the Canadian economy.
It also implemented many of the asks we put forward to Parliamentarians, a recognition of the important role and impact of REALTORS® within both the housing and advocacy sector.
Significantly, the government acknowledged a need to build 3.5 million new homes by 2031 and set a target of doubling the rate of construction of new housing units over the next decade.
Specific REALTOR® advocacy positions in this budget include:
Creating flexibility to tie access to infrastructure funding by province, territories and municipalities to increase housing supply;
Leveraging transit funding to build more homes;
Doubling the First Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit;
Implementation of the promised Tax-Free First Home Savings Account;
Implementing the promised Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit; and
Implementing a publicly accessible, beneficial ownership registry of corporations governed under the Canada Business Corporations Act by 2023.
REAL Ideas
Building on the success of our 2021 campaign and in support of our 37th annual PAC Days, we relaunched REAL Ideas. The campaign underscored the importance of homeownership and provided REALTOR® proposed solutions to the national housing crisis.
The campaign used a multipronged approach to tell the same story: a comprehensive national approach is needed to provide opportunities to address housing supply issues across the entire housing continuum.
During and leading up to PAC Days, we strategically placed billboards and multimedia ads delivering our message in the Ottawa airport as Members of Parliament and PAC Reps arrived in the nation’s capital. In addition, we erected print ads around Ottawa and in the Parliamentary District as MPs made their way to the Hill.
After two years of virtual programming, we were thrilled to welcome more than 400 Political Action Committee (PAC) Reps back to the nation’s capital for our 37th annual PAC Days.
This year, more than 130 meetings with Members of Parliament (MPs) took place, where PAC Reps advocated for two main recommendations to address Canada’s lack of housing supply across the entire continuum:
the creation of a permanent national housing roundtable; and
leveraging bilateral infrastructure agreements with provinces and territories by adding a housing clause.
Over the course of three days (October 16-18), CREA hosted various panelists and speakers to discuss federal politics, Canada’s housing crisis and how to be effective advocates.
The Outstanding PAC Team Award honours a board and/or association demonstrating initiative and enterprise in advancing REALTOR® issues federally. This year the award was presented to the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton, with the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington and the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® named as runners-up.
In June 2022, CREA's Board of Directors appointed its first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee, in recognition of the growing expectation for organizations to embed ESG considerations into their strategy, operations and decision-making. The adoption of this framework will enable CREA to mitigate evolving ESG risks and seize new opportunities to support the success and resilience of our association, members, and their communities.
Our new ESG Committee assumed responsibility for the oversight of our REALTORS Care® program from the discontinued REALTORS Care® Committee and took on an expanded purview that includes providing strategic direction on the development and ongoing execution of a new ESG strategy. To inform this strategy development, the committee has been working to identify and prioritize key ESG issues that are meaningful to our association, membership, and industry partners, and those for which we are well-positioned to make a measurable positive impact by both leveraging existing relevant work and creating new programs, practices, and policies.
One key ESG issue—which we’ve already committed to and acted on—is diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism (DEIA). Throughout 2022, CREA staff and volunteers continued to listen, learn and identify ways to embed DEIA into our association's workplace culture and governance systems. This governance-focused DEIA work has been led by CREA's Governance and Bylaws Committee.
In early 2022, the Governance and Bylaws Committee put forward and approved several DEIA-focused recommendations for improvements to our committee application and appointment processes to CREA’s board, including: the hosting of an informative webinar for prospective committee members; the establishment of percentage-based targets for the shortlisting and appointment of women and individuals reporting dimensions of diversity; and the completion of anti-bias training by those responsible for the shortlisting and appointment of committee members.
The committee also explored ways to encourage, welcome and increase the diversity of candidates and successors to CREA's Board of Directors, with the goal of ultimately recommending relevant and meaningful changes to the board and membership in the near future.
CREA is proud to celebrate the generosity of the REALTOR® community and support our REALTOR® members in making a positive impact on communities across the country through our national REALTORS Care® program.
Lorna Hamm, of Calgary, Alberta, was honoured with the Canadian REALTORS Care® Award 2022, Proudly Presented by REALTOR.ca. Hamm has been giving back to Calgary-based charities for more than 50 years, most notably her work with the Children’s Cottage Society’s Crisis Nursery and her fundraising efforts for the Children’s Hospital Aid Society.
We called on the REALTOR® community again in September after Hurricane Fiona made landfall as a post-tropical storm and left behind a trail of destruction across five provinces. Our members raised more than $36,100 to support the Canadian Red Cross’ efforts on the ground.
In mid-November, CREA held our fourth-annual REALTORS Care® Week in partnership with 35 real estate boards and associations across the country. More than 650 REALTORS® participated in volunteering and fundraising events organized by their local and provincial boards and associations. Read highlights from this year’s events.
The impact of rising interest rates on housing activity has been predictable—fewer sales and some downward pressure on prices. This was true everywhere, but to varying degrees depending largely on the level of home prices in different parts of the country. That said, home prices at the end of 2022 were still well above pre-COVID-19 levels across the board.
That’s partly because, under the surface, the non-interest rate fundamentals remain strong. In particular, very strong population growth and low unemployment.
Demand for housing didn’t go anywhere, but the disconnect between home prices and how much money people could borrow meant the strong housing demand shifted and will be playing out in the rental market for some time.
Our goal is to champion REALTORS® through awareness, education, and excellence in the profession to build brand equity and support REALTORS®’ business needs.
From our advertising campaigns, educational courses, to social media, podcasts and blogs, our work is crafted to help promote and strengthen the reputation of REALTORS® in Canada.
In 2022, we revived our in-person events, meeting with members and attending tradeshows and conferences. They are instrumental to building relationship with members and boards and associations. We value the engagement and feedback we gain during these in-person interactions. At the same time, these events are an important opportunity for us to share updates with members on REALTOR.ca, other technology tools, CREA’s federal advocacy efforts and our work to help enhance and protect the reputation of REALTORS® in Canada.
To be more consistent with our brand’s operation function, and to align with the English more accurately, our name is French was changed to L’Association canadienne de l’immobilier through a vote at our 2022 AGM. In turn, we took this as an opportunity to realign our branding with a refreshed logo and website.
In the spring and fall of 2022, we relaunched our “Welcome Home” national ad campaign with a wider mix of media platforms, re-imagined creatives and additional marketing tactics, including a pilot multicultural segment. The ad campaign highlights the value of using a REALTOR® and drives consumer intent to use a REALTOR® during the home buying and selling process. It exceeded our projected targets, delivering 341.7 million digital impressions (29% higher than projected) and 81.9 million completed video views (21% higher than projected).
Championing REALTORS® and improving consumers’ understanding of the value of their services is a key part of CREA’s corporate strategy. According to our 2022 membership survey, promoting the value of the profession with consumers was one of the most critical initiatives CREA does for REALTORS®.
We also partnered with Canadian lifestyle content creators across Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest to share their home buying stories and explain how their REALTOR® helped during the process. These stories helped generate positive sentiment towards the value of working with REALTOR®, all while sending thousands of pageviews to REALTOR.ca and its blog, REALTOR.ca Living Room. The influencer content also improved audience perceptions of REALTORS®, with 86% of people who saw the content saying they felt REALTORS® are knowledgeable and offer accurate information when it comes to buying and selling real estate.
As a trusted source for all things home in Canada, REALTOR.ca Living Room redefined its editorial strategy in 2022 as well as identified new marketing techniques to help promote the content to a growing audience.
REALTOR.ca Living Room content is also highlighted in a monthly newsletter to more than 100,000 REALTOR.ca account subscribers. The open rate increased 32% in 2022 over 2021.
In 2022, we made a shift in marketing tactics, such as localizing our Search Engine Marketing (SEM)—Google ads—to better serve our audiences in cities across Canada, while also allowing us to be more agile with our approach. Our click through rate increased by 98.13% and, for the first time, we sent more than 10 million users to REALTOR.ca (compared to 5.54 million in 2021) and generated more than 118,000 leads for members.
This year, we were thrilled to be able to get back to meeting and learning from our members in person.
In April, we hosted our first-ever hybrid events, allowing us to connect with members across the country in a new and exciting way. Day 1 featured our Broker Summit, centered around ways to help brokerages succeed and gain a competitive advantage. Later that day, brokers were joined by industry leaders for CREA’s Leadership Summit, where they heard from specialists about adapting work alongside technology, trends impacting our industry, and strategic creativity. On Day 2, we held our Open Forum and Annual General meeting where a new Board of Directors was installed, and Cliff Stevenson passed the gavel to welcome Jill Oudil as the new Chair.
In June, our Association Executives (AE) Seminar returned in-person in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. The AE Seminar offers associate executives the opportunity to hear from experts and learn about the latest trends, best practices and emerging issues affecting the real estate industry.
In the fall, CREA staff hit the road, attending numerous conferences and tradeshows (in addition to the events we hosted) including:
Royal Lepage National Sales Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Edmonton RAECON in Edmonton, Alberta
Century 21 OneC21 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Chambre immobilière Estrie in Drummondville, Quebec
REMAX Activate in Quebec City, Quebec
Ottawa Real Estate Board Annual REALTOR® Trade Show in Ottawa, Ontario
OREA’s REALiTY+ Conference in Toronto, Ontario
At each of these events, CREA staff were on hand to engage with REALTORS® and share updates on REALTOR.ca, other technology tools, CREA’s advocacy efforts, and our work to help enhance and protect the reputation of REALTORS® in Canada.
In addition to attending Canadian events, on November 11-13, CREA and the CREA Global team travelled with more than 400 REALTORS® from Canada to NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience in Orlando, Florida.
Throughout the year, CREA staff and members of our Board of Directors were booked for more than 125 speaking engagements through our Speakers Corner.
Being able to talk to members in person is instrumental in creating, building and maintaining relationships. They’re also an important means to sharing and collecting information as well as receiving feedback to guide our efforts in strengthening the REALTOR® reputation.
Real estate remained a hot topic in 2022. News articles relating to Canadian real estate markets and CREA (including CREA statistics, analysis and comments) reached more than 5.8 million readers online.
The Communications team monitors real estate-related news and shares media clippings with nearly 47,000 REALTOR® members through our Read All About It email. In 2022, we sent 230 editions which featured 100-200 media clippings per edition.
This year, several op-eds penned by CREA were published in the pages of the Financial Post and the Hill Times, further demonstrating and cementing our credibility.
CREA is a trusted resource and leader in real estate across the country and beyond. Media outlets, government and other stakeholders turn to our expertise and the MLS® Home Price Index for credible and reliable data and thought-provoking analysis. CREA was specifically mentioned or appeared in more than 21,000 news articles or radio and television news items.
Stay up to date on the latest CREA news and industry happenings by updating your communication preferences on member.CREA.ca.
Throughout the year, we use a multifaceted approach to inform members about the latest products and services, industry news, professional tips and more. Every CREA notice, email, podcast episode, Instagram Reel, or blog post is crafted to inform and benefit our REALTOR® members.
On CREA Café, we enlist the expertise of subject matter experts and professionals to increase awareness of CREA and REALTOR® tools and services, demonstrate CREA’s value to members as well as reinforce CREA’s statistical expertise. In 2022, CREA Café pageviews increased 14% compared to 2021.
Our podcasts, REAL TIME/EN DIRECT, episodes are designed to help us engage with, inspire and empower REALTORS® through conversations with exciting guests about all things Canadian real estate and impacts to our industry, profession, and communities.
In 2022, REAL TIME reached an average of 16,132 listens per episode. Our target audience of REALTORS® in Canada is around 160,000 people, which means our saturation rate is approximately 9.61% after three seasons.
We continued to nurture our relationships with brokers across the country, providing tailored programming and content including the Brokers’ Corner email, Broker Summit, broker-specific training/courses and clearly laid out broker resources on a new page on CREA.ca.
Either directly or indirectly, nearly every homeowner in Canada has used an MLS® System. They are REALTOR® to REALTOR® cooperative marketplaces that bring together REALTORS® who list properties on behalf of sellers and REALTORS® representing buyers. When more listings are placed on MLS® Systems, that pool becomes broader and more valuable, data provided through these cooperative selling systems is more comprehensive, and Canadian consumers are better served.
In 2022, we commissioned a white paper from Paul Johnson, the former head economist of the Competition Bureau, and Anthony Niblett, a law professor specializing in competition law to take a closer look at the value of MLS® Systems in Canada.
This came almost 12 months after we established a REALTOR® Cooperation Working Group made up of CREA staff and Executive Officers from various boards and associations across the country. The group was tasked with a review of the issues surrounding cooperation in the industry and solutions that could help address them. Through a consultation process, the working group put forth a recommendation that a policy be adopted to help address cooperation issues in the industry.
In the fall, we announced our intention to adopt such a policy. To help further refine the details of the policy from feedback we received, we hosted virtual town halls to provide members a mechanism to share their thoughts. A proposed amendment to the REALTOR® Code to create an obligation to cooperate will be considered by membership at CREA’s 2023 Annual General Meeting.
The CREA Learning Hub is a valuable service CREA offers to boards/associations and REALTOR® members to promote and elevate professionalism. CREA shares its learning management system with 15 boards/associations currently taking advantage of the opportunity to cater the learning experience for their members via multi-domains. The Learning Hub welcomed more than 69,000 users and saw more than 30,200 course completions in 2022.
We started development of new courses on topics such as REALTOR® safety, sustainability, and competition law, and made improvements to our existing library, including a revamp of our trademarks, REALTOR® Code of Ethics and new member orientation modules. We reimagined how we deliver learning materials to make the content more interactive, with the addition of narration, animation, click activities and scenario-based tests.
We continued to offer professional development programs such as the Canadian REALTOR® Association Executive (CRAE) and National Leadership Program (NLP), and courses on FINTRAC, flood protection, new member orientation and Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). We also presented virtual courses for designation programs, including the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation, and facilitated a return to some in-person learning.
In the fall, we continued our partnership with Saint Mary’s University to better understand professionalism in the real estate industry. The research was managed by Dr. Mark Fleming and his team at Saint Mary’s University. Our goal was to develop a professionalism framework to promote and strengthen a culture of professionalism among REALTORS® in Canada. The research we’ve done supports this goal by identifying the factors that make up professionalism in the industry. Additionally, this work is being used to create a tool that we can use to measure professionalism and provide data to members. The measurement tool comes in the form of a survey and was sent out to members in September. We’re currently analyzing the results and compiling our findings with plans of advancing our research in 2023.
As REALTOR.ca continues to innovate, with a shift from a search to research tool, boards and associations across the country have been instrumental in that process.
On Episode 25 of REAL TIME, Patrick Pichette, Vice President of REALTOR.ca, and Andrew Jackson, CREA’s Head of Business Development discuss the evolution of REALTOR.ca and its role in modern real estate. Listen now.
Its mission is to deliver business value to members, relentlessly promote the real estate community, the profession, and the expertise of REALTORS® by enabling the consumer on their real estate journey through transparent, accurate and reliable information while being connected with our members and their listings. Every interaction with a consumer is an opportunity to communicate the value of a REALTOR®, and every REALTOR.ca visitor session is an opportunity to convert into business leads for you.
Owned and operated by CREA on behalf of REALTORS®, REALTOR.ca continues to perform extremely well and remains Canada’s No. 1 real estate platform* and leader in national market share for real estate sites and mobile apps in Canada. According to comScore, in April and May 2022, REALTOR.ca reached a milestone of more than 50% market share nationally for the first time. In other words, more than 50% of all Canadians searching for real estate information online visited REALTOR.ca.
The fact that a site called REALTOR.ca is so popular is great news for members as it keeps REALTORS® top-of-mind with consumers throughout their journey.
When members receive a new lead from REALTOR.ca, we now ask them to provide feedback. This feedback is a useful step in collecting data to improve the quality of leads we send to members.
We also added the ability to add YouTube videos to REALTOR® profile pages, promoting both individuals and teams. Videos can be uploaded as YouTube links, either through member.REALTOR.ca or the board’s data upload. Videos help REALTOR® profiles stand out. In 2022, there were 16.8 million REALTOR® profile views (up 7% from 2021).
Highlights from 2022 on REALTOR.ca
564 million visits to REALTOR.ca, up 9% year-over-year.
In 2021, we completely rebuilt the iOS and Android REALTOR.ca apps from the ground up. The priority in 2022 was to take the user feedback we received to improve user experience and design.
The market has responded well. In both iOS and Android, we’ve improved our rating from a 2.6 to a four out of five. Additionally, the Apple App store selected REALTOR.ca as an “Editor’s Choice” app, which is based on criteria such as UI design, innovation, user experience, uniqueness and accessibility.
We improved the notifications feature on the REALTOR.ca website and apps to allow users to set up alerts for new listings. We are seeing an average increase of 25% in the number of daily logged-in users.
We also continue to evolve the REALTOR.ca Member App. Formerly known as the REALTOR.ca Listing Stats app, the name was changed to better reflect all the amazing features available to members. The app is used by more than 25,000 REALTORS®. The app makes it easy for members to access their analytics reports about their listings and leads from across the REALTOR.ca platform.
REALTOR.ca receives more than 1 million visits per day. We invest in best-of-suite cloud hosting infrastructure and support tools to ensure strong performance and reliability. Most months, REALTOR.ca has 100% uptime and, in rare months, we’re hitting 99.99%.
Investment in IT infrastructure is vital because REALTOR.ca is hit by more than 1 billion bots each month. The security of our IT infrastructure is a top priority, and a dedicated team is in place to ensure we’re using the right processes, protocols, and tools to continue running REALTOR.ca like the world-class platform it is.
In 2022, significant work and resources were spent in the background strengthening our IT infrastructure. This includes a complete rebuild of the National Authentication Facility (NAF) that is used by all CREA products, as well as many boards and associations to authenticate members. Doing a full redesign provides many benefits to CREA and its partner boards and associations, notably moving to a more modern multi-factor authentication model, which is a standard security best practice. In addition, it will give boards and associations a new option to satisfy a critical requirement: a secure authentication tool for their MLS® Systems and their integrated third-party solutions. NAF 2.0 will be a self-contained multi-factor authentication system used to connect services to CREA and its REALTOR® members, regardless of whether the organization resides inside the REALTOR® community.
Other enhancements include converting to RESO Web API as the protocol to transport data, replacing RETS. Going forward all new REALTOR.ca DDF® subscribers will be required to use Web API, and existing REALTOR.ca DDF® subscribers will need to make the transition within the next year. The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) Web API is the modern way to transport data in the real estate industry. It’s built on well-known, open technology standards so any organization can use it to deliver or receive data quickly and efficiently on-the-fly.
Increasing Information, Transparency During the Buying/Selling Process
It’s vital to keep pace with consumers’ expectations when it comes to information transparency during the home buying journey. We made several strides in this direction in 2022.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board became the latest boards to offer historical home sale prices on REALTOR.ca, joining most boards in British Columbia and four Atlantic provinces.
In the spring, we announced a new pilot program with Openn Offers, allowing consumers to see offers tracked in near real-time on REALTOR.ca.
We’ve continued to strengthen our historic relationship with the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® (NSAR) through the addition of conditionally sold tags on REALTOR.ca listings in Nova Scotia. NSAR also committed to a multi-year sponsorship of the REALTOR.ca Data Centre, a cloud-based data warehouse that will turn data into business intelligence and tools for members and consumers researching real estate in Nova Scotia on REALTOR.ca.
According to our annual members survey, CREA WEBForms® consistently ranks as the CREA product members find most important.
More than 100,000 members used CREA WEBForms® in 2022 as their daily go-to resource for forms and transaction management.
CREA and our partner, Lonewolf Technologies, continue to invest in CREA WEBForms® and are constantly working to enhance the platform’s functionality and design for members. As a result, satisfaction scores have increased among members.
CREA Global makes it easy for REALTORS® in Canada and international real estate professionals to network, exchange referral opportunities and gain knowledge of international markets.
We hosted monthly webinars to help our members and affiliates expand their knowledge on topics such as trends in commercial real estate and immigration. The Great Canadian Road Trip returned for three additional webinars.
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