Year in Review 2017

Facing the New Reality

A message from OREA CEO, Tim Hudak

“When you see change coming down the road, you have two choices: take it on head-on, or get run over. To benefit our members, we chose to confront change.”

The Climb to Where We Are

The Ontario Real Estate Association has been supporting the success of REALTORS® for over 90 years.

For the last 60 years, the OREA Real Estate College has offered real estate education to aspiring salespeople and brokers.

16 years ago, OREA worked with the province of Ontario to create the rules that govern our profession (REBBA, 2002), and establish a self-governing regulator (RECO), to increase consumer protection and elevate the real estate profession.

OREA helped set the bar for professional standards, now we want to raise it.

But real estate is changing. New technologies. More demanding consumers. Government action. In order to set our members up for success, OREA needed to change too.

WHAT WE’RE UP AGAINST

Governments at all three levels – municipal, provincial, and federal – are watching our industry and profession closely.

Sophisticated consumers are demanding more from our profession.

Technology is changing faster than ever, creating disruption in our industry and altering the way REALTORS® do business.

Demographic shifts and growing populations are changing the face of real estate and impacting marketplace dynamics. 

The OREA Real Estate College’s Education Services Agreement with the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) has come to an end. As of 2020, the OREA Real Estate College will no longer offer real estate education.

A New Beginning.

OREA’s response to these challenges was swift and decisive.

We listened to our members. We needed to know what was important to them, and what OREA could do to help them succeed.

We decided we were going to be bold by staring change in the face. Our industry and our organization’s best shot at success depends on our resolution to be forward-thinking.

Losing OREA’s College doesn’t end our story. It starts a new one. 

OREA’s new beginning started with a new vision that every Ontario REALTOR® can support: Helping Ontario REALTORS® succeed in building stronger communities.

Then we put our ideas for becoming a better, stronger professional association in our first-ever 5-year strategic plan.

We are holding ourselves accountable to the promises we have made.

A NEW DIRECTION. FOCUSED AND BOLD.

PROTECTING your business at Queen’s Park

Almost every part of your business is touched by government rules and regulations. Every day, OREA is at Queen’s Park, in front of MPPs and decision makers standing up for REALTORS®. With so much at stake, REALTORS® need to be one of the strongest lobby groups In Ontario – that’s what OREA is working to achieve.

We’ve doubled-down on our government relations efforts to protect REALTORS® from government action. We emboldened our members to get involved in driving policy changes through the creation of the Ontario REALTOR® Party. In 2017, we were louder and bolder than ever before, and it paid off.

Supporting A STRONG REAL ESTATE MARKET

Affordable home ownership and a strong real estate market – your business depends on it. At OREA, we lobby for policies that support both.

As first-time home buyers, growing families and millennials continue to run up against home affordability challenges, there appears to be little relief without an increase in housing supply.  OREA was on the frontline of this debate in 2017, taking every opportunity to remind policy makers that increasing housing supply in the province is the best solution to keeping home ownership within reach for future home buyers.

Standing up for HOME OWNERSHIP

There are nearly 4 million home owners in Ontario. Home ownership forms the foundation of our province. As rising home prices continue to threaten the Canadian Dream of home ownership, OREA’s role in advocating for home owners and those aspiring to join their ranks has become so much more important.

Empowering members with technology and tools

As the real estate industry evolves, so too does your business. Staying on top of emerging technology and trends is more important now then ever before. At OREA, we are committed to keeping our ear to the ground on matters that affect your business and strengthening the tools you need to succeed.

Strengthening the profession

New technology, innovative business models and evolving practices have altered the landscape of the real estate profession over the last 15 years. More importantly, consumers are changing. They are more informed, connected and in control of transactions than at any other point in our industry’s history. That’s why OREA is advocating to raise professional standards. Raising the bar across the profession is critical to maintaining the public’s trust and confidence in REALTORS®.

We’re also dedicated to training our industry’s future leaders. Strong leaders are able to drive change that makes a difference to REALTORS® and the home buyers and sellers they work with.

A message from OREA President, David Reid

“The driving force behind everything we do at OREA, is our members. We’re committed to doing better to serve our members, and we’re going to hold ourselves accountable to the promises we made.”

Financials

A major part of our new outlook is respecting members’ dues, and doing fewer things, but doing them better. This approach has put us in good financial standing.

The New OREA – Designed to serve you better

OREA’s new Vision and Strategic Plan are ambitious, purposefully so. The opportunities and challenges facing Ontario REALTORS® are significant. As the provincial association representing Ontario REALTORS’® interests, we have a responsibility to support our members’ success. Moving forward, OREA is going to look and act differently to serve its members better.