By Danny Kucharsky
Quebec?s sovereignty movement appears to be picking up ? at least on the real estate front ? with Quebec?s Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB) saying it is ready to leave the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) at the end of the year.
In late July, the QFREB told brokers in an email that it would be ending its 18-year membership in CREA as of Dec. 31. The move came after the Haute-Yamaska board in Granby expressed its desire to leave CREA. Boards in Mauricie and St-Hyacinthe have also consulted their members on the question and have received strong majority support to leave CREA by the end of the year.
The 15,000-member Quebec federation says all of its member boards have to be part of CREA in order for it to maintain its membership in the national association. However, each of the 12 member boards that are part of the federation can choose on an individual basis whether or not they wish to remain in the national association.
The news was greeted with disappointment by CREA president Wayne Moen, who wrote that CREA has been in dialogue with QFREB representatives over the last few months.? He noted that by withdrawing from CREA, the QFREB avoids having to terminate the Haute-Yamaska board?s membership, as part of an agreement that no board can belong to a provincial association without also belonging to CREA.
Moen said CREA ?will continue to engage members and colleagues in Quebec, and indeed across the country, with a view to ensuring the services we provide to members align with their needs.?
Lise Desrochers, general manager of the about 250-member Chambre immobili?re de la Haute-Yamaska in Granby, says board members decided to opt out of CREA because they feel their dues are too high for what they receive in return. She cited ?unjustified? dues increases in recent years and demands that go unheeded as other reasons for the decision to leave CREA.
Desrochers says Quebec boards are paying for services they can easily obtain in the province from the QFREB, such as Centris.ca, the Quebec online listings site that is part of the Quebec federation.
In addition, the close to 10,000-member Greater Montreal Real Estate Board (GMREB) has long been questioning the pertinence of its membership in CREA, board president Patrick Juan?da wrote in a July 27 letter to members. Juan?da was responding to a blog post by Montreal broker Yvon Poirier that questioned the reasoning for the potential departure of the Quebec boards from CREA.
Juan?da wrote that the Montreal board, the largest in the province, is intensifying its study of the situation but that members will be consulted before any decision is made.
Juan?da also wrote that some of CREA?s current priorities in the Futures Planning initiative concern MREB. These include the possibility of for sale by owner properties being listed on Realtor.ca, new data distribution rules and a review of membership rules. He says CREA has not demonstrated a willingness to review and lower expenses, even though the Montreal board has identified some expenses that could be cut.
As well, the Montreal board is proposing that CREA offer a membership dues plan that is based on fee for services. Although CREA is studying this option, ?nothing indicates that there will be positive developments in the short-term,? Juan?da wrote in another letter to members sent in June.
In the letter, Juan?da indicated that the Montreal board has made few gains with CREA. One such gain, however, was receiving an advertising credit of about $800,000 from CREA for the Montreal area and $1.1 million for Quebec. The money has gone toward promoting Centris.ca and the expertise of Quebec brokers.
Juan?da says that ?the dissatisfaction about CREA goes beyond Quebec?s borders,? citing recent Letters to the Editor in REM as examples. He added, ?The decision to leave or to stay carries serious risks for the future,? which is why the board is proceeding with caution.
In various blog postings, Poirier questioned whether leaving CREA would respond to the mission of the Quebec federation ?to promote and protect the interests? of brokers. He asks: Why isn?t the federation providing members with more information about the reasoning to leave? Why the urgency to leave CREA now? Who would profit from a departure? Could this war between organizations benefit for sale by owner firms? Will this decision benefit brokers?
Poirier?s postings received several comments, with one broker noting that the whole issue is about politics and nationalism.
Another noted that Centris.ca is unknown outside Quebec. Along those lines, another broker said that if Centris.ca does not emerge as an effective replacement to Realtor.ca, only large real estate firms will gain from a Quebec departure from CREA.
Source: http://www.remonline.com/home/?p=12994
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