2014 ANNUAL REPORT

Our Mission is to

promote & support

members in serving the

real estate needs

of our community.

KWAR IN THE NEWS

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

I would like to take this opportunity to say it has been an absolute privilege for me to represent the membership this past year. Serving as President was never something I planned. I was perfectly content serving on committees until I received a gentle nudge from a then director who thought I might be a good fit. I completely ignored him, but then a year later, I received a second gentle nudge, it was all I needed. 2014 was a busy year, but really, during my five years on the board I haven’t seen a year that hasn’t been busy. There is always something going on, some large issue or project that is front of mind and consuming our resources. This year, the regional MLS® initiative took precedence and we’ve made great strides pursuing a partnership with seven other boards. This project began before I was president, as early as 1967 noises were heard and then more attention given to its feasi-bility in 2012 and 2013. We finally anticipate members from all eight boards to be live in the new system this year. While the development of the regional MLS® project took top priority this past year, we also worked hard to ensure we did not lose steam in other important areas. I was proud to represent the membership in both Ottawa and at Queen’s Park as we lobbied on a variety of REALTOR® issues. We asked our MPPs to protect the dream of home ownership by opposing the spread of municipal land transfer taxes – this is a fight that we haven’t really even begun to see yet but many municipalities are now asking the government for more autonomy and many could follow Toronto's lead. Locally, we joined the stakeholder group that is championing the need to build two-way, all-day GO train service between Kitchener and Toronto. I have never been a lobbyist or a very political person but given the opportunity to experience what we, as a trade Association, do, I learned the power of the voice that each one of us REALTORS® have. We can be very proud of our advocacy work, at all three levels of organized real estate. We are making a positive difference. The last responsibility of a leader is to say Thank you. To an exceptional Board of Directors, for all your contributions and your voices. You truly made my job easier. Equally, we were always supported by very dedicated staff. All had my back. A huge thank you to all of them and finally, to you, the membership, thank you very much for everything you have given me. It's been a slice.

Lynn Bebenek KWAR 2014 President

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER

The Shift.

“Change is the only constant in life.” This was first quoted by Heraclitus approximately 2500 years ago. Obviously Her-

aclitus was not referring to MLS® Systems or the Kitchener Waterloo Association of REALTORS® when he said this; but

I think it perfectly describes our industry.

The magnitude of change our industry has experienced in the last ten years has been profound. For REALTORS®, the

most significant changes have been due to technology and regulators.

Advancements in technology have been a bit of a double edged sword. While some are truly beneficial and empower-

ing, others have depersonalized member interactions in what some still consider a “belly to belly” business.

The changes enforced by a variety of regulators have been less satisfactory. It seems as though every year there is

someone new wanting to poke their nose into our business to add to the flotsam of legislations that restrict how we

all operate. The problem with any rule of course, is that they are typically only required for a very small subset of any

demographic. The majority of individuals use common sense to self-regulate their own actions. Still, rules and re-

strictions are certainly not going away any time soon, which leaves all of us kept busy incorporating the latest changes

into our daily routines.

These two influencers, technology and regulations, have not only impacted your business as a REALTOR®; it has also

imposed considerable changes to the associations’ business as well. In 2014, there was an additional factor that con-

sumed considerable time and resources for the association – and this is the Regional MLS® System. While one could

lump this project under the heading of ‘technology’, it really is much more than that. The vision of this project began

long before any of the current directors were involved, and in fact, these seeds were planted before many of our

members were even born.

Bill Duce KWAR Executive Officer

The KWAR, along with seven other associations have combined our individual MLS® Systems into one, singular system.

This is not simply a matter of blending databases together, but rather MLS® Systems in the truest sense of the term.

An MLS® System in Canada includes an inventory of listings of participating REALTORS® and ensures a certain level of

accuracy of information, professionalism and co-operation amongst REALTORS® to effect the purchase and sale of real

estate. Meaning that anything that touches upon that information, professionalism, co-operation and access, has had

to be reviewed and agreed upon by the eight associations.

Currently we are rapidly closing in on the launch of this system. And while it may appear to be taking an unbearable

amount of time…for those close to the project it is proceeding at a terrifying pace. No doubt, there will be some hic-

cups along the way. That’s to be expected in a project of this magnitude. But at the end of the day the Board of Direc-

tors are confident that once all of the wrinkles are ironed out it will prove to be a valuable tool for you the member.

I would encourage every member to pay attention to the regular updates from KWAR on this. This process is truly a

partnership not only between associations, but also between members. You have an important role to play in this, and

by staying informed you will know what is expected as well as the steps you can take to make the transition as seam-

less as possible for you and your clients.

Most importantly, we would encourage everyone to keep an open mind, for as we all know, Shift Happens.

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER CONT’D

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

From Left to Right—Brian Santos, Eric Klimstra, Mark Wolle (1st Vice President), Andrew Fielding, Charlotte Zawada (2nd Vice

President), Darryl Watty, James Craig, Dietmar Sommerfeld (Past President), Lynn Bebenek (President), Bill Duce (Executive Officer),

Jane Gardner

GO

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Charlotte Zawada, Chair

Darryl Watty, Co-Chair

Diane Hawrylenko

Diane Stickney

Tracey Appleton

Karen Shartun

George Lavallee

Brian Spall

Tony Schmidt

Frieda Kotsopoulos, Chair

Angela Baas

Krystyna Wojtynek

Brian Santos

Michele Steeves

Lori Teskey

Meghan Bell

Ian Inglis

Karin Barthel

Peter Gingerich

Patti-Jo Lavery-Verkley

Eric Klimstra, Chair

Rob Strickler

Chantel Williams

Jim Watson

Nicole Pohl

Robert Hunsberger

Matt Davidson

Daniel Elliott

Renata Plecity

Naomi Thompson

Mark Wolle, Chair

Bruce Nicholson, Co-Chair

Lucinda Moules

Melodie Walsh

Jim Watson

Gaye Males

Frieda Gilmour

Janet Valentine

Andrew Fielding, Chair

John Amorim, Co-Chair

Deanna Anene

Charlotte Karger

Lucinda Moules

Chantel Williams

Paul Stickney

Gaye Males

Leda Schupbach A

RB

ITR

AT

ION

Mark Wolle, Chair

Bruce Nicholson

Katherine Rechtoris-McNab

Jim Watson

Peter Benninger

Ken Cameron

Keith Church

Ian Brown

Ted Scharf

KWAR VOLUNTEERS 2014

FIN

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Sara Hill, Chair

Jane Gardener, Co-Chair

Brian Santos

Ewa Munch

Trudi Leverette

Joyce Barker

Michael Kidd

Melody Walsh

Jasmyn Lancinger

Goran Askraba

Dietmar Sommerfeld, Chair

Eric Klimstra, Co-Chair

George Patton

Karen Shartun

Charlotte Zawada

Lynn Bebenek

Yaso Sivakaran

Janet Valentine

EX

EC

UT

IVE

Lynn Bebenek, Chair

Mark Wolle

Charlotte Zawada

Dietmar Sommerfeld

Dietmar Sommerfeld, Chair

Lynn Bebenek

Gaye Males

Rob Piombini

Bruce Nicholson

Sara Hill

James Craig

Chris Kotseff

Darren Shaw

Peter Benninger

Mallory Weldon

Darren Shaw

Ted Davis

Ginger Whitney

Brian Santos, Chair

Monique Roes

Leda Schupbach

Andrew Fielding

Michael Hewitson

Meghan Bell

Lori Teskey

Andrew Fielding, Chair

Sharon McIntosh

Frieda Kotsopoulos

Ian Inglis

Michele Steeves

KWAR IN THE COMMUNITY

$7,000 to YWCA Mary’s

Place

(REALTORS Care® Grant)

$7,000 to Lutherwood

(REALTORS Care® Grant)

$17,755 to Lutherwood

(Golf Tournament)

DONATED in 2014

$5,130 to The FoodBank

of Waterloo Region

(Kick Off)

REGIONAL MLS® SYSTEM UPDATE In 2014, Lyle McNair (Guelph and District Association of REALTORS®) and George Patton (Kitchener-Waterloo Association of

REALTORS®) were elected Chair and Vice Chair respectively of the Governors Group.

Bill Duce, Executive Officer, of the Kitchener-Waterloo association, was appointed as Project Coordinator.

The Governors Group determined that Clareity Consulting’s Scout for SAFEACCESS™ authentication solution will be used to

authenticate all users who accesses the system.

The Governors’ Group reached an agreement in principle to integrate MPAC and Teranet data into the Shared Regional MLS® System

as a standard service.

Using a similar process, MPAC has agreed to provide access to square footage, year built, lot frontage and lot depth, along with a few

additional fields.

This will give members the ability to have the information auto populated into their listing at the time of data entry, at a reduced fee.

Members would have the option of not pulling the data from MPAC if they already have it.

The System is being built to accommodate more associations from across Ontario.

To date, there have been meetings with two different regional groups of associations which have expressed interest in what is being

done.

KWAR ADVOCACY

REALTORS® from across Canada gathered in Ottawa to lobby for the indexation and extension of the Home Buyers Plan

Along with writing a letter to the Hon. Denis Lebel, 17 other letters were sent supporting the grass roots call for action. The KWAR were present when Premier Kathleen Wynn announced the provincial government’s plan to bring full-day, two way GO train service between the GTA and Waterloo Region

The KWAR had the opportunity to ask mayoral candidates about their stance on the looming municipal land transfer tax in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce

The KWAR joined OREA in their grass roots campaign which resulted in all three major parties committing to introducing a MLTT and 16 out of 20 LUMCO mayors stating their opposi-tion to the MLTT

KWAR THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

KWAR THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

From Left to Right—Lynn Bebenek (Past President), Eric Klimstra, Brian Santos, James Craig (2nd Vice President), Colleen Koehler, Charlotte Zawada (1st Vice President), Jane Gardner, Mark Wolle (President), Tony Schmidt Andrew Fielding (Missing)

Many commercial transactions result in residential activity, which at times can be significant. To successfully realize these intentions, the 2014 commercial committee put forth a recommendation, which was approved by the board of directors, to establish the Kitchener-Waterloo Commercial REALTOR® Network (KWCN). The focus for the network is to represent the interest of the commercial membership to both the public and the KWAR, focusing on education government/public relations, and establishing community partnerships.

KWAR THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

2014 was the first completed year for the PSC Committee operating under the Fine Assessment Template (FAST) for managing breaches of basic MLS® Rules. There were...125 cases in 2014, 9 cases were referred to RECO, 17 cases were investigated and closed with no allegation statements issued because of insufficient evidence, 1 case was closed as it was against a member of another board, 98 cases were FAST (1 inaccu-rate information, 3 using another member’s photos, 42 late photos, 24 late listings, 17 late sales, 5 late cancellations, 2 late suspensions, 1 containing personal contact information in the property description, 3 missing mandatory information). Of these 98 FAST cases, 10 members were repeat offenders

EDUCATION

The Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® continued to deliver on it’s mission to provide quality continuing

education courses to members. In August of 2013 the Real Estate Ethics Council of Ontario (RECO) launched their new

mandatory Continuing Education (CE) Program which ran parallel to their current classroom program but will be ending

this July 31st, 2015. After that point in time RECO courses will move completely online and members renewing their

registrations up until July 31st, 2015 still have the option to meet their continuing education requirement under the

new online or current classroom program.

The Association responded to these forthcoming changes by offering new and innovative educational opportunities

such as the Heritage Series in partnership with the Architectural Conservatory of Ontario (ACO), ION Session put on by

the KW Commercial Network specifically for commercial REALTORS® and technology based session with Blackberry.

2014 MEMBERSHIP REPORT

UNITS SOLD KW ONLY SALES ALL AREA SALES

KW ONLY SALES

ALL AREA SALES

AVERAGE PRICE

MEDIAN PRICE

AVERAGE PRICE

MEDIAN PRICE

2014 MARKET SUMMARY

2014 MARKET SUMMARY

@KW_REALTORS

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Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® 540 Riverbend Dr., Kitchener, Ontario

519-576-1400 www.kwar.ca