Reading the news online is enough to make anyone weep. Being a student of history, it’s hard to ignore and not to worry about the developments in Russia and the Ukraine. Then there’s our beloved, but divided, country and the big demonstrations of late. Everyone has an opinion about these, including me. But I like my job, so enough said about that.

Closer to home, we’re awaiting the government’s answer to the biggest questions of our time namely,

• “how do we cool down the market without giving sellers a stroke;”
• “how do we keep all that lovely tax revenue generated by the fast-paced market and rising property prices, if we calm things down;” and
• “now that we’ve done the easy part by announcing measures to calm things down by way of cooling-off periods and possibly, action on what we’re referring to as “price-baiting” and “blind bidding,” what, exactly, will we do? Will it have the desired effect?” Who knows. Only time will tell.

Bigger brains than mine are dealing with all of this. In the meantime, let’s consider our blessings. We have many, professionally and personally. Taking the time to think about these will put a rosier tint on your world view. When we feel good, it’s easier to find the energy to try to change things for the better, rather than dwelling on what we probably can’t do much to change.

At the top of my happy list: We live in a beautiful part of the world. Spring is here and my crocuses are out and the daffodils are coming up. We’re pretty safe living in Metro Vancouver. Whatever you may think about the police and the justice system, we can generally expect that there will be consequences for lawbreakers. Are there consequences for those who irritate us? Not so much. But it’s not a crime to be irritating. Just ask my kids. 

We have food to eat and a roof over our heads. Maybe that roof isn’t quite what we want or where we want it to be, and maybe our bank balance isn’t as hefty as we hope for. But overall, we have it better than anyone has ever had it since human beings began walking the earth. So, as vexing as the big-name problems of the day are, if we can’t do something about them as individuals, let’s think about the problems we can deal with.

We’ve got work to do, namely, making our profession better. While “better,” means different things to different people, I don’t think there are very many of us who don’t care about improving our public perception and what folks think about our professionalism and our general usefulness in solving their real estate problems.

Wouldn’t it be neat if we were able to climb a few rungs higher on the public perception ladder?

If this is important to you, what exactly can you do during the next six months to contribute? What’s the low-hanging fruit you could pick to help get us there? Would it be helping colleagues be better at what they do by offering friendly advice, now and then? Would it be to mentor someone new to our profession? Would it be to report member wrongdoing? Would it include being more considerate of others by being on time; being more civil and not saying everything that pops into our heads? Would it be to follow the spirit of the rules rather than thinking about ways to get around them?

We all have bad habits and baggage. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take a shot at incrementally improving how we interact with others, one relationship at a time. Give it a shot. Look for the good in people, and the good in our profession. Concentrate on that and you’ll be happier for it, believe me.  

Building on the “let’s pay attention to the rule and the spirit of the rule,” idea mentioned above, I’m reminding everyone that publishing the reported price at which a property has sold isn’t allowed until the deal has been registered at the Land Title and Survey Authority, when the sale price becomes a matter of public record. A member asked me to write a reminder to members about this. Namely, saying in your ad, “sold for $125,000 over list;” or, sold for 10.68% more than the list price” and similar, are all potential breaches of Rule 8.06 which says:

8.06      Advertising of Sale Price

A sale price shall not be advertised prior to that information being publicly available through a government registry, unless prior approval is provided by both buyer and seller in writing.

You can, of course, use reported but not yet completed sale information to advise your clients since that’s permitted by the Privacy Notice and Consent Form. Those folks have asked for the information. But publicly blasting the information out to others who have not asked for the information is a problem, so please don’t do it.

Oh, and P.S. Once the deal has closed and been registered, don’t advertise the price at which the place was listed. Why? Because the listing price drops off Realtor.ca and therefore, it’s no longer public information. Remember: In advertising, the listing price is the only price that can be advertised before closing. After closing, only the sold price should appear in your ad.

If you want me to attend your next sales meeting virtually, let me know. Email a few potential dates to me at kspencer@rebgv.org and I'll get back to you about setting something up.