This event was held in person at Sutton Quantum's Oakville office. Summary and recording below.
From the desk of Tina O'Brien
As all of you know by now, the next phase of TRESA has been delayed indefinitely. The concept of open offers is proving to be a little more complicated than the timeline of April 1 allowed. Currently, any hint of the content of a competing agreement of purchase and sale during a multiple offer is a violation of the Act. Under the new legislation, some elements can be revealed with permission with the exception of any identifying personal information. If the seller chooses to allow an open offer, that would allow the sales representative to reveal items such as closing date, deposit, purchase price and other terms and conditions.
Some of the other objectives of the new legislation include removing the exemptions for auctioneers, builders and lawyers. These activities currently operate without the benefit of registration or regulation under the Act.
The Ontario real estate Association is also lobbying for the exemption of land transfer tax for first time homebuyers. Our very own Jacqueline from JWL law reminded the CEO that the scale had not been changed in 30 years. It was such a good point! Increasing the threshold of the escalation to a more realistic target that reflects the new average price of a home could be an alternative to a first time homebuyer LTT exemption. It would give them a break and also modernize this tax.
It was great to have direct input from SQ to one of the key influencers not only on the provincial but also national real estate scene. Some other comments included how the new legislation better reflects practice in the marketplace. I am reminded of the mid 90‘s introduction of buyer agency. It takes time for everyone to fully digest the impact of these changes. We will also be navigating designated representation and a change in the verbiage around customer service. All in all, these seem to be fairly positive and appropriate changes.
We also celebrated the end of discussions on the abolition of blind bidding. Hopefully that doesn’t rear its head again. And we all shook our heads together at the bewildering foreign tax buyer ban. No one can seem to make heads or tails of that weird piece of legislation.
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