Every year we gather as a company, whether virtually or in-person, to celebrate our female agents. Our Women of Oakwyn event is now in its 5th year, with 2021 marking the second year that the pandemic forces us to take the event online. This will not stop us from gathering as a community and instigating valuable and lasting change.

WOO exists to make sure women in real estate have the tools, resources, and community to succeed in the industry and feel empowered, valued, and successful.

Oakwyn fights hard against the inequities of the real estate industry, but we still have a ways to go.

While progress is being made, women in real estate remain a minority when it comes to industry top producers and achieving President’s Club Status. This year, we wanted to bridge the gap that exists in the industry and enable more women to seek leadership opportunities, learn new skills, feel empowered, and excel in today’s market.

On International Women’s Day, Oakwyn announced its first real estate scholarship initiative. The WOO real estate scholarships grant several individuals the funding and opportunity to pursue a real estate career at the institutions of their choice and aims to provide the means for someone to enter the industry with the tools to succeed. All the ticket sales from the WOO event will go towards the real estate scholarships and Oakwyn will be matching all proceeds earned.

The real estate scholarship marks an exciting opportunity for WOO to pioneer something truly life-changing for an individual and continues our push to transform the industry from the inside out.

If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, please fill out this application. The successful candidates will be announced on April 30th with applications closing April 23rd.

Check back in soon to read about our WOO event and the full day’s proceedings. For now, you can find tickets here.

Oakwyn recognizes the need for more women in business leadership roles and will continue to work to help forge a new path for women in the industry. Together, we will make lasting change.

Make sure you keep up with the latest International Women’s Day updates and celebrations on our Instagram.

At Oakwyn we’re always wanting to present the facts in an engaging way. Every month, one of our agents will unpick current market statistics from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver to help you understand what’s going on in the real estate market and what you should be looking out for.

For January 2021 statistics report, we have Oakwyn agent,  Ashley Smith here for her market update.

January 2021 statistics speak to the trend we’ve been seeing over the last several months in terms of high demand and low supply.

January 2021 has been another record-breaking month with home sales in the greater Vancouver region up 36% from the 10-year average. Year over year we’re seeing big differences when it comes to the number of home sales. For example, in the greater Vancouver region, detached home sales are up 69% year over year for January, which is an unprecedented jump. Townhomes are up 43% and condominiums are up 47% in terms of the number of sales.

Home prices are generally up as well. The benchmark home price for a detached home in the greater Vancouver region is almost 1.6 million dollars. This is an 11% increase year over year from January 2020 and a 1.4% increase from December across the region. This is definitely where we’re seeing the most increase in value.

The benchmark price for townhomes in our region is $815,000. This is about a 4.3% increase year over year with slight increase month over month. The benchmark price for condos in our region is $680,000 and that’s 2.2% from last year.

January 2021 statistics show us that when we’re talking about real estate there are two sides to the story. Not only demand but also supply and supply has just been low for a while.

When looking at January 2021, supply was actually down from January 2020 and from December 2020. We’re starting to hear about prospective home sellers, would-be buyers, being nervous about selling and looking at buying first before they list their property. This is contributing to the housing shortage we have.

One of the other important statistics to keep in mind is the sales to listing ratio. This ratio helps outline whether or not we’re in a seller’s market, a buyer’s market, or a balanced market, and it has to do with the number of sales per month related to the supply.

Once home sale activity is at 12% or less for a given period of time, that’s when we start seeing a buyer’s market and perhaps downward pressure on price. If home sales exceed 20% of the supply, we’re going to start seeing upward pressure on prices and more of a seller’s market.

Generally speaking, for most neighbourhoods and most housing segments, we are definitely in seller’s market territory.

January 2021 statistics show us it’s an interesting real estate market right now but for a home buyer, it can be really frustrating. So it’s really important to know the market, get advice, and get someone helping you early on

Work with your Oakwyn agent, work with your trusted real estate advisor, and come up with a plan that makes sense for you in 2021 if you’re thinking about making a move.

To keep up with the latest market statistics and join the conversation, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and visit our website.

At Oakwyn, we want to make sure we are continuing to provide value and insight within the Real Estate Industry. This includes sharing our knowledge and experience with our community.

For this month Oakwyn Managing Broker, Arlene Chiang is here to shed light on RECBC’s Administrative Penalty Guidelines, in effect Feb 1, 2021.

Read on for Arlene’s take and get in the know, with Oakwyn.

RECBC Administrative Penalty Regime came into effect Feb 1, 2021. The Real Estate Council of British Columbia, together with the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate, have released a new Administrative Penalty Regime as a method to promote compliance with the legislative requirements.

The new regime encourages us to continue to work to improve the level of standards and professionalism in the industry today.

The Administrative Penalties are broken into 4 Categories:

Contraventions in this category are characterized as business management infractions, such as paperwork requirements and submissions, with low risk of harm to consumers.

Administrative penalty amounts are $1,000 for 1st contravention and $2,000 for subsequent contraventions.

The infractions involved in Category B are generally characterized as minor matters with no or immaterial harm to consumers. Most of the matters in Category B are licensee responsibilities to keep RECBC informed or are individual licensee responsibilities to keep their managing broker informed.

Administrative penalty amounts are $2,500 for the 1st contravention and $5,000 for subsequent contraventions.

Contraventions in this category contain substantial duties licensees owe to clients and a failure to act with reasonable skill and care.

Administrative penalty amounts are $5,000 for the 1st contravention and $10,000 for subsequent contraventions.

Contraventions in this category are characterized by mostly advertising and marketing requirements. The potential amount of the penalty will increase on a daily basis until compliance is achieved.

Administrative penalty amounts are $1,000 for the 1st contravention and $2,000 for subsequent contraventions, or a daily penalty of $250 until compliance is met to a maximum of $50,000.

We hope our round-up of RECBC’s Administrative Penalty Guidelines is helpful for you! We are in this together to improve the real estate industry! Let’s stay on top of what we need to do to continue to lead the way in providing professional, ethical, and excellent service to those we serve.

For more information check out our website, or contact us!