By Jeremy Davis
The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board has been operating within the city of Winnipeg since 1903. Its origin included many of Winnipeg’s founding visionaries who were vested in growing the city as the Gateway to the West. Today, the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board represents over 2,400 professional residential and commercial REALTORS® along with affiliate Members from appraisal, property management and the financial services industry. The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board offers the MLS® or Multiple Listing Service as a critical marketing resource. The MLS® is a co-operative real estate selling system operated and promoted by the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board.
The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board also enforces regulatory compliance, offers a myriad of professional development opportunities, advocates on issues important to the growth and development of the real estate industry and quality of life, and is a leader across Canada in data analytics which provides the base for understanding Winnipeg and its surrounding area real estate market performance.
As 2022 winds down, this year’s final Market Matters column highlights some of the important activities the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board led throughout the year.
In January, Akash Bedi of RE/MAX EXECUTIVES REALTY, was elected as the 119th President of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board. Bedi is a second-generation REALTOR® who began his career in real estate in 2003. He has dedicated countless hours of volunteer time while serving on key Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board committees and the Board is grateful for the efforts he continues to put in as President.
As has been the case since its founding, the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board continues to prioritize efforts to support the communities we serve. In 2022, these efforts were front and center with 2 installations for the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s Citizens Hall of Fame. The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board Citizens Hall of Fame was founded in 1986 to recognize citizens who have contributed to Winnipeg’s quality of life with exceptional achievements in leadership and community service through a commissioned bronze bust that is displayed in Assiniboine Park.
This year saw the installation of Margret Jónsdóttir Benedictsson who was the 47th inductee in the Citizens Hall of Fame. Benedictsson was an Icelandic immigrant who helped pave the way for women in Manitoba to become the first in Canada to win the right to vote. She was a key member of the suffrage movement in Manitoba who advocated to enfranchise women with same rights as men regardless of their marital or property holding status.
A second installation took place with the 48th inductee in the Citizens Hall of Fame, the Honorable Murray Sinclair. The Honourable Murray Sinclair brings global recognition to our community as a leading advocate for Indigenous Peoples in Canada. He is a former member of the Canadian Senate, served as the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba and the second in Canada. He served as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and continues to be one of our nation’s greatest champions of reconciliation.
The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s Gimme Shelter event raised funds directed to organizations within Manitoba that provide a broad spectrum of shelter options to those in need. REALTORS® Care is a guiding principle and a trademark that celebrates and unites the great charitable work being done by REALTORS®, brokerages, and real estate boards and associations across Canada. From food banks, to shelter related support, your REALTORS® joined with us to raise $12,316.98 this past October to support the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s Gimme Shelter 2022. Gimme Shelter proceeds are donated to the Manitoba Realtor® Shelter Foundation to continue helping shelter-related charities. We thank all our volunteers, sponsors, and donors for supporting the Gimme Shelter event.
Here at the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board, we are focused on ensuring we support advocacy efforts that keep our cities healthy. This year, the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board focused its advocacy efforts on City of Winnipeg issues like Enabling Affordable Housing Development, Residential Grow Operations, Building and Occupancy Permits, Residential Infill Development and the need for Strategic Enabling Infrastructure. Other advocacy issues include ending the Land Transfer Tax, and the removal of the Education Tax from municipal property tax bills.
Another way that the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board sought to prioritize efforts in the community was through active participation in the 2022 Municipal Elections that took place on October 26, 2022, that saw the election of new Mayors, Reeves and Councillors across our market region. The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board was proud to play a part in the democratic process by hosting a podcast series inviting all mayoral candidates who ran in Winnipeg, gaining insights to answer questions on issues relating to housing and infrastructure. We thank all the candidates for taking part in the podcast and congratulate Mayor Scott Gillingham on his victory in Winnipeg.
As we reflect on a year that transitioned itself through changing market conditions, our REALTOR® Members continued to lead the way by providing buyers and sellers with a big advantage. REALTORS® are professional experts trained in understanding real estate market valuation with access to comparable sales data from the MLS® and the Canadian Real Estate Association’s Home Price Index. Those looking to buy had REALTORS® work to obtain the best possible terms and price, organize the appropriate documentation, and utilize a diverse network of service professionals to provide buyers with objective advice. And those looking to sell worked with REALTORS® to understand property sale and negotiation strategies, access to up-to-date local real estate market information and had their REALTOR® build marketing plans to advertise properties.
Additionally, an important facet of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board is the complimentary weekly publication of the premier real estate marketing publication, the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate News. The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate News produces 10,000 weekly copies with a pickup rate of 98% and is distributed to over 350 locations throughout Winnipeg and across our market region and available at financial institutions, grocery stores and various REALTOR® offices.
The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate News website also provides helpful information such as a financial mortgage calculator, closing costs and Land Transfer Tax, mortgage terminology, a moving checklist and a list of our Business Partners and Affiliate Associates, and resources for those moving to Winnipeg. The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate News website averages over 500,000 monthly page views with year-to-date totals of over 5,000,000 and can be found at:
www.winnipegregionalrealestatenews.com
As we close off 2022, we wish you all the best of the holidays! See you in 2023!
Jeremy Davis is the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s Director External Relations & Market Intelligence.