I often have clients ask me what BCREA stands for and what do they do? Well first of all BCREA stands for the British Columbia Real Estate Association. This isn't meant to be a comprehensive overview of all that the do, but I did want to highlight one very important area.
In 2004, the BCREA adopted an approach called Quality of Life to reflect the community-building work done by Realtors throughout the province. In many ways Realtors are Experts about The Quality of Life in that they know what it is that people value in their homes and communities. Its part of our job! Our clients talk to us about their values every day. Through this approach, BCREA has been involved in finding balance among the five principles discussed below. Its goal is to align the Association's goalsl with those of the governemnt and the public and establishing alliances with other organizations and supporting positions and recommendations through solid research.
So the goal of the Quality of Life Approach is to recommend policies to the Government that will enable people to get what they value most: jobs, homes and better communities. Basically, the premise is that whats good for the Province is also going to be good for Real Estate.
Since Realtors are in the business of selling communities - not just homes, we want good schools and parks, safe neighbourhoods, a strong economy and good choices for transportation. Through the BCREA and the BC real estate boards we aim to present thoughtful and balanced perspectives to decision makers that will help communities prosper, benefiting all British Columbians.
Here are the five Quality of Life Principles:
1.) Ensuring economic vitality - a key to the quality of life obviously is a strong economy.
2.) Providing housing opportunities. Safe, decent and affordable housing near where we work, shop and play. It also has to be attainable and affordable!
3.) Preserving the environment. Realtors do recognize that one of the most important elements of our quality of life is the environment: clean air, water, parks and open space.
4.) Protecting property owners. A strong economydepends on preserving the investment people haemade in real estae by protecting their ability to freely own, use, buy and sell real property.
5.) Building better communities. In partnership with governments we want to build safe neighbourhoods and sufficiently fund roads, water and sewer.
Recent Actions Taken to Improve Quality of Life
- Raising the Property Trnasfer Tax exemption thresholds in 2007 to $375,000 and to $425,000 in 2008. This enabling more first-time Buyers to qualify and helping stimulation economic activity in the communities.
- Lobbying of the federal government to keep its campaign promises and provide incentives for private sector investors to help stimulate construction of rental housing.
- Participation in the 2007 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's BC Aboriginal Housing Symposium .
- Created the Green Tool Kit for Realtors, a public website offering information about greener buildings and real estate, ratings systems, rebate programs and benefits.
- Submitted a request to the Minister of Finance for public incentives to encourage the adoption of green practices. This resulted in a pilot program which offers rebates to purchasers of new homes tht meet the Build Green BC Standard.
- In conjuction with the Condominium Home Owners' Association helped identify potential changes to the Strata Property Act to benefit owners, buyers and real estate practicioners.
- Has been petitioning the the government to ensure adequate infrastructure, systems to monitor water levels, emergency response capabilities and communication with stakeholders and all British Columbians.
If you or someone you know is thinking of Buying or Selling property in Chilliwack, Hope, Abbotsford, Langley or anywhere in the Fraser Valley Area of B.C. - or if you would like more information please give Liz Moras of Landmark Realty Chilliwack a call at- 604-799-0459 or e-mail at lizmoras@gmail.com.
Copyright © 2009 By Liz Moras, All Rights Reserved. All photos by Liz Moras except the one's I'm in!). All information provided by this author is only an opinion, it is not guaranteed, may be based on information collected from several sources, and may be time sensitive. It is not necessarily representative of the opinions of Landmark Realty Chwk. Ltd..
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