London St Thomas Association of REALTORS

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>	Organized Real Estate
	REALTOR® Code
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About organized real estate

Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA)

Every LSTAR Member also belongs to the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) , which represents 44,330 brokers and salespeople who are members of the province’s 42 real estate boards. OREA serves its members through a wide variety of publications, educational programs and special services. The Association provides all real estate licensing courses in Ontario.

OREA continually strives to improve the image of REALTORS® by enhancing educational and professional standards. It develops and publishes standard forms and supports educational and charitable causes through the REALTORS® Care Foundation.

Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)

In addition to belonging to OREA, each LSTAR Member also belongs to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) , one of Canada's largest single industry trade associations. CREA represents nearly 90,000 real estate brokers and salespeople working through more than 99 real estate boards, 10 provincial associations and one territorial association.

CREA's primary mission is to represent its members at the federal level of government and to act as a watchdog on national legislation that pertains to the real estate industry. CREA is a strong advocate for affordable housing initiatives on the part of government.

CREA owns the MLS® (a co-operative marketing system through which properties are bought and sold) trade mark and has a proprietary interest in the REALTOR® trademark. The REALTOR® trademark is an assurance of integrity. It can only be used in Canada by members of The Canadian Real Estate
Association who accept and respect a strict Code of Ethics . The real estate database systems operated by CREA’s member boards and associations under the MLS® trade mark provide an ongoing inventory of available properties and ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale. This is important because most resale homes in Canada are sold through REALTOR®.ca (was MLS®). The association also operates the REALTOR.ca (was MLS®) and ICX web sites, as well as REALTOR Link® , an intranet for members across Canada.

Real Estate Council of Ontario

The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) is the licensing and regulatory body for Ontario’s real estate professionals. All LSTAR Members are RECO registrants and are licensed under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act (REBBA), which is administered by RECO on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services. An essential part of RECO’s mandate is consumer protection. If you have a complaint about an Association Member, find out more about RECO’s complaints process .

Brokers and Salespersons

In Ontario, a Broker is a person licensed by RECO to trade in real estate. Real Estate Brokers may form brokerages or offices, while a salesperson is someone employed, appointed or authorized by brokerages to trade in real estate. The term ‘agent’ is not used to describe a real estate broker or salesperson in Ontario.

What is a REALTOR®?

All LSTAR Members are REALTORS®. As stated above, the term ‘REALTOR®’ is restricted to those real estate practitioners who have chosen to belong to local, provincial and national real estate associations. In so doing, they have agreed to abide by a strict Code of Ethics that ensures the highest level of service and integrity. A REALTOR® understands the ins and outs of tax assessments, appraisal, financing, market values and closing procedures; he or she is plugged into an extensive information network. Using LSTAR’s MLS®, your REALTOR® can market a property to all his or her fellow REALTORS®; conversely, he or she can match buyers’ specific needs to all available properties on the system.
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This information is provided by the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®.
The information herein is believed to be accurate and timely, but no warranty as such is expressed or implied.