September 23, 2013 - Speaker: Keith Weinbender – President Alberta Real Estate Association and summary of the Association

Speaker:  Keith Weinbender – President Alberta Real Estate Association and summary of the Association

Who is AREA?  Established in 1947 and self-regulated in 1996 AREA is a provincial professional association for 10 regional boards and more than 10,000 realtors province wide, providing advocacy, resources , tools and support for Alberta Realtors.  They are not the industry regulator who governs the industry in Alberta.

Not everyone licensed to transact real estate in Alberta is as Realtor.  Realtors are those who are licensed and belong to a regional real estate board.  A realtor who belongs to a real estate board automatically becomes a member of the provincial association (AREA) and the national association (Canadian Real Estate Association or CREA)

AREA is provincial Advocacy, that provides practical support, professional development, public awareness, industry advancement and technology tools for  Alberta realtors.

So why care about AREA? 

AREA advocates the provincial government and regulatory bodies to protect and support the industry and Alberta consumers by advocating for: (1)  needed revisions to the Condominium Property Act, (2) against land transfer tax in Alberta; (3) for provincial standards for remediating properties used as illegal drug operation and (4) for centralizing all data about a specific property through Land Titles.

AREA provides standard forms, advice and resources to raise the provincial standard of real estate practice and  build practice consistency by using (1) stand forms to assist consumers with real estate transactions; (2) practice advice for realtors and (3) practice resources for realtors via monthly e-mails, publications, interactive tutorials and online library.

AREA provides professional development to help realtors better serve their clients and enhance their career potential, and do this primarily through ongoing online and in-class professional development opportunities, created in-house or sourced from others.

AREA fosters public awareness about realtors expertise and the value a realtor brings to the real estate transaction through (1) creating  awareness about advocacy; (2) sharing knowledge and expertise concerning prevalent issues and concerns; and (3) highlight realtors community service.

In a Nutshell………… as the provincial professional association, AREA supports Alberta realtors to professionally service Alberta’s real estate consumers.  They are professionals in the field of real estate, concern about protecting the real estate consumer and dedicated to the communities in which they live, serve and work.