Many TRREB agents aren’t selling homes amid tough market, research finds

What’s going on at TRREB?

New data claims that a large number of agents with the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) aren’t doing much actual home selling.

“According to my research through a third-party company that tracks transactions, just over 43,000 [TRREB] agents were credited with one or more transactions in the past 12 months,” David Fleming, a broker with Bosley Toronto Realty Group Inc., told The Globe and Mail.

“Over 14,000 agents were credited with exactly one transaction.”

The update comes as Canada’s largest real estate board braces for its first year-over-year membership decline in decades amid “challenging market conditions.”

While many realtors in Ontario are retiring in the face of a tough housing market, others could be fired or let go if demand continues to cool.

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Your rights

In Canada, real estate agents are entitled to full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

This applies to non-unionized individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.

If you were hired as a real estate agent, but treated like an independent contractor, use Samfiru Tumarkin LLP’s Pocket Employment Lawyer to find out if you should be considered an employee.

Key severance facts:

• Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay—depending on age, length of service, position at the company, and other factors.
• In addition to salary, severance may cover bonuses, commissions, and other compensation.
• You have up to two years from the date of your termination to pursue full severance pay—regardless of any employer-imposed deadlines, which aren’t legally enforceable.

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains severance rights if you’ve been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you sign a severance package

Use our firm’s free Severance Pay Calculator to confirm that the offer you received from your employer is fair.

This interactive tool has helped millions of Canadians determine their severance entitlements.

In the event that your employer’s offer falls short of what our calculator says you’re owed, it’s very likely you’ve been wrongfully dismissed and should contact an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

If you’ve already accepted a severance offer, don’t panic. Connect with a member of our team as soon as possible.

LEARN MORE
• Severance pay for provincially regulated employees
• Rights to severance for housing sector staff
• Are severance packages different during mass layoffs?
• Severance entitlements in a recession

Workplace issue? Talk to our team

Since 2007, the experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP has helped tens of thousands of non-unionized individuals resolve their workplace issues.

In addition to severance package negotiations, our lawyers in Ontario, Alberta, or B.C. can assist you on a broad range of employment matters, including:

If you’re a non-unionized employee who needs help with a workplace issue, contact us or call 1-855-821-5900 to get the advice you need and the compensation you deserve.

Disclaimer: The materials above are provided as general information about the rights of non-unionized employees in Canada. It is not specific to any one company and should not be read as suggesting any improper conduct on the part of any specific employer, or a relationship between Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and a specific employer.