Advisory

Purpose

BC Financial Services Authority (“BCFSA”) is issuing this Advisory to notify managing brokers, associate brokers, and brokerages licensed for trading services of the 2025 Real Estate Brokerage Data Call (“2025 Data Call”).

Background information

BCFSA is collecting data on residential real estate transactions and the use of the Home Buyer Rescission Period (“HBRP”) from all B.C. brokerages licensed to provide trading services. The 2025 Data Call builds on previous years’ data collection efforts and BCFSA’s announcement in August 2024 about changes to the HBRP reporting format. Participation in the data call is mandatory and a failure to respond may result in the issuance of an administrative penalty to the brokerage.

Data Collection

Listing brokerages are required to report data on:

1. Residential Real Estate Transactions - All sales of residential property with a firm date between February 16, 2025 – March 15, 2025, where the brokerage provided services to the seller. In addition to the data fields collected in previous years, the 2025 Data Call includes new data fields related to consumer representation. These are further discussed below.
2. HBRP – All rescissions occurring in 2024 (January 1 – December 31, 2024) where the brokerage provided services to the seller. HBRP data was previously reported via annual brokerage filings; however, BCFSA has modified the reporting process to support more timely collection of information and improved accuracy. Additional information on these changes can be found here.

If a brokerage does not have any real estate transactions or rescissions to report, the brokerage is still required to make a NIL submission when prompted on the IRIS portal.

Detailed information and instructions on the submission process can be found here. Brokerages can begin making submissions on February 18, 2025. Submissions are due March 31, 2025, and must be submitted via the IRIS portal.

BCFSA acknowledges the work required of managing brokers to provide this data and extends its appreciation in advance.

Rationale

BCFSA requires industry data to support its effective and proactive oversight of the financial services sector. By gathering information about real estate services and brokerage activities, BCFSA can make better, evidence-based decisions. This data helps BCFSA understand the real estate market, track trends over time, and evaluate and monitor the impact of policy and/or economic changes on real estate services. The data supports various BCFSA activities, such as the development of educational courses and potential regulatory changes, helping to ensure real estate professionals maintain high standards and strengthening public trust. BCFSA continues to explore market-driven policy and/or consumer risks through the 2025 Data Call, which include but are not limited to:

• Market Metrics: Transactions by region, brokerage, and/or agent to understand basic market dynamics including volume, price, and offer details;
• Unconditional offers: The prevalence of unconditional offers, and the most common conditions or combination of conditions;
• Multiple offer situations: The prevalence of multiple offers, price discrepancies between offers, and potential risk factors related to multiple-offer situations (i.e. conditions, region, market conditions);

In addition, BCFSA has added new fields to the 2025 Data Call, specifically:

• Representation: Common types of representation offered to consumers by both individuals and teams and understanding the prevalence of unrepresented parties in real estate transactions to help evaluate existing policies and regulatory approaches relating to representation and teams;
• HBRP: Monitoring uptake of the HBRP to support program evaluation on behalf of government. This information was previously collected through brokerage annual filings but has now been incorporated into the data call to support more timely reporting of information.

BCFSA intends to publish a summary report of results of the 2025 Data Call. This is consistent with the approach taken in previous years. The report will provide a general overview of the data collected as well as any observable trends or analysis. The report is intended to inform industry and the public of general market conditions and consumer risks.

BCFSA is governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which sets limitations and requirements related to BCFSA’s collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. For additional information on how BCFSA complies with these requirements, please visit BCFSA’s Privacy Policy.

2025 Data Call Information Session

On February 6, 2025, BCFSA hosted a virtual information session covering key aspects and essential information related to the 2025 Real Estate Brokerage Data Call.

• Watch Information Session Recording

• View Information Session Slides

Failure to Respond May Result in Administrative Penalty

Response to the 2025 Data Call is mandatory for all trading services brokerages. Section 93.1 of the Real Estate Services Rules (“Rules”) requires licensees to provide records and information pursuant to requests by the Superintendent and in accordance with the requirements specified by the Superintendent.

Section 93.1 is a Category A designated contravention pursuant to section 26 of the Rules, and is subject to an administrative penalty of $1,000 for a first contravention and $2,000 for any subsequent contravention under section 27 of the Rules.

Failure to respond to the 2025 Data Call may result in the issuance of an administrative penalty to the brokerage.

Additional information

For more information, please visit the resources below:

• 2025 Data Call Information
• 2025 Data Call Instructions
• 2025 Data Call Regulatory Statement
• 2024 Real Estate Brokerage Data Call and HBRP Report
• HBRP Reporting Advisory

Managing brokers with questions about the Data Call are encouraged to reach out to BCFSA’s Practice Standards Advisors:

Email: advisor@bcfsa.ca
Phone: 604-660-3555 or toll-free 1-866-206-3030