TRUST IS THE KEY FOR NEW SUPERINTENDENT
Michael Noseworthy has been tasked with restoring confidence as B.C.’s new superintendent of real estate. A real estate lawyer, Noseworthy last worked for the Yukon government. A few days into his gig, Susan Lazaruk caught up with Noseworthy to see where
Q Congratulations on your new job. Everyone would agree you have your work cut out for you. Some would say it’s better late than never. But others that it’s too little, too late in terms of reining in speculation and helping affordability in Metro Vancouver. What would you say to them?
A This is a huge, significant change (in the oversight of the real estate industry). I have new tools that my predecessors didn’t have. This is really unprecedented, what’s happened with these changes. The office of the superintendent of real estate is solely dedicated to protecting British Columbians when they make what is the biggest purchase of their lives.
Q How did the real estate industry get away with regulating itself — poorly, it turned out — for so long?
A The decision to end self- regulation was one only the government could make. The panel made several recommendations, but it stopped short of ending self-regulation. The government made that decision.
Q What, to you, are the most important recommendations by the panel that criticized the council, pointing out it was unable or unwilling to act against alleged misconduct by realtors after unscrupulous actions were reported?
A It’s difficult to pick just one. The ban against shadow-flipping is no longer a recommendation — it’s already been put into place. Another recommendation that is high on my list of priorities to address is dual agency (when Realtors act for the buyer and the seller).
Q Should British Columbians trust realtors and the industry again?
A People need to be able to trust realtors. They get paid a significant amount of money to do this, to act as advocate for the buyer or the seller. I recently purchased a home in Vancouver and I had a really good experience. But I practised real estate law and I know the system, and I was still really stressed out. It was a very hot market in Vancouver. You shouldn’t really have to have a law degree to buy a home.