SEASON'S GREETINGS

The Directors, Members and Staff of the Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Our office will be closed until Monday January 3rd.

November Stats - Regina and Saskatoon
The November MLS® System statistics for Regina and Saskatoon were released this week.

The media release from the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® is here:
Saskatoon - November Stats Release

And the release from the Association of Regina REALTORS® is here:
Regina - November Stats Release

Does anyone have any comments on the market or predictions on what they think will happen in the balance of the year? We welcome your comments.

CMHC's Saskatoon REALTOR® of the Year for 2010

Kim Tyndal (r) from CMHC presents the 2010
Saskatoon REALTOR® of the Year Award to Al Didur

Congratulations to Al Didur, winner of the 2010 CMHC REALTOR® of the Year Award for Saskatoon. This award is designed to recognize a member of the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® who has made an ongoing and significant contribution to the real estate industry and to the community and Al is a very deserving winner.

ASR Government Relations Days

 (L to R: Al Didur – ASR Government Relations Chair, Bill Madder – ASR EVP, Rhonda Toth - ASR Vice President, Premier Brad Wall, Gary Busch – ASR President, David Salvatore – CREA Director of External Relations)

ASR Government Relations Days a Big Success

Government Relations Days held November 16th and 17th in Regina was a very successful event with over 50 ASR members in attendance.

The event kicked off with the popular “Media Panel” session consisting of Stefani Langenegger from CBC Saskatchewan, Angela Hall from the Regina Leader Post and Gerry Klein from the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. The panel was ably moderated by Local media personality John Gormley who also served as our keynote speaker and gave a very compelling presentation entitled “Update on the Saskatchewan Advantage: Canada’s Greatest Province Continues the Momentum”.

Workshops on our current issues of Affordable Housing and Tax Competitiveness followed and David Salvatore from CREA’s Federal Affairs Department did a presentation on “Effective Advocacy”. David and former Finance Minister Harry Van Mulligen did a role play of an MLA meeting to give attendees an idea of how to present our issues and how an MLA might respond.

The MLA Reception was held on Tuesday evening and we had our best attendance ever with over 30 MLAs joining the group. Among those in attendance were several Cabinet Ministers from the Government side and some prominent critics from the Opposition. The highlight of the night was when Premier Wall took some time from his extremely hectic schedule to join us.

On Wednesday morning we had a quick briefing on our Tax Competitiveness proposal from Mr. Jack Vicq, FCA then everyone went off to their meetings with MLAs. We had meetings scheduled with 25 MLAs and have received 19 MLA visit reports so far. Based on these reports it appears our messages were well received.

Several of our members attended Question Period on Wednesday afternoon and the ASR was welcomed to the Legislature by NDP House Leader Len Taylor and also by Municipal Affairs Minister Darryl Hickie.

Remembrance Day

The Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS office will be closed November 11th to observe Remembrance Day. Please be sure to take a moment to remember those who gave their lives for our country.

We will be open for regular business hours on Friday November 12th at 8:30 am.

                                                                                     

October Stats

October Stats - Regina and Saskatoon


The October MLS® System statistics for Regina and Saskatoon were released this week.


The media release from the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® is here:

Saskatoon - October Stats Release


And the release from the Association of Regina REALTORS® is here:

Regina - October Stats Update

Does anyone have any comments on the market or predictions on what they think will happen in the balance of the year? We welcome your comments.

ASR Partners With Other Business Groups to Propose Tax Reforms

A Change Today For Your Tomorrow – Tax Plan Unveiled

The most comprehensive review of Saskatchewan’s tax environment since 1965 was released today with seven recommendations to create a more competitive tax environment in Saskatchewan.  The report outlines reforms that are staged for implementation over several years giving the Saskatchewan government time to implement each recommendation.

The report was funded by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Saskatchewan, Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS®, Certified General Accountants of Saskatchewan and the Certified Management Accountants of Saskatchewan. The organizations contracted the Canada West Foundation (the Foundation) and its Saskatchewan Director Mr. Jack Vicq, FCA, to create a report outlining the current situation and to identify reforms to enhance the Province’s tax policy.

The plan outlines reforms for the Education Property Tax, Municipal Property Tax, Personal Income Tax, Financial Corporate Capital Tax and taxation of Business Investment. Each reform would enhance the tax environment in Saskatchewan.

For more details on upcoming events, to request more information, or read the full Canada West Foundation report please visit the website at http://www.sasktaxplan.ca/
The ASR is very proud to have participated in this project and feel that it has great potential for the province. We welcome your comments below or on the website.