The Real Estate Council of Ontario is hosting its virtual 2025 Annual General Meeting on Thursday, where members will learn highlights of the past year, elect new directors, and have the floor to pose their burning questions.
The meeting kicks off at 10 a.m. EDT with remarks by Stephen Crawford, Ontario’s Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement.
RECO board chair Katie Steinfeld, with interim CEO Brenda Buchanan and registrar Joseph Richer, will give an overview of last year’s financial and operational performance in a presentation of the 2024 Annual Report.
“Serving in this role has reinforced my belief in the critical responsibility RECO holds as a regulator – one that shapes the integrity of our industry and strengthens consumer trust,” said Steinfeld in the report.
“While my tenure as chair comes to an end, RECO’s work continues, evolving to meet new challenges and opportunities.”
The meeting caps off with a Q&A session.
A balanced budget
The board posted a small surplus this year with total revenue of $27.6 million, despite a 10 per cent decline in registration revenue, according to the annual report.
Registration revenues declined due to the continued effect of the lower fee structure introduced on Mar. 1, 2023.
Operational revenues are derived from registration fees, other registrant fees, education, and other sources, such as disciplinary fines.
There were 112,865 individuals registered with RECO at year-end.
Payroll spending up 11%
RECO’s salaries and benefits were the largest costs, representing 63 per cent ($17.1 million) of the total $27.4-million expenses.
The cost of salaries and benefits increased 11 per cent from 2023, as RECO staffed up for projects such as a registration education program, migration of RECO’s core systems to the cloud, and actioning on Office of the Auditor General recommendations.
RECO also invested in building a regulatory policy team dedicated to conducting research and analysis, and launched a brand repositioning initiative.
Three seats up for grabs
In 2024, as part of changes to its board size and structure, RECO introduced three classes of directors: sector directors (previously referred to as industry directors), ministerial appointees, and non-sector directors.
At the 2025 AGM, there are three vacancies for sector directors.
The following are the candidates:
David Betty
Owen Crampsie
Leonard Howell
Sylvia Kirkwood
Collin Phillip
Robert Preece
Katie Steinfeld
Subhir Uppal
