CREA members narrowly back fee increase, special levy amid cost pressures

Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) members have voted in favour of a fee increase and two-year special assessment aimed at tackling rising costs and legal bills. 

The motions passed by a narrow margin at CREA’s annual general meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday: 58.6 per cent of votes were in favour of the cost-of-living adjustment, while the special assessment passed with 55.5 per cent of the vote.

Cost of living adjustment

CREA will implement a two per cent annual cost-of-living adjustment to member dues starting Jan. 1, 2027, with the increase remaining in place until the board determines it is no longer necessary.

In a previous interview, CREA CEO Janice Myers said dues, unchanged at $310 since 2013, have lost about $104 in real value per member due to inflation, adding that declining membership since 2023 “has had a significant impact on the budgets.”

CREA’s membership totalled more than 158,000 at the end of 2025, down from 165,000 at the peak just a few years ago. 

Special assessment

A motion to introduce a two-year, $30-per-member annual special assessment was also approved, expected to raise about $9 million to cover litigation costs. 

The move comes as CREA faces mounting legal expenses, with its legal defence fund depleted, $2 million already drawn from operations and another $2 million in costs forecast for 2026, following $4 million in 2024 and $1.8 million in 2025 tied to the Sunderland and McFall litigation and the Competition Bureau investigation.

CREA members voted down a similar $75 special assessment at the 2025 AGM.

CREA’s response

In a statement provided to Real Estate Magazine following the meeting, 2025/2026 CREA chair Valerie Paquin said, “We’re pleased voting delegates recognized our commitment to financial stewardship and supported our two important financial motions.”

“With a new strategic plan and the confidence of the Realtor community, CREA can continue to protect, defend and support our members and the clients we serve all across the country,” said Paquin.

‘They did the work’

Chris Guérette, CEO of the Saskatchewan Realtors Association, said her board voted in favour of both motions after seeing the effort CREA has made to pare its budget down.

“They went back last year and self-reflected and analyzed their financials,” she said. “What we saw today was (CREA) did the hard work, produced results, and I think they had just enough of the membership that was supportive of that to cross the finish line.”

Guérette said she is bracing for some pushback from SRA’s members in Saskatchewan about having to pay more at least for the next two years, because “I never assume that a hundred per cent of our members will be happy with a particular decision,” she said.

On contributing to the legal defence fund, she said many agents are aware of how litigious the industry can be, so “knowing that our future will be a little bit stronger is comforting.”

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