TRENDING: These Are The Invisible Decisions Driving Today's Development

REALTOR

Learn what a REALTOR is in Canada, how it differs from other agents, and why the designation matters in real estate transactions.

REALTOR

June 16, 2025


What is a REALTOR?

A REALTOR is a licensed real estate professional who is a member of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and adheres to its Code of Ethics and professional standards.

Why REALTORs Matter in Real Estate

In Canadian real estate, not all real estate agents are REALTORS. The REALTOR designation signifies additional commitment to professionalism, continuing education, and client advocacy.



REALTORS must:
  • Be licensed through a provincial regulatory body
  • Belong to a local real estate board and CREA
  • Abide by the REALTOR Code of Ethics
  • Maintain professional insurance and ongoing education



REALTORS offer services in residential, commercial, and investment real estate, and often have access to exclusive market data via the MLS system.



Understanding the REALTOR designation helps consumers identify qualified professionals who are accountable to a higher standard.

Example of a REALTOR in Action

The buyer chooses to work with a REALTOR to ensure they have ethical representation, market data access, and negotiation expertise during their home purchase.

Key Takeaways

  • A REALTOR is a member of CREA
  • Must follow strict ethical and professional standards
  • Has access to MLS and market tools
  • Provides regulated services in real estate
  • Distinct from generic real estate agents

Related Terms

Additional Terms

Public Realm Improvements

Public realm improvements are enhancements to public spaces such as sidewalks, parks, plazas, and streetscapes, often funded or contributed by. more

Mortgagee in Possession

A mortgagee in possession is a lender who takes control of a property after borrower default, but before foreclosure or power of sale. The lender. more

Lease Surrender Agreement

A lease surrender agreement is a negotiated contract between a landlord and tenant that ends a lease before its scheduled expiration. Terms may. more

Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure refers to natural or engineered systems that manage stormwater, reduce heat, and improve sustainability in developments.. more

Escrow Holdback

An escrow holdback is a portion of funds withheld at closing and held in escrow until specific conditions are met, such as completion of repairs,. more

Underused Housing Tax

The Underused Housing Tax (UHT) is a federal annual 1% tax on the value of vacant or underused residential property owned by non-resident,. more

More For You

A Lake Tremblant Waterfront Estate Just Broke Québec's Residential Sales Record

A Lake Tremblant Waterfront Estate Just Broke Québec's Residential Sales Record

A lakefront estate in Mont-Tremblant, listed at $19,800,000, has sold — setting a new record as the highest residential sale ever recorded in the region through the Québec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers' Centris database.

The sale, brokered by Sotheby's International Realty Canada, involved a Canadian buyer represented through the Sotheby's Québec network. Further details of the transaction are being kept private.

Keep ReadingShow less

From Muck To Material: The Second Life Of Transit Tunnels

From Muck To Material: The Second Life Of Transit Tunnels

Metrolinx

Transforming Toronto’s future means digging through its past – literally.

The anticipated 15.6 kilometre Ontario Line subway will transport riders across the city in 40 minutes — from Exhibition Station to Don Mills Road — and feature both underground tunnels and an elevated gateway.

Keep ReadingShow less

'Try Before You Buy' Lands In Vancouver For Buyers-To-Be

'Try Before You Buy' Lands In Vancouver For Buyers-To-Be

ACE Display Suites (Wesgroup)

Wesgroup Properties is giving qualified buyers something the Vancouver new development market has never offered before: a weekend to see for themselves.

In a city where new development purchases are typically made on the strength of a floor plan and a showroom visit, it's an experiential offer that (actually) changes the game.

Keep ReadingShow less

One Of Four: Converted Townhome Listed In Roncesvalles

One Of Four: Converted Townhome Listed In Roncesvalles

There are four units in The High Park Garage. This is one of them.

121 Fermanagh Avenue spent most of its life as a working commercial garage just of Roncesvalles Avenue.

Keep ReadingShow less

Concert Properties, Brookfield Form Joint Venture For $1B Canadian Industrial Portfolio

Concert Properties, Brookfield Form Joint Venture For $1B Canadian Industrial Portfolio

Unsplash

Concert Properties Ltd. has announced the formation of a joint venture with a Brookfield affiliate for a Canadian industrial portfolio valued at approximately C$1 billion.

The deal brings together eight properties totalling roughly 5.3 million sq. ft across Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and Ottawa. The mix includes single-tenant and multi-tenant industrial properties, all fully leased to a diverse roster of credit tenants and positioned near highway, airport, and rail infrastructure.

Keep ReadingShow less

It's A Buyer's Market For Cottage Country, But Exceptions Apply

It's A Buyer's Market For Cottage Country, But Exceptions Apply
Muskoka (Shutterstock)

Since peaking in 2022, Ontario’s cottage market has been undergoing a slow but steady market correction that has seen sales fall, prices drop and inventory rise.

This trend continued in 2025 with a 12% year-over-year decrease in annual sales, and seven to nine months of inventory across the core cottage-country markets of Muskoka, Parry Sound, and Haliburton, according to Finding Your Muskoka.

Keep ReadingShow less

Ontario Invests $178M In Stalled Scarborough Junction Project By Republic, Harlo

Ontario Invests $178M In Stalled Scarborough Junction Project By Republic, Harlo

A rendering of the approved Scarborough Junction project. (Republic Developments)

Just around a year after Toronto-based Republic Developments and private equity firm Harlo Capital listed their massive Scarborough Junction project last year, as first reported by STOREYS, the project has found a buyer. Kind of.

Instead of selling the project outright, Republic and Harlo have formed a joint venture with the Government of Ontario, which is making an equity investment of $178 million into the project through the Building Ontario Fund — the arms-length board-governed Crown agency established by the Government of Ontario in 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less

Expert: 5 Policy Changes That Could Actually Fix Ontario's Housing Market

Expert: 5 Policy Changes That Could Actually Fix Ontario's Housing Market

Unsplash

Ontario’s housing market is no longer experiencing a temporary downturn. It is confronting the consequences of a structural policy failure decades in the making.

The evidence is now overwhelming: the market is unlikely to self-correct without significant intervention because government policy itself has become one of the principal drivers of unaffordability.

Keep ReadingShow less
Privacy PolicyAbout UsTerms of UseAdvertise with UsJobsContact UsRSS Feed
All rights reserved SiteMedia © 2026.