The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) board of directors recently announced that Dale Marsh will serve as its chair in 2025.

Marsh moved to London in 1994 and trained as a survey technician. He holds an Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR) designation and became a Realtor in 2006. Marsh served on the LSTAR board of directors in 2013, 2014 and 2018.

“2025 is an exciting time for our industry. There is lots of attention on the market and housing supply both locally and across the country,” Marsh said in a press release.

“It’s important that we as an industry continue to engage with all levels of government and community stakeholders to ensure that everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home.”

LSTAR’s 2025 board of directors

Marsh said he looks forward to working with LSTAR’s “fantastic board of directors” to better serve its members, advocate for improved housing attainability and build stronger communities.

Joining Marsh on the 2025 LSTAR board of directors are Past-Chair Kathy Amess, Chair-Elect Robin Tiller, Commercial Director Lisa Lansink and Directors Lindsay Reid, Neda Beaulac, Michelle Orsini, Andy Sheridan, Blair Campbell and Dan Grantham.

“I am honoured to lead LSTAR in 2025 and am committed to addressing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Together, we can make a significant impact on our community and the real estate industry,” Marsh added.

Royal LePage recently announced the opening of Royal LePage Security Real Estate, formerly affiliated with Sutton Group. Owners Lisa Volpentesta and her son Robert Volpentesta, along with their team of 70, bring over 100 years of combined experience.

The three-generation family-owned business, Security Real Estate Ltd., was opened in the late 1970s by Lisa’s father, Joseph Mandarino.

“We are thrilled to partner with Royal LePage to continue on our path of growth and deliver an even better experience to our clients,” said Lisa and Robert in a joint statement.

Why Royal Lepage

The Volpentesta family chose to join Royal LePage to gain access to the brand’s resources, training opportunities, advanced technology and lead generation system.

The team looks forward to leveraging rlpSPHERE, attending events like the National Sales and Leadership conferences and celebrating successes with the Royal LePage network.

Future goals and plans

Realtors of Royal LePage Security Real Estate will continue to service Toronto, York Region, Peel, Durham, Halton, Simcoe and surrounding areas. The team plans to maintain and expand its reputation in residential, commercial and waterfront/recreational properties.

“As a proud family business, we emphasize community and building a culture where our agents and their clients can be their best selves. Our goal is to ensure everyone at our brokerage is equipped with the tools and support they need for success,” the owners said.

Lisa and Robert are focused on working closely with their sales team, emphasizing collaboration, training and celebrating milestones. “We look forward to meeting and collaborating with those in the Royal LePage network, learning from some of the best in the industry,” they added.

Photo: royallepageleadingedge.ca

Last month, Property.ca Inc. Brokerage (Property.ca) announced the launch of its new branch of 42 agents: The Boulevard Branch in Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood. The group specializes in luxury residential and multiplexes. 

“The launch of The Boulevard Branch is an exciting milestone as we continue to expand our footprint across the Greater Toronto Area,” said Blair Anderson, broker of record and VP of operations for Property.ca, in a press release. “This reflects our industry-leading offering, and we look forward to continuing to grow in collaboration with our newest and legacy agents.”

Jeff Benoliel, general manager for Property.ca, identified the opportunity as part of the brokerage’s broader growth strategy. “The Boulevard Branch’s expertise and proven success align with our vision, making them a perfect fit for our brokerage. We are thrilled to welcome them,” said Benoliel.

Property.ca has over 300 agents, of which 122 joined last year. The company is on track to reach 500 agents this year.

The leadership team on joining Property.ca

The Boulevard Branch is led by Leonard Fridman and Vicky Tal, bringing a combined 52 years of industry expertise and 10 years of branch management experience. Fridman, a top one per cent nationally-ranked agent, has made over $1 billion in sales. Tal works with high-profile clientele by trading luxury real estate off market.

“The exposure to key listings is just one of the reasons why joining Property.ca was an easy choice for our team,” said Fridman.

“Property.ca’s unparalleled lead generation, cutting-edge technology and data-rich insights position us for exponential growth in Toronto’s competitive market,” Tal added.

Photos: leonardfridman.com, linkedin.com

The Realtors Association of Edmonton (RAE) has announced Darlene Reid as its new chair. Reid began the role on January 1, 2025.

Reid’s background and experience

Reid served on several RAE committees and most recently completed a second consecutive year as the association’s chair-elect. She has worked in the industry for over 18 years, including as a broker, and has been in the top five per cent of RAE’s MLS sales since 2011. She regularly volunteers for events and initiatives in her local community.

With a strong background in board governance from her experience in municipal and provincial government, along with managerial and mentorship experience, Reid has gained a solid understanding of the industry’s rules and regulations and the technology members need.

RAE’s 2025 board members

Reid looks forward to representing RAE’s members this year, along with the association’s 2025 board members: Chair-Elect Troy Paquette and Directors Art Kominek, Chris Hedstrom, Danelle Bolinski, Gary Zimmel, Janice Kosak, Sharon Gregresh and Steven Reid.

After more than a decade at the helm, Anthony Hitt, president and CEO of Engel & Völkers Americas is stepping down. 

The company announced recently that the Hitt is leaving his role on Dec. 31, 2024, to focus on “personal endeavours.” The industry leader started with Engel & Völkers in 2010 as head of real estate in California, before eventually moving into the role of CEO in 2014. 

“Developing and guiding Engel & Völkers in the Americas has been a true privilege and one of my greatest accomplishments,” Hitt said in a press release. “Now, I feel it’s time to step back, leaving the company in strong hands as I focus on personal interests. I will always be a friend to Engel & Völkers and look forward to watching its continued growth and success with great pride to have been part of it.”

Stuart Siegel, the brand’s Americas chief strategy officer, will temporarily take over as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement.

Siegel notes Hitt’s legacy will have a lasting impact, “Anthony has always made sure that the Engel & Völkers brand was never about one person, but rather a collective of many.”

Today, Mave, an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant for the real estate industry, announced it has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding and launched its beta program for agents and brokers.

The investment was raised and closed in a few weeks and was led by Relay Ventures and N49P with participation from Alate Partners, Clarim Ventures, Gambit Partners, along with several angel and strategic investors including a past president of the Toronto Real Estate Board.

Mave’s journey to today

After Mave founder and CEO Raz Zohar worked as an executive assistant for agents across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and gained experience with the demands on agents’ time, he discovered a gap: brokerages try to support agents, but with their commission split per deal getting smaller, many lack the resources for dedicated backend assistance.

So, Mave began as a result of this opportunity, along with the rapid improvements in AI and large language models (LLM).

“Not much has changed in recent years about the way the real estate industry operates. To modernize their brokerages, many look to existing tools for help. But these can be overwhelming for agents … Mave is the first solution we’ve seen that really solves the core problems the industry faces in a way that is easy enough for any agent to adopt,” says Alex Baker, managing partner at Relay Ventures.

Its current state

Mave currently has a team of 10. While the product has been operating in stealth mode, it has attracted interest from over 6,000 real estate agents across more than 90 brokerages in the GTA. From these prospective users, Mave has selected 1,000 to initially onboard as part of its beta program.

The team has worked to secure access to extensive market data and related property information through partnerships with real estate boards and other data providers. As the Mave AI assistant is trained using this information, it enables agents to harness market and neighbourhood insights to respond instantly to client requests and deliver a greater level of customer service.

”While our initial focus is on handling marketing tasks, with the funding in place we’re expanding our development to establish Mave as a full-time assistant,” says Zohar. “Mave will handle key back-end administrative tasks, from coordinating an open house to finalizing contracts better and faster than ever before.”

Baker adds, “We believe in Raz and his team and are confident that this is the right approach for the industry.”

How Mave works

Agents text questions to Mave such as “What is the price per square foot of homes in “X” postal code?” Then, in seconds, Mave can automate backend tasks, such as creating social media posts, marketing materials, emails and presentations.

The product fits into existing workflows, enabling agents to interact with the AI assistant via text messages just as they would their real assistants to get tasks done.

Use cases

The number of reported daily wins and use cases shared by agents testing the platform have exceeded Mave’s expectations. For example, for one agent participating in the beta program, the ability to immediately respond to a client’s questions and very quickly price the property enabled them to secure a listing within 24 hours.

Another agent that used Mave to optimize a listing saw showings go from zero to 11 in one week. A third used Mave to create the concept, script, post and caption for an Instagram campaign that led to a sale for $100,000 over-asking price.

Among the first Mave beta customers is PSR Brokerage, a luxury boutique real estate firm with over 150 agents in Southern Ontario. The brokerage specializes in resale and pre-construction sales, supported by high-end marketing services for its clients. Within the first week of signing up for the Mave beta program, 60 per cent of agents are actively using the AI assistant at least six times per week.

“Clients have high expectations of realtors to know every detail about thousands of listings,” notes Joshua Chisvin, VP of resale, partner at PSR Brokerage. “With Mave, we finally found the perfect solution to enable our teams to meet this demand effortlessly.”