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Sandra Wyant: The REBGV’s New President

By Sarah Fullbrook /

Sandra Wyant | BCBusiness
The REBGV’s new president, Sandra Wyant.

After eight years on the association’s board, Sandra Wyant has been appointed president of the REBGV

Last week Sandra Wyant was appointed as the new president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver for the 2013-2014 term. With more than 20 years of experience in B.C.’s real estate market, Wyant will be looking to bring her brand of professionalism to the industry association. BCBusiness caught up with the new president to discuss her role change at the REBGV.

How are you planning to handle a role you know you’ll only have for one year?
We actually have a system in place, which is a three-year process. You get elected first as a vice president, and then as a president elect. So you basically have two years first of experience and training before you even get into the position of the president. I’ve been sitting on the board of directors since 2005.

You’ve been very involved in the B.C. real estate community (you acted as director of the BC Real Estate Association and was an instructor for the industry’s Ethical Leadership Program). How is this role different?
This is a real privilege. Initially I was a chair of the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows division of the real estate board, which is a completely different role. It is more hands on in the community: creating events that promote education and interaction, networking within the community. Then when you take on the role as a director it’s a totally different role. That role is all about policy, creating strategic direction. As the president I get to chair the board and basically be the media face for 11,200 realtors.

Is there something specific you’d like to accomplish while acting as president?
I would like to continue along our path of professionalism. What we’re looking to continue to do is be at the cutting edge, providing the structure and services necessary for our members so that they can be the very best for the consumer.

Vancouverites love to talk about real estate, and there’s been a lot of chatter about the real estate market since 2008. How would you say we’ve been fairing in the last year?
In the last year what we’ve seen based on our statistics … is that it’s been quiet since late May of 2012. What that indicates is that our inventory is getting lower, so we haven’t seen a big influx of listings. We don’t know if this is going to be a trend, we need to watch it a little longer, but we are definitely seeing evidence of buyers coming back into the marketplace that had perhaps been waiting.