Okanagan realtor groups merge

Property sellers in the Okanagan are uniting.

Members of the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board and the South Okanagan Real Estate Board have voted to merge and combine their financial and operational resources.

The new Association of Interior Realtors will officially be formed on January 1, 2021 and will serve approximately 1,600 realtors.

Presidents Kim Heizmann, OMREB and Lyndi Cruickshank, SOREB, say they are pleased and excited to announce the collaboration between the two boards to serve and promote the value realtors bring to the real estate transaction.

The Canadian Real Estate Association Chair, Costa Poulopoulos, extended a congratulatory message to congratulate Heizmann and Cruickshank for what he called their “visionary leadership in bringing their boards together and to the directors of both boards for their support of this historic accomplishment.”

Heizmann, a Vernon realtor, will be president of the new organization and Cruickshank will be vice-president. The new association will be the 13th largest realtor association in Canada.

It will cover an area from Revelstoke south to the U.S. border, east to Rock Creek and west to Eastgate Manning Park. It will also take in communities of Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge, and Dawson Creek in the South Peace River region.