Rick Kedzior focuses on Ontario member support, giving back and the profession

As president of the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), Rick Kedzior wants to concentrate on the organization’s member-focused strategic plan. He wants to lead the organization to achieve its mission, which is to support realtors and help people find a house.

“I just want to leave organized real estate in a better place than I started four years ago (as a member of OREA’s board),”He says.

What OREA’s been up to

Kedzior says that this has worked out well, despite the provincial association having “a bit of a rough year”Then, in 2023, with the Ontario Realtor Wellness Program.

“Some of our members weren’t in favour or big supporters of it. That made it a bit of a tougher year. So this year, we’re out there mending some fences, improving our brand, providing guidance for our membership to continue to raise the bar on professional standards and advocating for home ownership policies,”He explains.

Kedzior says the three pillars that make up the organization are advocacy and forms and clauses as well as leadership training for the 29 real estate boards of the province.

Housing affordability: Ontario industry’s biggest challenge

As for the biggest challenge faced by the Ontario industry today, he says it’s the affordability issue.

“I’ve got a couple of kids in their early 30s. I look at them and what the real estate market in Ontario has done since 2021 when there was a big change in terms of pricing and craziness, and I wonder if my kids are ever going to be able to afford homeownership. That’s a real concern for me and I think for a lot of people,” says Kedzior. “This is definitely a concern for us at OREA.”

A 30-year career that includes giving back to the profession

Kedzior began his real estate career in 1994. He’s a Broker with Re/Max Aboutowne Realty Corp., Brokerage in Oakville, and a member of the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board (OMDREB), where he was president in 2018 and 2000 and served as chair on various committees, including MLS, By-law and Professional Standards.

Kedzior served previously as president of Oakville Chamber of Commerce in addition to being a director at Ontario Chamber of Commerce. He served as director at large and president-elect for OREA. Then, he joined OREA’s board in 2020 and Become presidentEarly this year.

“I’ve always been a volunteer. I’ve always thought that you need to give back to the profession that you’re in,” says Kedzior.

He believes that real estate is about building relationships and meeting people. “The more people you know, the better off you’re going to be in terms of helping them. But that’s not the reason why I volunteer. I’m just a consummate volunteer. I think you’ve got to give back, try to make the profession better when you leave it.” adds Kedzior. 

He says some of the newer agents don’t have an interest in volunteering, which to him is “scary.”OREA, for instance, relies on volunteers to run. “It’s not always about making money. It’s about giving back. To me, it’s been a great career in real estate so I feel obligated to volunteer as well.”

‘Working with the public … something I enjoyed from banking days and I always had this fascination about real estate’

Kedzior grew up in Hamilton where his parents had immigrated from in 1949. During World War II his parents were both captured by the Germans. They ended up working in a German labour farm, where they met. His father was Polish, and his mother Ukrainian. They were married in Germany, and they came to Canada after World War II.

Kedzior’s background prior to real estate is in the financial field. He says he managed two community credit unions in Oakville.

“When Re/Max opened up their branch or offices in Oakville, I established a relationship with the owner. He ended up banking with me so I had their trust and general accounts and handled all their banking needs,”He says.

After five years, Kedzior became a real estate agent after the owner convinced him to do so. “I always enjoy working with the public. It was something I enjoyed doing in my banking days, and I’ve always been fascinated by real estate.

I was a banker and dealt with his agents on a financial level, so this seemed like a really simple thing to do, real estate. Little did I realize that from the outside, it looked easy. But it wasn’t as easy as I thought. It wasn’t easy at all. I thought if I don’t take the plunge now I probably would never be able to.”

Kedzior, at that time was married and had two small children. He wondered what he could do. Ask his wife about changing careers knowing she was risk-averse and that she’d probably say no? Instead, he came home one day and Tell them to get on with itShe was right, this is what he was up to. In telling this story, he makes a joke about the saying. “It’s better to seek forgiveness than seek permission.”

“She’s still my wife, that’s one good thing,” laughs Kedzior. “She wasn’t too happy about going from an every two weeks paycheque to commission, but it all worked out.”