Real Estate: Understanding Representation and Agency
May 29th, 2010 categories: Buying in Toronto, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto
Representation and Agency are not very well understood by the consumer public…but also not well understood by some salespeople.
When a Salesperson is representing a product, whether it be a suit of clothes or a house, they are acting under Agency and their fiduciary duty belongs to the party paying for their services unless they have a contract that says otherwise. If you walk into my Open House and ask me questions about the property, like “what will they take?”, it is my duty to tell you that “they will take the asking price.”
I’m not trying to be smart or glib, but the seller has signed a contract with me and the Company, to sell the property at a price they have chosen under the listing agreement. My duty to counsel is to the Seller, not the Buyer…. Read the rest of this entry »
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Real Estate: Answering The Commission Question….
March 18th, 2010 categories: Around TORONTO, Business, Downtown Toronto, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto, Toronto
From time to time, and mostly from people who don’t know me, I get an email or a phone call where the commission question comes up front and centre: “Can you tell me what your commission rate is?” I know that this consumer has decided that commission is the most important issue. It’s not that I have not dealt with the question before but it seems that the consumer’s assumption is clear that “all Realtors provide the exact service but for different fees”. That assumption is very wrong.
Each agent develops a style with services that they include when selling property. Knowing this, the first question I am surprised that a consumer does not ask is “What services will be included in the commission that I will be paying?” Each successful Realtor I know, has developed their own technique that they use to accomplish a successful result. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Competition Bureau and the Canadian Real Estate Association.
November 3rd, 2009 categories: Business, Economy, Real Estate, Toronto
A couple of weeks ago, the Government of Canada’s Competition Bureau sent a direction to the Canadian Real Estate Association that CREA remove one of the requirements of membership: Agency or Representation. The media has jumped on this as being very advantages for Sellers and Buyers in that it would allow the Consumer more options. Ken McLachlan, Broker for Re/Max Hallmark Realty Ltd. said it better than I ever could in this repost of his Blog:
Competition Bureau and CREA Read the rest of this entry »
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Toronto Real Estate Board Releases Affordability Charts
October 16th, 2009 categories: Business, Buying in Toronto, Economy, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto, Toronto
Prices have risen in the Greater Toronto Area, however the cost of home ownership has dropped. This recent chart from the Toronto Real Estate Board shows how increased incomes and historically low interest rates have made home ownership more affordable. I think this bodes well for the Canadian economy: Renters who become Owners renovate, buy new furniture and appliances, adding related spending and stimulating the economy.
Related Posts:
Canadian Real Estate: Lack of Inventory Puts Upward Pressure on Pricing.
Canadian Real Estate Association Releases New Update
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Canadian Real Estate: Lack of Inventory Puts Upward Pressure on Pricing.
October 16th, 2009 categories: Business, Buying in Toronto, Downtown Toronto, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto, Toronto
Here are some important statistics that were made available by the Canadian Real Estate Association that highlight housing inventory for sale in Canada, Ontario and within the Toronto Real Estate Board. These figures point to a distinct lack of inventory at present in all areas but especially in the Greater Toronto Area. It makes it a great time for Sellers to sell but conversely difficult for Buyers to find property. Hopefully this will loosen up over the next few months but in the meantime there will probably be upward pressure on pricing. I would suggest opening the slideshow to FULL for proper viewing.
Related Posts:
Canadian Real Estate Association Releases New Update
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Canadian Real Estate Association Releases New Update
October 16th, 2009 categories: Business, Downtown Toronto, Economy, Listings, Toronto
Here is the latest market report from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Take a look at the highlighted portion below as it points to a striking lack of inventory for Purchasers…but means it is a great time for Sellers to put their homes on the market. From my understanding, in a “Normal” market the inventory is about six months.
OTTAWA – October 15th, 2009 – National resale housing activity climbed to the highest level of any third quarter on record. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) home sales via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate boards totalled 135,182 units in the third quarter of 2009, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). This is the highest level of activity on record for the period from July to September. The number of transactions was up 18 per cent from the third quarter of last year, representing the biggest year-over-year increase since early 2002. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Canadian Real Estate Association Upgrades Its Forecast
August 28th, 2009 categories: Business, Real Estate, Toronto
MLS® home sales forecast revised
OTTAWA – August 27, 2009 – MLS® home sales were much stronger than expected in the second quarter of 2009, with activity having climb throughout the quarter and into July. The remarkable recovery of resale housing has prompted a change to the MLS® home sales forecast issued by The Canadian Real Estate Association for 2009 and 2010.
The speed and magnitude of the rebound in sales activity to date has lifted CREA’s national forecast for the number of transactions to 432,600 units. This represents an annual decline in activity of 0.4 per cent compared to levels set in 2008, and is a significant upward revision from the previously forecast decline of 14.7 per cent in CREA’s forecast issued last May. Read the rest of this entry »
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REALTOR.ca and why it is not an MLS System.
August 2nd, 2009 categories: Business, Real Estate
Over one year ago now, MLS.ca was replaced by a better product named Realtor.ca: Both are public-facing web sites owned and operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The reason for the name change was to help ease some of the confusion in the minds of Canadian consumers who thought that what they were seeing was an MLS system. Those systems are owned and operated by local Boards/Associations and only upload certain data that the local Multiple Listing System decides to upload from data given to them from listings contracted with local Real Estate Brokers. Sellers also have options of what can be displayed on the Internet. Read the rest of this entry »
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Canadian Real Estate: The New REALTOR.ca
December 2nd, 2008 categories: Technology
A few years ago the Toronto Real Estate Board expressed a concern about the branding of the public-facing Listing site used nationally MLS.ca. The concern was a confusion in the Public that they were accessing an agent-to-agent Multiple Listing System that had all the information rather than a marketing product. It took a couple of years but the decision was made by the Canadian Real Estate Association almost one year ago that the better brand would be REALTOR.ca. Read the rest of this entry »
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