Did you know that approximately $7.5 Billion dollars was paid out, by Canadians, in 2009, for real estate fees? ….this amount quoted by Melanie Aitken, a lawyer serving as Canada’s Competition Commissioner.
My husband and I have listed our home for sale. We have decided to sell privately as we just cannot afford to pay real estate fees (full real estate fees are approximately 5%). My phone continues to ring, all day long, with prospecting realtors looking to help me sell my house. Each caller (even some who have read straight from a script) have allowed me a chance to have some lively discussion with them, especially regarding the changes underway.
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) was recently challenged over its MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and its rules. Brokerages will now be required to change its rules allowing Canadians more options if they decide to work with realtors when selling their home. The timing could not have been better for us.
We have been pondering the idea of listing our home on MLS only because we know that the majority of buyers out there, are looking for homes on MLS. We would be silly to think we could sell our home without a presence on MLS. So our savings are 2.5%.
Although the Commissioner of Competition may have won a victory on paper, there will likely be a huge undercurrent of resistance, from realtors, to these changes. Here is a good example of how this might be played out against us as private home sellers….
One realtor called me this morning, at 9 am, to be exact. He found my advertisement in the Mississauga News. We paid for a small ad, to advertise our open house, this past Saturday. Without my 2nd cup of coffee, the discussion had me just a little angry when he asked if he could be “honest with me”. Of course, I agreed to let him share his thoughts.
He said….. “You know, if you put your house on MLS using a flat fee service, realtors will not bring their buyers to your home .”
“Why not?”, I asked, “….even if I agree to pay a commission to a realtor bringing me the buyer??”
He said…..“The truth is, realtors will do whatever they can to keep their buyers away from private sellers, because you are going against our industry.”
I suppose there is no way to prove that a realtor “kept a buyer away from my property”, but I will remind anyone who tells me this that this action is illegal, and if proven, could lead to penalties/fines.
I read a very interesting article, this morning, and I am very impressed with this company’s marketing strategy. They will list your property on MLS for FREE. If they find the buyer for me, they will actually give some of that commission I paid, back to the buyer…..(that is, of course, part of the 2.5% I paid out). What a brilliant idea and a way of drawing a buyer to your agency (and maybe some realtors looking for a new brokerage too!).
I do commend Mr. Lawrence Dale for taking on the CREA battle and paving the way for great changes in the real estate industry.
You can view the article by clicking on this link below - published in the Financial Post, on October 27, 2010.
Download Article
Yes, my house is still for sale, but I have already had a great discussion with Mr. Allan Spivak, the Vice President and Broker of Record of Realtysellers Real Estate Inc. Mr. Allan Spivak, promptly called me within 5 minutes of my email!
Here is a link to the company website:
http://realtysellersrealestate.com/
Realtysellers seems to have great service and are bringing much needed innovative ideas to a tired looking and expensive real estate industry. I see a bright and shiny future for this company and who knows, I just might sign up to sell my house with them.
This blog post was written by Elizabeth Blair on October 28, 2010. Elizabeth is a Licensed Mortgage Agent with Mortgage Edge in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Elizabeth services mortgage clients in Mississauga and all over the Greater Toronto area.
You can contact Elizabeth directly by phone at (905) 510-5785
by email at eblair@mortgageedge.ca
or you visit any of her websites at:
www.missmortgage.ca
www.burlington-mortgage.ca
www.oakville-mortgage.com
www.streetsville-mortgage.ca
Elizabeth is licensed with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and is also a Member of IMBA (the Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario) www.imba.ca
Lic # M08005880 / Brokerage Lic # 10680
Head office is located at: 15 Wertheim Court, Suite 210, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.