james.mc

We were new immigrants in Canada and knew nothing about the nuts and bolts of the buying process here in BC, so we used a Realtor. It was the right thing to do and I am pleased we did. Would I do it again without a Realtor? Most likely not.. and definitely not if I was new to the country!

It was our Realtor that pointed out that the property was priced above current market rates and suggested we negotiate the price, downwards of course He knew the market. We didn't. We saved a bundle over the asking price.

If you need a decent Realtor in the South of Vancouver Island... PM me as I would not hesitate in recommending the one we used.

Scribble

These 2 things don't equate. The fact that "it is what it is" is actually what is now causing people to do other things to change the status quo. That is all I am arguing. The costs are outrageous for the effort involved and some people are voting with their feet.

Aviator

I would still use a realtor for buying and selling, even after living here for nearly 20 years. If I were selling, negotiate the commission down, if buying I want someone who knows what they are doing and cares what they do. Some are a lot better than others.

The other things 'people are doing' are nowhere hear as effective, which is why realtors do OK. I don't see the FSBO model proliferating and putting realtors out of business yet.

How many properties have you purchased or sold in Canada

Scribble

Sold one with my partner...obviously that used a selling agent in the same way someone in the UK would.
Haven't bought one directly yet but I know of one person who used a buying agent and probably got a worse price as the buying agent went too high too quickly as in their opinion the deal needed to be finished quickly.
I know 1 agent as well and I had the same argument with them

I suppose I see the value for some people but for others who are able to research, I don't think it's worth it. There are obviously arguments on either side. I still maintain that 5% is too much.

Novocastrian

Anecdotal drivel.

That said I sold my first house in Canada in 1986 by owner (nota bene, there was no internet in 1986). It sold at 5% over the asking price during the first weekend after I'd put a small ad in the Toronto Star.

I was lucky, I doubt I'd do it again.

Siouxie

My real estate agent (buying) was fabulous.

He kept in daily communication, emailing any new listings (with details that MLS don't show) as they came in; drove us around to see 10-15 properties; negotiated and re-negotiated the price; drove my son to Toronto to take in a specimen into a lab for testing, collected the results for us 2 days later; renegotiated the price again; gave us the names of 2 lawyers that were reasonably priced; drove to where my son works for him to sign documents (30 minute drive away), collected my son from work a couple of days later and drove him to the bank then took him back to work; helped us find a broker; helped us move - hired and drove the truck and carried boxes; he came round several times after the move to see if we needed any help. He has also offered to help us build a deck this summer!

It didn't cost us a penny apart from a couple of coffee's - by the time he had paid part of his commission to the agency he probably ended up with a couple of thousand dollars, but he certainly earned it in my opinion.

I would recommend him to anyone in this area!

bats

We used a buyers agent when we first arrived and he was next to useless and as our agent back in the UK was also incompetent we were very eary when we came to buy and sell. It worked out well though our buyera's agent knew the area well and showed us houses we thought would be out of our price range but were not, we bought one of them. She knew the area and was very helpful when we moved in. Our selling agent was excellent. Quality photos, stager, adverts, open house. Sold within a week at the price we wanted to get. If they do their job well it's worth it.

Atlantic Xpat

Fresh of the plane 8 years ago, we started working with a local realtor. Although my missus is from this area, she'd never bought or sold a house here or anywhere else. She knew the area but that's about the sum total of our local knowledge. The realtor spent many days showing us around a wide cross-section of properties to give us a sense of what you could get for your money. When we found a potential place and upon hearing the price and dividing by 2.25 (the CAD - GBP exchange back at the time) and getting all excited about how darn cheap it was, he did his research and pointed out that it had sold for 60% less a year previously and that we'd be somewhat foolish to consider the vendors marketing price a good deal. Subsequently, the house we did buy came through him and we saw and offered on it before it hit MLS.

That house has served us well for 7 years or so and through fortuitous timing we've done well out of property inflation in this part of the world. Recently, a feeling that we needed more space for a growing family and very possibly a single level property due to our youngest potentially having some physical disability caused us to start looking for something else. Having found a property, requiring quite a bit of reno work, he helped us put in a lowball offer and coached us through the process of getting our house ready to list.

Now that offer wasn't accepted and we're not minded to offer more at this time. One thing was clear though, the vendor's realtor wasn't going to accept any offer with a "schedule A" i.e. I need to sell my house before I can buy yours, unless it was being marketed and sold by a genuine realtor. If we'd have tried FSBO we'd have fallen at the first hurdle. Working with a realtor does not need to absolve you of the need or opportunity to do your own research into advertised prices in an area etc. (But not the selling prices - these you need a realtor to access). With our guy we know we can have a meaningful discussion on strategy and pricing & he'll go execute it to the best of his ability. In the case of the property we were interested in, the sellers realtor is not providing quite the same level of realistic advice but thats another story.

I also track whats being advertised on propertyguys.com, Kijijii etc. It's very noticeable that those properties being advertised at the market price that a realtor would sell at don't move. A potential purchasers first question is going to be "since you are not paying x% commission you can drop the price can't you?". Well, mine is.

I believe that 5% is a lot for selling real estate. I do understand how the whole structure of the industry is geared towards that model and level of percentage (split of selling and buying realtors commission, brokerage fees, desk fees etc). It is interesting to see a growth in lower commission realtors - 1%, flat fee of $3k etc but my sense is that they provide a very much discount service and that doesn't work for every property. Leastways not in this part of the world.

ninaDGBCA

Our buying agent even babysat our 3 little girls so we could go to the kitchen supplier and choose our new kitchen and bathrooms.

dbd33

I don't think this is realistic. We've bought and sold a few properties lately. One was hard to shift so the listing agent changed the commision offered to the buyer's agent by reducing hers. That got a wave of new traffic by appealing to the greed of the buyers' agents. Similarly, a buyer's agent is motivated to put the buyer in a house listed with his or her home office; it's not about what the customer wants but about shifting the house with the higher fee attached.

I think all parties to a house sale know that they are unlikely to see each other again. It's not a sales relationship such as a factory and customer might have, one where reputation is important and long term considerations come into play, rather it's a single transaction unrelated to others and the salesperson has to look for the buck; same as on the other days when the agent is selling cars or appliances or whatever.

I think it's very debatable whether or not the agent will have useful local knowledge; if you want to know if a property is horse legal or in a specific school district that's something to ask the relevant authorities; don't take the agent's word for anything.

HGerchikov

I can see why you might think that but it is absolutely not the case, as JonboyE said its all about repeat business and referrals. Example: I am meeting a lady from Singapore on Thursday to help her find a house, how did she get my number? Because 2 years ago I took her brother out looking for a rental a couple of times, he ended up finding a private deal and so I made nothing on the deal but still advised him on his rights on the new place, how much he should be paying and that some of the stuff the landlord wanted was illegal. He remembered me and recommended that his sister give me a call. There are even comments on this thread that offer to refer a good realtor.
I would have joined this discussion earlier but I am half way through my 6th consecutive 14-16 hour day - so much for the 'work involved' comment from Scribble.

dbd33

One thing I will say for agents is that I don't think it's easy. Yes, some commissions are effective gifted (we don't ask anything at all of an agent in buying a property but still nominate one by way of reward for other efforts) but other commissions seem well earned. Hosting umpteen open houses, convincing the seller that the house really isn't worth a fortune, trying to get people to make the interior look less Canadian, all of that seems like hard work.

Steve_

The main legal difference is the GST and GST rebate on new stuff.

But anyway JohnBoyE touched on it but the real difference is caveat emptor.

The building regs, trading standards and all that crap that you know and love in the UK are not as tough in Canada and there is some really shoddy housing out there. I used to work in construction in the UK at one point and there's stuff I see done here that would get you prison time in the UK, the most classic one I remember was a massive hole in the sidewalk covered with a tarp, which is illegal here too but the building inspections are so bad no-one ever noticed.

Air conditioners that are really noisy or badly placed is another one. In sufficient separation between buildings. Bad insulation, air gaps, badly hung doors, etc. Frankly I could go on for ages listing all the crazy stuff I've seen in Canada with construction.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...wednesday.html

This is why you need a realtor.