Buying a home is an emotional process. You spend years saving money and figuring out your list of non-negotiables in an effort to find “The One.” And when you do fall in love with a home, it can feel akin to being hit by Cupid’s arrow: lots of excitement, nervousness, and even sleeplessness.
But on your swan dive into the homebuyer pool, did you ever anticipate you’d find actual love along the way? Turns out, romance can bloom in all kinds of situations and places.
As Gerard Splendore, a broker for Coldwell Banker Warburg, puts it: “The real estate process provides a multitude of opportunities to find and embrace love in its many forms.”
Below, five sweet stories of oh, so lucky folks who found love—of all kinds—when searching for a new home.
1. Cupid in disguise
A casual conversation at an open house with another potential buyer could lead to something more.
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Often, real estate agents find themselves in the middle of love connections.
Compass broker Kimberly Jay has played matchmaker on more than one occasion. She once had a private appointment to show her exclusive listing in Manhattan.
“The buyer, a lovely older gentleman, told me he was a widower. I fixed him up with a past client. They dated for the summer,” says Jay.
Another time, she set up a single buyer she met at an open house with a friend of hers. The two called Jay on their first date to tell her: “Best date ever.”
Jay (aka Cupid) says open houses can also be an unlikely place for love. She says to look good, be friendly, and “start talking about something you like in the home.” Who knows? Your casual conversation with another potential buyer could lead to something more.
2. The love shack
If you want to increase your chances of discovering romance, look for apartment and condo buildings with mainly studios and one bedroom-units.
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Buying an apartment can change your life. But is it possible for a particular apartment to bring love right to your doorstep?
On two separate occasions, Jay has sold a particular apartment to someone who “moved in single and moved out married.” And, apparently, two other apartments in the same building also share this “good juju.”
If you want to increase your chances of discovering romance during the real estate process, Jay says to look for apartment and condo buildings with mainly studios and one-bedroom units—places where you’re more likely to find other single residents.
“Those seem to be the secret ingredients,” she says.
Jay also says it doesn’t hurt to let your real estate agent know you’re looking for love.
“Agents have large networks and are constantly meeting new people,” says Jay. “Since you’re already telling them your needs and preferences for a home, why not share that you’re single and ask if they know someone for you?”
3. Love is in the air
Real estate agents know a thing or two about building relationships.
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To that end: Real estate agents know a thing or two about building relationships and having heart-to-heart discussions with clients. Some are even known to go above and beyond to make a client happy—and sometimes that can lead to love.
Sheila Trichter, a real estate broker for Coldwell Banker Warburg, recalls another broker who helped a client decorate his new apartment. Sparks flew, and they fell in love and later moved in together.
“They did live happily ever after,” says Trichter.
4. The ‘fertility apartment’
Some real estate agents have noticed particular apartments and homes to have a special effect on newlyweds.
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First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby—thanks to an apartment?
There is a particular one-bedroom apartment in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, that Splendore has sold twice. He lovingly calls it the “fertility apartment.”
“Both couples moved in as newlyweds and almost immediately got pregnant,” says Splendore. Both couples had baby boys.
Splendore did stage the apartment both times with a crib and a high chair, but the rest was fate. He says the current owners are moving out with their son, who is getting too big for the apartment.
Let the staging begin.
5. You can’t put a price on love
Bidding top dollar for a home? That’s one way to show you’d do anything for love!
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For many lovers, Valentine’s Day is a time to splurge on a dozen roses and a fancy bottle of Champagne. But some (wealthy) individuals take Cupid’s birthday to the extreme.
The day before Valentine’s Day 2018, Trichter’s client was involved in a bidding war with a buyer offering the full asking price and another buyer who decided to counter with a half-million dollars above asking.
Why did the second bidder offer so much above the asking price? He and his wife lived right next door, and he wanted to surprise her on Valentine’s Day with a full-floor apartment.
That’s one way to show you’d do anything for love!
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
