Real eState

Class action against commissions in real estate clears another hurdle

Published

12 months ago

September 28, 2023

A sold sign outside a Toronto home. PHOTO BY PETER J. THOMPSON/FINANCIAL POST

After two years of deliberations, the Federal Court has granted approval for a class-action lawsuit alleging price-fixing and anti-competitive practices to proceed against the real estate industry in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

The lawsuit, filed in April 2021 on behalf Toronto resident Mark Sunderland and anyone who sold a home in the GTA after 2010, alleges misconduct by several of the nation’s leading brokerages, including Century 21, Remax and IproRealty Ltd. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) are also named in the lawsuit.

On Sept. 25, Chief Justice Paul Crampton permitted the case to proceed, positing that there exists a plausible argument that rules put illicit restrictions on the pricing of buyer brokerage services. The respondents had petitioned the court to dismiss the claim, citing a lack of merit.

The lawsuit contends that the brokerages engaged in an agreement to artificially increase buyer brokerage commissions, which were shouldered by home sellers in the GTA. It is also alleged that CREA and TRREB facilitated and contributed to the execution of this arrangement.

Commission structures for real estate agents and their brokerages differ nationwide, usually involving a percentage-based commission derived from a home’s sale price. In Alberta and British Columbia, the commission structure is typically seven per cent on the initial $100,000 and three per cent on the remaining balance. Conversely, in Toronto, commission is five per cent on the entire amount of the sale.

Although the seller is responsible for paying the entire commission, it is divided between the brokerage representing them and the one representing the buyer.

According to Garth Myers, a partner at Kalloghlian Myers LLP — the law firm responsible for filing Sunderland’s lawsuit — the agreement to split the commission obstructs market competition by forcing sellers to shoulder costs that would typically not be incurred in the absence of such an arrangement, consequently restricting the ability to negotiate prices and leading to inflated brokerage commissions.

“What we’re hoping to achieve in this case, is to eliminate these rules, which will result in cost savings to real estate sellers and buyers in the Toronto market,” Myers said. “We think there’s massive public benefit if we are successful. And so far, the court has agreed with us.”

Kalloghlian Myers is pursuing compensation not just for Sunderland, but also for those who have sold residential real estate dating back to 2010.

“We won’t stop until we can get compensation for sellers who have been impacted by this,” stated Myers.

In an email, the Canadian Real Estate Association said, “we continue to believe the claims against TRREB, CREA and other defendants are without merit, and we will continue to defend our members in this case.”

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Real eState

Mortgage rule changes will help spark demand, but supply is ‘core’ issue: economist

Published

13 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.

The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.

The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.

CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.

However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.

Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.

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Real eState

National housing market in ‘holding pattern’ as buyers patient for lower rates: CREA

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Real eState

Two Quebec real estate brokers suspended for using fake bids to drive up prices

Published

6 days ago

September 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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