Around a month ago, News.com.au reported that “hundreds if not thousands of Queensland real estate agents are leaving the industry” amid softening house prices and sales.
This followed thousands of agents joining the industry as the market ramped up in late 2021.
Former Buderim real estate agent Myles Blackwell left the industry in late March and said that agents were facing more of a battle to list and sell houses:
“When the times get tough and the houses aren’t selling, and people are holding back, and the affordability becomes unreachable for more people because the interest rates are a lot higher, then it is a real slog.
“Generally speaking you have more properties that can fall over or don’t complete and it takes longer to get the buyers across the line”.
In his weekend market wrap, leading Sydney auctioneer and agent, Tom Panos, claimed “the exodus of real estate agents has begun”:
“They came in when the market was going up. They got themselves a nice tailored suit. Got themselves dressed up. Might have even taken a car lease and upgraded their car”.
“They sort of got by in 2020 and 2021, and they may have even got by in 2022. But they’re not getting by in 2023”.
“The big Exodus is there. They were easy come easy go these real estate agents”.
“They came from a JB Hi-Fi. They came from Politics Menswear. They came from David Jones. They came from Uber. They came from the hospitality industry. They came from being Baristas”.
“They saw all the bright lights, shiny cars. They saw all the Swank”.
“But guess what team? All Swank, no bank at the end of the day. That’s what actually happened”.
CoreLogic’s June housing market report, released on Monday, showed how real estate agents have gone from booming conditions to bust.
While home prices have rebounded over recent months, “the number of capital city homes advertised for sale over the four weeks ending June 25th was almost 20% lower than at the same time last year and 26.4% below the average for this time of the year”, CoreLogic notes.
“Regional listings also trended lower through the month, tracking 32.9% below the previous five-year average”:
Source: CoreLogic
Actual sales volumes have also fallen heavily from the pandemic boom back to normal five-year average levels:
Source: CoreLogic
For a profession that is based around sales commissions, real estate agents are clearly experiencing their own version of the Hunger Games.
It also means that state governments will earn less from stamp duty receipts.
Won’t somebody think of the poor real estate agents?
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
