Many finance professionals say that investing in real estate can offer some great returns, and it certainly has for many investors over the years. But getting into real estate these days is unaffordable for the masses. And if you could afford to purchase a rental property, it still requires a significant commitment of landlord responsibilities.
Meet Khushboo Jha, BuyProperly’s Founder and CEO. BuyProperly is a female-founded and Toronto-based platform that allows Canadians to get started in the real estate market through fractional investing in less than 7 minutes.
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BuyProperly’s mission is simple—they are committed to making real estate investing easy, more accessible, and hassle-free for Canadians struggling to invest in the market. By disrupting the market, they are providing a low-cost, easy-to-use system using technology. BuyProperly’s platform uses AI in two ways: to identify real estate trends and to help discover undervalued properties in the market, allowing investors to earn high returns.
Since its launch in 2019, BuyProperly has seen its customer base grow by 5x, with 30% of customers investing in more than one property. BuyProperly has plans to expand its offerings into the U.S. market in late 2021.
This approach to real estate investing has made it accessible for the average investor. BuyProperly offers complete transparency on your investment and is offered in affordable increments.
Building this company from the ground up wasn’t easy, and Khushboo faced challenges along the way. But she knew she was building an important offer to investors and persevered through the tougher times.
For women who are considering their startup venture, Khushboo leaves you with these tips:
Don’t follow the masses blindly
Just because someone has built their business in a certain way with success doesn’t mean that is the right path for your business. Don’t be afraid to think differently and try new ways of doing things.
Get support from other leaders in marginalized communities
When you feel as though you need support or mentorship, get advice from others in marginalized communities who have gone before you. They will have good advice and will speak from experience rather than guesswork.
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Tell your story
Don’t hold back from telling your story to people and potential clients. Word of mouth is a very strong, and economical marketing strategy. The more people aware of your business, the more curiosity will arise and lead to potential clients. Often self-promotion can feel a little uncomfortable for people, but remember, you are offering a valuable product or service that is designed to solve a problem for people.
Talk to your future customers
You may think you know what people want, but what resonates with your target market and what doesn’t is always surprising. The earlier you get into a habit of listening to your customer base, the faster you’ll be able to land your first customers and pivot quickly if needed.
Be self-aware
Being self-aware, knowing your strengths and weaknesses and playing up your strengths and using them as your best asset is essential. Play on what you are good at and outsource the tasks that are not your forte and have others do them for you.
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The bottom line is that starting a new business in the tech space, especially as a woman, can have challenges, but you need to remember that you are stronger than those challenges. Resiliency is a crucial characteristic for entrepreneurs.
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.
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.
