LACKIE: Real estate downturn bringing much-needed reset for industry

Real estate for-sale sign. Photo by Stock art /Toronto Sun

There is exactly zero part of me that believes anyone, anywhere could care any less that realtors are having a tough time out there these days.

In fact, I am almost entirely certain that for many, the only silver lining to this market correction is the image of repo trucks fanning out across the GTA, off in hot pursuit of all the flashy cars the once-flashy real estate agents can no longer afford to make their payments on.

Real estate Reddit abounds with delighted tales of Teslas now appearing with DoorDash deliveries.

Schadenfreude indeed.

And the thing is, I get it.

As last week came to a close, I happened upon an article in which a realtor was bemoaning the current state of things. Complaining that in this tough market it’s impossible to make a decent go of it as a part-timer.

Apparently, we are to feel sympathy for those among us now grappling with the reality that it’s no longer possible to float a big lifestyle off of a few big deals a year. With market volume having dropped so precipitously over the last year-and-a-bit, there just aren’t enough deals to go around. People are having to get real day jobs again.

I am trying to understand if anyone sincerely believes it’s a bad thing that real estate must now be undertaken by people who conduct themselves within it as a whole and complete profession, replete with professional standards, ethical obligations, and radical accountability to the consumer.

As far as I am concerned, if that’s what’s on the other side of all of this, we will all be for the better. And I say this as a full-time real estate agent.

The best agents I know are in the office every single day. They work relentlessly at their business and to the benefit of their clients. Their clients derive value.

There is no denying that this market moment we currently find ourselves in is resulting in a challenging time for my industry.

Transaction volume has dropped right off. There is activity, sure, but next to no inventory.

There are very few deals out there relative to the wild ride of the last few years.

And broadly speaking, prices haven’t substantially corrected in any meaningful way. The agents who are getting deals are fine. But it’s a quiet time for many.

However, if you were to survey one hundred consistently-producing agents, I am certain the overwhelming majority would prefer a market correction that resulted in a strong correction to prices that might bring an element of affordability to the market place.

Steady activity in a balanced and healthy marketplace is what we would all jump at. Not the baffling frenzy of recent memory.

I will thank my lucky stars if I am never again on the other end of a deal with an agent who happens to be unreachable between the hours of 9:00 and 5:00.

I will count my blessings if I never again have to beg a listing agent to trouble themself to pick up the phone and return my call instead of texting me because they are too busy enjoying the beach in Miami.

We will all have to grind every day to bring value and deliver results to our clients. The harder it becomes to do well, the better our industry will fare.

We’ve been waiting for the purge and it’s here.

Hallelujah.