Real eState

Properly seeks to shake up real estate industry – Vancouver Sun

Published

3 years ago

February 22, 2022

New Canadian real estate brokerage firm seeks to modernize the buying and selling experience for homebuyers with a buy first and sell later model.

Drew and Jonathan Scott have partnered with Properly. Photo by Chris McPherson /PNG

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Is the way we buy and sell real estate outdated?

Anshul Ruparell thinks so. He’s the CEO of Properly, a new Canadian real estate brokerage firm seeking to modernize the buying and selling experience for homebuyers with a buy first and sell later model.

“There’s been no significant changes in the way real estate transactions have been conducted in decades,” Ruparell said. “Across every other industry, from hospitality to grocery shopping, there’s been a wave of innovation. The convenience you see in e-commerce you see in other parts of your life. The real estate industry is ripe for innovation.”

Properly Homes launched in Toronto in 2020 and is just now expanding into Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. The firm has partnered with Drew and Jonathan Scott, originally from Vancouver, and hosts of The Property Brothers on HGTV.

Properly’s main innovation is a proprietary service known as Properly Sale Assurance. This allows homeowners to unlock equity in their current home before selling. “It acts as a temporary replacement for a home sale,” Ruparell said. “It’s our commitment to buy their home should it not sell on the market in a couple of months. We have a large $100 million pool of capital to fund that purchase. But over the last 18 months, we’ve never had to buy a home from a customer.”

Anshul Ruparell is the CEO of Properly, a new Canadian real estate brokerage firm. Photo by Supplied by Properly /PNG

The service can alleviate many of the stressors of buying and selling a home, including lining up closing dates, going through showings and managing two mortgages.

“Our goal is to remove the friction and outdated processes so our customers can avoid the stress and frustration and confusion that is part of the process,” Ruparell said.

The time is right in the Lower Mainland for a service like Properly, the CEO says. “The real estate market is strong, which is a sign of an economy rebounding from the pandemic. But there are very few homes for sale. This leads to aggressive bidding wars and homes selling very quickly. This creates a dynamic where those who are looking to buy their next home have to move quickly when they find it, and they need the confidence of knowing what they can afford to pay. Beyond that, by nature of being in a pandemic and a home serving so many purposes, to uproot your life to facilitate the home-sale process is something that very few people are keen to take on.”

Properly works with local realtors and offers clients “a number of digital tools including our intuitive home search platform to help you find your next home online,” he said.

The Property Brothers joined as partners and investors, but Drew Scott is a licensed agent. “He’ll be offering a decade of real estate experience to our company but also to our customers, as his schedule permits. They’ll be providing advice around how we can continue to improve the customer experience as well as appearing as ambassadors on behalf of Properly. What’s especially exciting is that they are Vancouver locals; it’s an opportunity for them to come home and for people to access their expertise as we seek to serve the Vancouver market.”

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Real eState

Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

Published

2 days ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Real eState

Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

1 week ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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B.C. voters face atmospheric river with heavy rain, high winds on election day

Published

1 week ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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