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Real eState
Technology has made home buying a lot easier
Digital real estate platforms are giving Canadians the control and confidence they need to make the best real estate decisions
Here are four ways technology can help buyers find the right home, avoid overpaying, and turn an offer into the best offer.
1. Faster property searches.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the way people find homes for sale. With personalized recommendations, improved accuracy in property valuations, and now the introduction of ChatGPT plugins, finding a home that meets all your requirements has never been easier, more convenient, or faster
ChatGPT plugins are the latest AI offering, enabling consumers to find listings based on specific criteria — including budget, square footage and neighbourhood — in a matter of minutes.
2. Instant home value estimates
Automated property valuation can help inform your bidding strategy by comparing the list price against a home’s estimated value. Home value estimates can help determine if a home is overpriced and what a reasonable offer would be to avoid overpaying.
3. Realtor-client matchmaking
With the assistance of AI, data-driven recommendation engines are not only using external data and user behaviour to provide personalized property recommendations, they’re also helping potential buyers find the right realtor.
These systems can help buyers compare top realtors in their area, including their fees and services, to find a realtor that meets their needs.
4. Market and property insights
Consumers now have access to agent-level data and information about properties and the local market, which can help inform a bidding strategy. Information like sold prices, real days on market (for homes that have been listed, delisted and then relisted) and comparables can help buyers determine if a home is priced to receive multiple offers. Having this knowledge allows buyers to devise a bidding strategy with more certainty and confidence.
While homebuyers will still require guidance, expertise, local knowledge, and assistance putting market insights and data into context, a combination of a digital approach to home buying and human ability is what ultimately will help buyers find their ideal home faster and increase their chances of a successful offer.
Benjy Katchen is the CEO of Wahi, a digital real estate platform. Visit www.wahi.com
Real eState
Mortgage rule changes will help spark demand, but supply is ‘core’ issue: economist
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Real eState
National housing market in ‘holding pattern’ as buyers patient for lower rates: CREA
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Real eState
Two Quebec real estate brokers suspended for using fake bids to drive up prices
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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