Treb must now release sold data to the public

BY JAY BRIJPAUL

Canada’s largest real estate board must now release sold data to the public after a long drawn out process between the Competition Bureau of Canada and the Toronto Real Estate Board. In the past, realtors could not publish a home’s sold price. Consumers had to rely on realtors for that information. Sold data is important in understanding the dynamics of real estate evaluation. Realtors and appraisers will use this information to determine what properties are worth and sold data can be used for various research projects.

With the new rulings, buyers and sellers can now access this information and conduct their own research. In the past, they had to rely on the information provided to them by a realtor. I recall a situation when a seller asked me for a market evaluation on his home. The property was in a good neighborhood, and the elderly seller could not maintain it. Another realtor had assessed the home for about $150,000 less than my evaluation. It turned out that the other realtor was hoping to sell the property to a close friend.

Now that the information is available, consumers can research a realtor’s track record. A seller can look at the number of homes a realtor sold in the area and their list price to sale ratio before choosing. They can look at price trends in an area and track a property’s history. With this information, there would be a proliferation of innovative web sites that will conduct various analysis for both buyers and sellers. Many believe that this is the end for realtors because buyers and sellers can do it themselves without the middleman.

However, a realtor is not a middleman. Selling a home is not necessarily placing an ad on the internet and accepting an offer. Let’s take a seller for example. A realtor would conduct a market analysis, look at trends and the reason for the sale. For example, an owner was selling to buy two smaller homes, one for the family and another for investment. After our meeting, it was clear that he would be ahead financially by keeping the current home, scooping some equity and buying the investment property. Sold data is public information in many other countries and it is welcoming news for many. The only issue is privacy.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, your nosy neighbor, with the click of a mouse, can determine your sold price. The public will have access to personal information such as withdrawn listings, sales commission and sales history of every home. In the past, if owners changed their minds about selling, they can simply take their home off the market and from the eyes of the public but now it’s a part of that home’s history. The good news is that most consumers prefer to use a realtor instead of buying or selling themselves and a homeowner can request that their home sale information is not released to the public.

With the release of sold data, there would be an ease on bidding wars. Consumers can now conduct their own research and arrive at a price they are comfortable with. There are many instances where buyers were misinformed by unethical realtors and overpaid in bidding wars. Speculators who are selling properties based on assignment will be exposed because buyers can see the original purchase price and the new assigned sale price.

We are in the information age and must adapt new ways of thinking. Consumers have more choices and can conduct their own research or have a third party assisting. There are numerous websites that offer various services to consumers such as a list of homes that did not sell or were reduced to sell. Consumers can order reports based on what they need, for example, a seller can order three market evaluations from three independent sites before they offer their home for sale.

With all the changes in the industry, one thing remains the same. We cannot be an expert in all fields. We cannot be a doctor when we are sick or a mechanic when our car is broken and a realtor when we want to buy or sell a home.