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Financial/Lifestyle Magazine Post

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            Housing prices in the GTA are known around Canada to be absurdly high, second only to Vancouver. With the average house nearing the million dollar mark, the economy is becoming more and more secluded, favouring those who have the most amount of money. While there are plenty of reasons to explain why houses are rising to such high prices, a major idea being overlooked is the idea that the housing market becoming a housing business.

            The term business refers simply to something that profits off of the sale of goods or services, much like your local Tim Hortons. The housing market, though, is slowly transforming into a business that focuses on profit as opposed to customer satisfaction. What you might not know is that an average of 5% in commission is taken from the selling price and split between the listing and selling agents/brokers. On an $800,000 property, the average in Toronto, an entire $40,000 is taken away from the profit you’re supposed to be making. To make up for this, sellers will want to raise the price a little more in order to make up for the investment they have put in to the property. With the demand and volume the GTA has, one can see how this gradual inflation has led to what we have today.

            To help the economy, one must begin to work backwards. Canada has the potential to have a strong economy with a reasonable housing market so long as the right players are involved in making the right changes. For the housing market, this player is a new service named Don’t Pay to List™. Rather than focusing on the money-making aspect of the market, the Mississauga start-up puts the homeowner first by foregoing the 2.5% earned when you sell your house. They still provide the industry standard of pictures, virtual tours, MLS listing, and so on, but without charging the extra 2.5% on the sale. Rather, their income comes from the 2.5% earned when their client purchases a house from another broker, who still imposes the full 5% commissions on the seller who is not represented by Don’t Pay to List.

            In short, anyone selling a property benefit more from the sale, as they earn an extra 2.5% on their house. For the housing market, this means that a house can drop 2.5% in price while the seller earns the same, and the listing stands out from other listings due to the lower price tag. Operating Ontario-wide, Don’t Pay to List™ stands to reverse the inflation of the housing market and bring the focus of real estate back to the customer. 

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