Selling a home

Choosing the right agent

Interview agents to ensure you connect with an agent who is knowledgeable, professional, and well versed in all aspects of real estate. An agent who is an expert in your neighbourhood is the ideal candidate to assist in your home sale. They will be able to answer questions from potential buyers about the area, giving them an excellent idea of what your home’s location has to offer.

Exclusive and Non-Exclusive Listing Arrangements

An exclusive listing arrangement means that you are granting your agent exclusive access to find a buyer for your home. With this type of agreement, no other agent will bring potential buyers to your home, because only the listing agent is entitled to the commission. You can arrange an agreement with your agent to have your listing posted to the MLS after an agreed period of time.

A non-exclusive listing arrangement means that your listing will be posted to the MLS system and other real estate agents have the ability to bring potential buyers to your home. Non-exclusive listings are the most common type of agreements in the Canadian real estate market.

Market Conditions

Local market conditions can affect the sale of your home. Understanding current real estate trends can assist you in making decisions while selling your home. There are three market states:

Buyer’s Market

In this market there are more homes listed than there are buyers looking. A buyer’s market allows buyers to spend more time looking for homes and more homes to choose from. Home prices can be stable or perhaps drop in this market and sellers will find that buyers have stronger leverage when negotiating.

Seller’s Market

There are more buyers than there are homes for sale. With fewer homes on the market and more buyers, homes sell quickly, home prices are likely to increase, and there is an increased chance of multiple offers on a home. Multiple offers gives sellers negotiating power and opportunity to reject conditional offers.

Balanced Market

There is the same amount of homes for sale as there are buyers looking to purchase. There is equal competition between buyers and sellers, leading to reasonable offers from buyers and home sales within reasonable timelines. With less tension between buyer and seller the prices of homes remain stable.

Your Asking Price

To determine your asking price you must consider comparable sales in your area and the current market conditions. Your agent can gather information about sales in your neighbourhood to assist in determining an asking price that accurately reflects the market and comparable listings.

Depending on the agreed upon strategy with your agent, your listing price may be slightly higher than the value of your home; however, this allows for negotiating space between you and potential buyers. If you are in a rush to sell your home, setting the price slightly lower than its worth will attract attention. In this case some buyers may be concerned that the price is too good to be true.

The Closing

Once the agreement is signed you and the purchaser are under legal obligation to close. If you decide not to sell your home at this time, the purchaser has the right to sue.

Alternatively, if the purchaser decides to walk away from the deal, you can claim the purchaser’s deposit or sue for damages. This protects you, as chances are you’ve already bought your new home, or you too are in the process of looking for one.

Negotiating Offers

Discuss with your agent your minimum conditions, acceptable closing dates, and the lowest price you’ll accept from a potential buyer. Let your agent know of any additional items that you are willing to offer as leveraging power. With this information your agent can work with the potential buyer’s agent to create an offer that will be acceptable to you.

The Seller’s Viewpoint

Buyers interested in your home will submit an offer to your agent through their agent. Your agent will review the offer with you to ensure that you understand all the conditions. Before you accept or sign the offer, you may wish to clarify the offer with your agent and if you have any further concerns you can have the agreement reviewed by a lawyer.

Your Offer Will Contain:

• The names of the potential purchasers
• Your name
• A description of the property
• The conditions they wish to attach to the purchase
• Price
• Closing date
• Survey
• Home inspection
• An irrevocable date
• Possible mortgage details

Remember that the offer you receive will also detail funds that you are to pay for, such as your lawyer, real estate agent commission, the balance of your mortgage and outstanding taxes. Some utilities and taxes will have been prepaid, meaning you’ll have some additional funds.

Accepting the Offer

Once you’re satisfied with the terms and conditions of the offer, you can accept it. The purchaser will pay a deposit to solidify the agreement. The deposit will be held and when the deal is closed it will be applied to the commission owed.