|
By Shirley Kowalchuk
 When Chris St. Amand put his Charleswood home up for sale through ComFree this spring, one of his neighbours already had his almost-identical home on the market with an agent. Only two days after listing with ComFree, St. Amand sold his four-bedroom, four-level split for $165,000, $5,000 above his asking price. The neighbour's agent-listed home still hadn't sold.
Chris St. Amand, his wife and 5 year-old son are pretty happy amid a personally turbulent time. They are picking up and moving their household, home-based business, and hopes and dreams to the U.S.
"I've used a real estate agent before and, quite frankly, I figured I could do just as well".
St. Amand received multiple offers for the house he purchased only two years ago for $137,000. "I knew it was a seller's market," Chris said. Winnipeggers have seen home prices shoot up in a fast and furious real estate market that's only getting hotter. The forces behind this phenomenon include factors such as low interest rates, lower down-payment requirements creating more first-time home buyers, and lack of alternative housing for seniors or empty-nesters who might otherwise like to sell.
Growing demand for fewer houses is the new fact of life for Winnipeggers. The city has not seen a "seller's market" like this in decades.
"I never felt I was missing any potential buyers by selling privately," Chris said. He listed his home on a Wednesday, and immediately a stream of potential buyers viewed it. On Friday, he accepted the best of two offers that was $5,000 above his list price. But he went ahead with an open house Sunday while financing on the accepted offer was being confirmed. Fifty couples swarmed through; some said they would make an offer if the earlier deal fell through.
"As soon as I listed", Chris said, "real estate agents with interested clients came to me." His private sale was open to all potential buyers. For those with an agent in tow, he insisted any offer be clear of any commission charges. "If the offer would be for say $159,000, then that's what had to be paid to me. If the purchaser happened to have an agent, the commission would have to be worked out between them before any offer was made to me."
Based on a six-per-cent rate, the commission on Chris's sale price of $165,000 would have been $9,900, and the GST on that would have been a further $693. The total cost of selling with ComFree was $650, less than the GST on the commission.
St. Amand has experienced both sides of the home trade coin. He purchased the home he was now selling through ComFree, and used an agent earlier to purchase and sell a residence in River Heights.
St. Amand felt ComFree's marketing was well established, and the agents' listings service could do no better. "ComFree signs are everywhere, there is an awareness ... it's easy to find a ComFree home.
"In a buyer's or seller's market, the only thing you have control over is price," Chris pointed out. "If the home doesn't sell, the only thing you can do is drop the price. I could do that myself."
St. Amand dismisses the idea that time and effort is saved by using an agent. "Frankly, I did way less with ComFree. I did show the home myself instead of an agent doing it. He may never have seen the home before." As well, St. Amand says a homeowner knows much more and can speak more passionately about the residence than some agent. But whether you use an agent or not, you still have to keep the place clean and ready to show. But with ComFree, you maintain control. You only show the home when you want to. No more calls from an agent wanting to bring someone by in 10 minutes. No more scrambling to clean up. No more driving endlessly around the block until the agent has left.
St. Amand says selling a home is not complicated, contrary to the recent flurry of agents’ ads that try to sow seeds of doubt and fear. He said selling and purchasing privately were straightforward. Because people will pay only what the market will bear, there are no savvy selling techniques that agents claim are part of the mysterious finessing of a home sale.
Sellers are turned off quickly, he said, by transparent tricks of the agents’ trade that attempt to work the fatigue or desperation factor, or just waste time, like viewing two similarly priced homes where one is markedly run down, while the other is not open to offers until a later date.
A few years ago, Chris listed his River Heights home with an agent and it languished on the agents' listing service for nine months before selling. The agent led many people through, and St. Amand was actively involved in negotiating the offer when it came in. The market is more active today. "I felt I could do just as well on my own," Chris said. At $5,000 over list price, he did very well indeed.
"I never felt I was missing any potential buyers by selling privately." |
