With the meteoric rise in AI tools over the past couple of years, consumers are empowered to seek out answers where they would have otherwise needed a person’s help, and real estate is no exception to this disruption. It doesn’t help that stereotypes and misinformation around an agent’s role persist: are their contributions actually helpful, or just a money-grab?

Todd Shyiak, executive vice president of CENTURY 21 Canada, says that while AI tools will inevitably influence the real estate industry, the trust and connection agents build with their clients isn’t going anywhere. “We know that having to adapt and change is inevitable, and we encourage our brokers and agents to make use of AI tools. But any time saved with these tools should be reinvested in forging connections with their sphere of influence because once buyers jump into the market, they realize quickly just how important it is to have someone trustworthy serve their best interests.”

What the buyers don’t see behind-the-scenes

A study from the WAV group surveyed homebuyers and took a deep dive into what value they felt the agent they worked with brought to their home purchase. The results may not surprise industry veterans—buyers often have an incomplete idea of how much work an agent does on their behalf, but they value an agent who knows how to advocate for them when the process gets difficult. 

According to WAV’s study, “One-in-four buyers said their agent spent ten or fewer hours on their transaction”. While the time spent on each respective deal can vary, it indicates that agents aren’t communicating just how much work it takes to see a real estate deal through to the end, especially when problems arise in conversations with sellers or the property. 

Never underestimate human connection

So how does an agent bridge the gap between the value of their services and a client’s understanding of them? The study showed that the agent skills most highly appreciated were:

1. Providing a list of homes actively on the market
2. Negotiating with sellers
3. Deciding on a fair bid price. 

AI could spit out a bid, or suggest talking points, but any agent will know how stressful this process can be. For now, the negotiation of a home sale is still a conversation between humans, and agents who clearly communicate their negotiating strategy will have grateful clients with keys in their hands at the end of it. 

It’s also eye-opening that buyers appreciate agents who can provide property lists—responses clearly show that they don’t just want an AI-generated list of addresses, they want friendly and knowledgeable support that can help them identify their future home.

Prove value from start to finish

An agent will act as a guide through what will likely be one of the biggest financial transactions of their client’s life so that first meeting is crucial. Even well-informed buyers may not know what to look for in a cursory home inspection, or what the fairest deal in their current market may be. 

Study respondents indicated that fair price negotiation was an area where they would have liked more communication from their agent—it can be an emotional part of the process! According to WAV, buyers are also looking for a better understanding of all aspects of the buying process, including financing and home inspection. Don’t let your clients rely solely on digital tools to find information, have a roster of seasoned professionals you can vouch for to get them to the finish line—there is still nothing more trusted than a word-of-mouth referral. 

The AI genie won’t go back in the bottle anytime soon, but it’ll be a long time before robots tell us where to live. Until that day comes, buyer agents are still able to build trust, make authentic connections and prove their worth.  

AI can’t talk a nervous client out of buyer’s remorse or point out structural issues in a foundation, so agents can breathe easy—the human touch still holds the upper hand. 

Quebec-based real estate portal, Homz.io, recently announced its rebrand aimed to help new homebuyers and renters across Canada. Formerly known as GuideHabitation.ca, the portal has been around since 2004 and is now growing, starting with British Columbia.

The team has been expanding its presence in B.C. for over a year, offering the technology and business model as a SaaS platform to third parties, like communication firms and specialized websites.

The portal

The portal attracts over 100,000 monthly visits from home seekers comparing real estate projects—from pre-sale condominiums to move-in-ready homes, to new rental units. The company notes the traffic is partly due to its focus on user needs over a purely advertising-driven approach.

“Our strength is in making new real estate searches easier and providing new homebuyers with comprehensive, factual and fairly objective information,” said Founder Denis Sauvé in a press release.

A 20-year journey

Sauvé reflected on the company’s two-decade journey: “20 years on the web feels like 100 in other industries. Yahoo was still a giant when we launched, and social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube didn’t even exist.”

When it first launched in 2004, the website had what Sauvé described as a “fast-food menu design.” However, it was ahead in search engine optimization, which laid the foundation for the site’s growth into a hub for new real estate projects.

Since then, the company says most of Quebec’s builders and promoters have showcased their houses and condominium projects to potential customers.

Future plans with AI

Moving forward, the company’s co-founders face the expanding impact of artificial intelligence. “Search habits are constantly evolving. People are turning to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, ChatGPT and countless other apps for any information … AI is just getting started. Who knows what the next few years will bring?” Sauvé pointed out.

So, Homz.io is integrating generative AI along with other new technologies into its proprietary codebase. The platform remains committed to its user-centred philosophy.

“Being here after 20 years is an achievement in itself. And the future looks exciting,” Maurizio Furnò, associate, expressed. “We are happy as a small business, and we aim to continue our journey controlling our growth path.”

A growing number of renters in four-season communities like the Town of Blue Mountains, Ont. are making the transition from tenants to homebuyers.

So says Eva Landreth, a Century 21 Realtor in the region and nearby Collingwood, who notes the try-before-you-buy trend is providing more opportunities to realtors who rent and sell properties in the area. “It gets me out in front of a lot more people,” she says.

Landreth says she’s sold homes to about 50 clients over the last four years who initially rented.

In the past, most people coming up from Toronto or Southern Ontario to the area would join a ski club–The Blue Mountains has several–and rent a property for the winter season, Landreth says. 

“Now we’re finding that because our community is four seasons, people are spending more time here in the spring and summer and fall rather than just winter. It’s not about skiing anymore.”

Work-from-home fuels lifestyle changes

The trend toward work from home has also helped, Landreth says. “People want a lifestyle change. They don’t want to be stuck in Toronto traffic.”

She says people initially come up on weekends, experience the area, realize there’s a lot to do year-round with ample shopping and restaurants, and a good community feel and make the switch to buying. “The area kind of grows on them.”

Landreth says the rent-to-buy trend has also been seen in other four-season destinations across the country, from Revelstoke, B.C. to Mont Tremblant, Que.

Most Blue Mountain buyers use their property as a secondary home and keep their house in the city as a principal residence.

Trying before buying

Toronto resident Melanie Koszegi is one such buyer. Her family rented properties in The Blue Mountains from Landreth before using the Realtor’s services to buy.

Her family had just started to ski “and thought that would be a good way to try it out.

“We were not sure if we were cottage people initially and we obviously didn’t want to commit. I don’t think we were ever expecting to buy.”

But the family ended up spending much more time in The Blue Mountains during the pandemic.

“The more time we spent up there, the more we came to see it as a year-round location and wanted to find a permanent place. We really got to know both the area and what we wanted from the area. That really helped us hone in on what we wanted.”

After renting for three years, the family bought a house in late 2020, using Landreth as their Realtor. They did a major renovation and moved in at the end of 2021. 

While Koszegi hasn’t been spending long periods of time there as her kids are still in school, she is considering it as part of her retirement plans.

“It’s close enough to the city, and has everything you can need,” says Koszegi, who has no regrets about buying in the area.

Secondary homes turned primary residences

Before buying, “people want to dip their toe in the water and see what the lifestyle is like,” says Realtor Linda McClean of Sotheby’s Canada. Based in Toronto, McClean, has also long had a home in The Blue Mountains—her father was a founding member of the private Craigleith ski club in the area—and sells in both locales.

“I can help them sell their home in Toronto and find a place in Blue Mountains or Collingwood. You have all the amenities of home, but you have a lot more space and it’s a lot more relaxing than the big city.”

McClean, who has been in the business for about four years, has sold properties in the Blue Mountains area to three or four clients who initially rented.

McClean notes many buyers moved to the resort area permanently during the pandemic. They tend to be older—in their 50s and 60s—than those who purchase homes as secondary residences. “It’s a great four seasons spot to hang your hat,” she says, citing the area’s golf courses and Georgian Bay as attractions.

Rental as a bridge

Landreth also rents out properties with her husband Sean Landreth’s company Seasonal Properties, which specializes in turnkey rentals of 30 days or more in the area. By renting for at least a month, “you get more consistent families (and) there’s less wear and tear of the property (because) they’re active, always out doing something.”

While the average sale price is about $1.3-million in The Blue Mountains, average house rentals for a season from December to March are about $25,000 to $30,000 but can go to around $50,000 for higher-end properties, Landreth says. 

Leveraging seasonal rentals

Seasonal Properties rents about 40 to 50 properties during the ski season and a growing number in July and August. “When I first started renting, no one would rent for those months,” Landreth says.

As an extra source of income, many area owners rent out their properties when they go away. That’s the approach used by retiree Mark Foster, who had a farm in Alliston, Ont. before moving to Collingwood.

After initially renting, Foster and his wife bought a four-bedroom property in Collingwood, and for the last four years, have used Seasonal Properties to rent it out to a young family from Toronto from Dec. 15 to the end of March. The Fosters spend November to the end of April in Florida, with the rent from his Collingwood property offsetting his stays down South.

“We’re okay, but we’re not wealthy. This allows us to leverage our property and do things we never thought were possible.”

The latest data from RBC Economics suggests that, following October’s half-point rate cut, a second consecutive 50-basis-points reduction from the Bank of Canada is likely to land in December.

The Big Five bank anticipates that further easing could gradually revive homebuyer activity across the country, as seen with a modest 1.9 per cent rise in sales from August to September. “We think interest rate cuts will open the door to a growing number of buyers who’ve been sitting on the sidelines for some time,” Robert Hogue writes in RBC’s Monthly Housing Market Update, highlighting the prospect of affordability improvements for potential homebuyers.

September marked the second consecutive month of growth in sales, and RBC economists believe the trend could gather momentum as the central bank eases monetary conditions further, particularly as cuts are expected to deepen. “Our view is that sales will continue to pick up as the Bank of Canada cuts rates further,” notes the report.

Sellers respond to demand with boosted listings

The uptick in sales is just one side of the market’s recent shifts. Sellers have been noticeably more active, with listings up 4.9 per cent in September—the biggest monthly gain since July 2023—bringing inventory levels back to where they were at the start of the pandemic. This wave of new listings may reflect seller expectations for stronger fall demand as lower interest rates encourage more buyers to enter the market.

With new listings outpacing sales, inventory levels have been building up, helping to rebalance the supply-and-demand dynamic that became heavily skewed during the pandemic. Currently, the national sales-to-new listings ratio has adjusted to reflect more balanced conditions, with regions like Ontario seeing notable changes. In Toronto, a surge in new condominium completions has resulted in more units on the market, easing some of the previous pressure on buyers.

Prices remain stable despite shifts in supply and demand

Property prices have remained relatively flat since spring. The national MLS Home Price Index edged up a mere 0.1 per cent from August to September and is down 3.3 per cent from last year. Some regions are seeing notable shifts; for instance, Vancouver’s sales-to-new listings ratio dropped to 0.4 in September, tilting the market towards buyers for the first time in recent months. RBC notes that this has resulted in a 0.5 per cent price decline, primarily in single-detached homes.

While price growth is modest in these larger markets, other areas—particularly in the Prairies, Quebec, and parts of Atlantic Canada—are still experiencing mild price gains due to tighter inventory conditions. Calgary’s previously constrained market, though recently rebalanced, continues to show one of the nation’s highest appreciation rates.

2025 rate cuts to influence market recovery pace

As RBC economists point out, interest rate adjustments will remain a focal point for market participants into 2025. While December’s anticipated rate cut may further stimulate buyer interest, affordability challenges will likely temper any potential surge in demand. “We believe constrained buyer budgets and growing inventories will keep price gains in check even as demand picks up steam,” they stated. RBC expects a gradual pace of appreciation to return as the Bank of Canada’s rate cuts continue into next year, though markets with severe affordability challenges, like British Columbia and Ontario, may trail other regions.

With economic and labour market uncertainty growing, RBC Economics’ Claire Fan forecasts a softer economic outlook overall, noting that the rate cuts will provide “a necessary reprieve” but likely without a dramatic acceleration in market activity. As Fan outlines, “The reduction won’t be the last one… the BoC hinted at future rate cuts to support a return to stronger GDP growth.” RBC projects that the central bank’s overnight rate could reach 2.0 per cent by mid-2025, which may foster a more robust housing recovery in the latter half of next year.

A new survey from Wahi that explored what type of home Canadians would most like to buy reveals that many homebuyers still dream of owning a renovated single-family home in the suburbs, despite ongoing affordability challenges.

Single-family homes preferred among nearly two-thirds of homebuyers; most want suburban living

The survey found that 64 per cent of potential homebuyers prefer single-family homes, particularly those that are larger, renovated and located in suburban (38 per cent) or urban (34 per cent) neighbourhoods. Three-bedroom homes were the most popular option (43 per cent), with only 28 per cent of respondents opting for rural living.

What’s more, a previous Wahi poll found that despite elevated interest rates and home prices, about 20 per cent of Canadians say they’ll probably or may buy a home in 2024.

Regional and demographic differences

However, regional differences emerged. In provinces with more affordable housing markets, like Saskatchewan/Manitoba (82 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (77 per cent), the preference for single-family homes was even stronger. Atlantic Canada was also the only region where most respondents (58 per cent) wished to live in a rural area.

Meanwhile, high-cost provinces like British Columbia saw a lower demand for single-family homes, with only 52 per cent of respondents choosing this option.

“Canadian cities like Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto all have great urban cores with lots to do, so some potential homebuyers may also choose condominiums to be closer to the action,” explains Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen.

Younger Canadians (18-34) are most likely to prefer single-family homes, with 67 per cent wanting this type of property, though they also prefer urban settings (34 per cent), while older generations (55+) are more inclined to downsize, with only 50 per cent choosing single-family dwellings.

Turnkeys favoured over fixer-uppers

When it comes to the condition of their future homes, the majority of Canadians (64 per cent) would prefer a renovated property, with older buyers (55+) especially drawn to turnkey homes to avoid the hassle of renovations.

About 23 per cent would consider a fixer-upper, but only 2.0 per cent are interested in a complete tear-down.

While the dream of homeownership has evolved, Wahi’s survey shows that Canadians still prioritize suburban living and single-family homes, even in today’s competitive real estate market.

Realtors, let’s admit it — most houses listed for sale on the market look pretty much the same. Sure, they may come in different sizes, shapes and colours, but the basic layout, design and features often feel like deja vu. 

However, every once in a great while, you may be contacted by someone who wants to sell their truly one-of-a-kind house. This could be a property with a distinct portability feature or a house with an unbelievably low price tag for its sheer size. 

So, if and when you get the chance to sell one of these special homes, do you plan on using your usual sales approach? 

We certainly hope not! Unlike conventional homes, unique properties have a limited buyer pool and distinctive features which means they need a special selling strategy. To guide you through this challenge, we gathered tips from top real estate agents on how to best sell these one-of-a-kind homes. Below are the strategies they shared. 

Tiny houses: Small properties that don’t cost much

A tiny house is what its name implies, a small home usually about 60 to 500 square feet. They’re cost, energy and space-efficient and budget-friendly, too. In fact, prices of some tiny homes in Ontario have recently been as low as $69,000.

Who are the target buyers for this unique property?

• Homebuyers on a budget
• A rent-weary tenant
• Environmentalists and minimalists

What strategies can help sell this one-of-a-kind property?

Emphasize its unique value proposition. As stated, tiny homes are all about affordability and energy efficiency. So, this is what you must focus on during marketing. Here’s an example of how you can highlight the affordability factor of tiny homes to a tenant who is fed up with rent increases.

Let’s suppose you’re selling a tiny home in Toronto — a market where you can get a tiny home for under $100,000. First, show your buyer the market data of how the average asking rent for even a condominium apartment is quite pricey:

Then, point out that it’s not really smart to pay around $2.400 for a condominium apartment in Toronto or even settle for a $2,000 rental in Barrie (as reported for August by rentals.ca). Instead, they could buy the tiny house in Toronto with a 5.0 per cent down payment, pay around $500 monthly on mortgage payments and build their own equity. 

When it comes to the energy-efficiency perk of tiny houses, also highlight it with numbers. For example, you can say that a normal-sized house uses an average of 26-33kW power every day but a tiny home uses just 3-4kW power.

Don’t let compact space be a dealbreaker for buyers. Kamal Pillai, a realtor in Ontario experienced in selling tiny homes, shares, “One main concern that tiny home buyers usually have is limited square footage. Hence, the seller of these houses should try their best to show that the home is thoughtfully designed to maximize every square inch.

They could achieve this by adding space-saving solutions in the home like a fold-out kitchen table or built-in storage. It’s all about making the most of what you have and presenting it in the best light possible.”

Price the home correctly. Unlike traditional homes, you don’t have much historical data to rely on for tiny houses, which makes pricing these properties trickier.

So, set a fair price for the tiny home by calculating the home’s construction costs and the estimated value of its unique features. Also, assess the current demand for tiny homes in the particular neighbourhood to make sure your price aligns with what buyers are willing to pay.

Houseboats: Homes on the water

Yes, houses on the water, also known as houseboats, can be found in the Canadian housing market. In fact, according to some houseboat owners, buying this type of property is one of the best lifestyle choices they have ever made.

A houseboat is a boat designed or modified to be mainly used as a living space rather than for transportation purposes. Some people live on houseboats all year round to enjoy the beautiful views of the water every day while others use them as vacation homes. 

Who are the target buyers for this unique property?

• Nature lovers
• Homebuyers on a budget
• Real estate investors 

What strategies can help sell this one-of-a-kind property?

Give the houseboat a clean and charming look. First impressions matter, even when selling a houseboat. So, advise the seller of the boat to deep-clean every nook and cranny of their houseboat before opening its door to buyers.

Pay extra attention to the kitchen and bathrooms, as they often leave the strongest impression. Also, if saltwater has caused rusty metal hulls in the boat, give it a fresh coat of paint. 

Make sure the houseboat has no severe safety issues. Apart from fixing the aesthetic issues in the houseboat, make sure the houseboat doesn’t have any major safety problems.

To do this, hire an expert marine surveyor who can assess the houseboat’s overall condition including the hull, engine, electrical systems and plumbing. You must also ask the seller if all necessary permits, registrations and insurance documents of the houseboat are up-to-date.

Pick the best time to put the houseboat on the market. The prime selling season for houseboats in Canada is usually from late May to early October.

This is when the weather starts to get warmer in Canada, and people are most interested in spending time on the water. So, showcasing the property during peak boating season lets potential buyers experience the houseboat lifestyle firsthand.

Cottage homes: A vacation home away from home

A cottage is often a cozy, rustic and charming house usually located in a rural or countryside setting.

Most cottages in Canada are specifically built for the warmer months, meaning they can’t handle the chilly weather. However, you can also find a few four-season cottages for sale that are inhabitable at all times of the year.

Who are the target buyers for this unique property?

• Second home-buyers
• Vacation rental investors
• Retirees

What strategies can help sell this one-of-a-kind property?

Highlight how investing in a cottage can pay off. Make sure to highlight to a would-be recreational property buyer that, according to a Re/Max report, Ontario cottages are expected to see a price increase in 72 per cent of recreational markets this year, with values potentially rising by up to 33 per cent.

Also, as interest rates fall, the price and demand for properties including cottages will likely surge more. Sharing these market statistics will help support your point on why your client should make a move now. 

Keep the cottage looking its best for sale. On hearing the word “cottage,” images of a charming property usually come to mind. This is the image the would-be buyers of the property for sale would be expecting, too.

So, do your best to ensure the cottage looks charming, inviting and well-cared for. This means tidy rooms, neatly arranged furniture, sparkling clean windows, shining kitchen counters, a trimmed lawn, blooming flowers and a welcoming porch. 

With carefully thought out and planned strategies like these to sell unique properties, you can easily adapt your sales tactics and get set to achieve a successful sale. 

Buying a condominium might be easier than purchasing a single-family home, especially for first-time buyers. Traditionally, two incomes are better for achieving homeownership dreams. However, a new trend is emerging among Canadian homebuyers, as a recent Point2 survey reveals.

It found that four in 10 Canadian renters are willing to apply for a mortgage alone. What was once the norm — applying for a mortgage with a spouse — is now taking a backseat to solo home buying.

Andra Hopulele, the writer of the study, emphasizes: “Young adults and single people are starting to separate two ideas that truly seemed inseparable: Buying a home doesn’t necessarily mean they need to find a partner and get married, and getting or being married isn’t a prerequisite for home ownership. Although the reasons vary depending on the generation, the number of Canadians living alone is increasing, and they are increasingly becoming comfortable with the idea of taking up the challenge of home ownership on their own.”

Here are some generational highlights from the study:

Most generations

42 per cent of renters across all generations except one are considering applying for a mortgage alone. High home prices are cited as the main obstacle (39 per cent), followed by concerns about down payments (27 per cent).

Gen Z and Millennials

Gen Z, the youngest renters, are ambitious: 72 per cent plan to buy within the next 12 months, with many having saved up to $30,000. 57 per cent of younger Millennials want to buy within a year, and 76 per cent have saved up to $50,000, while half of their older Millennial counterparts still prefer buying with a spouse. This group is slightly more concerned about down payments (35 per cent) than high home prices (34 per cent).

Gen X and Baby Boomers

47 per cent of renters aged 45-54 (Gen X) want to buy alone but are more worried about their credit scores than other age groups, while Baby Boomers (those over 60) are looking for smaller single-family homes and are mostly unsure when they will make the move.

The shift in homeownership: Young adults and singles

Young adults and single people are redefining homeownership. Marriage is no longer a prerequisite for buying a home. This is evidenced by the increasing number of Canadians living alone who are comfortable taking on homeownership by themselves.

Despite worries about rising home prices and high mortgage rates, renters’ desire to own a home remains strong. Student debt is the least of their concerns, even though a bachelor’s degree often comes with significant debt.

In a culture valuing autonomy, significant life decisions are increasingly seen as individual pursuits. This includes applying for a mortgage.

According to Statistics Canada, single-person households are the most common household type (30 per cent) for the first time in history, and the number of these households has more than doubled since 1981.

The new homebuyer has ambitious goals

The survey found that eight out of 10 Canadian renters aim to buy a single-family home, particularly of a large size. Both the youngest renters and Baby Boomers over 65 show strong determination to purchase within the next 12 months.

Gen Z and Baby Boomers are particularly determined. Many have significant savings set aside for a down payment. Despite the competitive housing market, Canadian renters are not deterred. They are committed to achieving homeownership, even if it means doing it alone.

The Nova Scotia Association of Realtors (NSAR) recently announced it’s the first MLS system in Canada to launch mandatory information fields that help prospective homebuyers determine the accessibility and adaptability of a home to meet their mobility needs.

The fields went live on June 5 and include door and hallway widths, bathroom dimensions, turning radius of kitchen and bathrooms, types of entries into the property and the ability to note any special features of the home.

Over 2,100 realtors have had mandatory training to learn how to take proper measurements related to home features and their suitability for accessibility needs.

Partners and support

“With the most common barriers people with mobility issues face being in the built environment, NSAR worked with several key partners to look at how we could make a difference in searching for an adaptable home. Everyone’s definition of an accessible home is different, so adding more information to listings will enable people to determine if a home is adaptable for them,” Bonnie Wigg, director of NSAR’s MLS system, explains.

NSAR partnered with and received input from Atlantic Accessibility, Canadian Real Estate Association, Rick Hansen Foundation, Nova Scotia Community College and members of the disability community in Nova Scotia. Project funding was provided by NSAR and The Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage.

NSAR president, Andrew Gilroy, says, “NSAR recognizes the support of the Province of Nova Scotia. We are pleased to work in partnership with the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage to deliver this project which will benefit all Nova Scotians.”

Last week, ResVR, a property technology (proptech) startup that enables homebuilders and developers to sell more upgrades through a visualization platform, announced a series of financings that closed a total of $1.7 million in aggregate.

The funding was led by Inverted Ventures. Weave VC, with participation from Bluesky Equity, InRoad Ventures, ThresholdImpact, Startup TNT and a Canadian-based group of angels provided the non-dilutive capital ($270,000).

Saving homebuyers from relying on blacklines or blueprints to imagine their new home

Founded in 2023, ResVR specializes in 3D visualization proptech, working with production homebuilders to showcase their designs and plans to help homebuyers feel confident in their purchase and the options and upgrades they choose.

“In 2024, it is crazy that people are making the biggest purchase of their lives and have to imagine what it will look like off blacklines or blueprints. This is the problem ResVR solves,” ResVR founder and CEO, Nathan Nasseri, explains.

The company cites data from homebuyer surveys indicating the need for homebuilding sales visualization software is significant: 87 per cent of new homebuyers would make changes to their homes with better visualizations, but 73 per cent weren’t provided sufficient information to move forward confidently and only 65 per cent felt the floor plan selected matched what they received.

“ResVR empowers builders and buyers, which leads to happier customers who are more satisfied with their decisions because they were able to visualize them and make more thoughtful choices,” says Nasseri.

‘(We) invested in ResVR because it represents an innovative change that will create a paradigm shift in the legacy homebuilding industry’

Craig D’Cruze, COO of Inverted Ventures, comments on his firm’s participation in the equity funding round: “Inverted Ventures invested in ResVR because it represents an innovative change that will create a paradigm shift in the legacy homebuilding industry. ResVR offers a service that digitizes and optimizes the sales upgrade process for homebuilders in ways previously unattainable. With his deep-rooted experience in homebuilding and his instrumental role in developing this technology since 2015, Nathan brings unique insights, capabilities, and a founder-market fit that will be crucial to this company’s success.”

“I am thrilled to be supporting Nathan in his newest endeavor,” adds angel investor Aaron Flynn, CEO of Edmonton’s Inflexion Games. “Nathan is bringing enormous drive and strong experience to ResVR as he and the team help homebuilders make buyer’s dreams come true with more confidence and understanding than ever possible.”

What’s next 

Later this year, ResVR will unveil follow-up products for designing home exteriors and showcasing new communities for land developers. “This is the beginning of something massive,” Nasseri says. “The homebuilding industry is overdue for a shift towards digital transformation, and ResVR is here to make that happen.”

Image source: resvr.com

High interest rates have impacted Canadians’ finances for quite some time, with 65 per cent saying lower interest rates will make a positive, meaningful impact on their financial well-being, according to Dye & Durham’s Canadian Pulse Report for Q2 2024.

On June 5, they got some relief with the Bank of Canada reducing its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points, to 4.75 per cent. The next announcement is scheduled for July 24, 2024.

Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, shares his thoughts: “The long-awaited cut to the overnight lending rate has arrived. The Bank of Canada held its key lending rate at a two-decade high of 5 per cent for the past 11 months, and more than four years have passed since the last time that the rate was reduced.

Our research indicates that half of sidelined homebuyers in Canada plan to resume their home search plans once the bank rate begins to drop. This will no doubt spark activity and put upward pressure on home prices in the second half of the year.”

Over 80% feel lower rates will make many large purchases more affordable, including a home

The report found that 38 per cent of respondents have waited to make a major purchase in the past year due to high interest rates. Of the 42 per cent who expect to make a major purchase once rates begin to decline, similar to the Royal LePage findings, 57 per cent plan to wait for significant cuts first.

“It’s clear that higher rates have done their job, cooling consumer spending significantly and helping to bring inflation down to much more manageable levels,” says Martha Vallance, chief operating officer, Dye & Durham. “Consumers have said they’re ready to start spending again and are just waiting for the Bank of Canada to make its move, though few should expect rates to return to where they were before. Industries like real estate, automotive sales, construction and more — along with those industries that play critical roles in supporting them — should take note and prepare for a fast-moving market once meaningful cuts are made.”

81 per cent of Canadians believe lower interest rates will make it more affordable to purchase or put funds towards expenses like mortgage costs (81 per cent), a new home or property (70 per cent), the sale price of an owned home or property (66 per cent), home renovations (65 per cent) and personal/emergency savings (58 per cent) or RRSP/retirement savings (48 per cent).

Other key findings

Many Canadian homeowners who renewed mortgages in 2023 and 2024 have seen their monthly payments increase by thousands of dollars. 41 per cent with a residential mortgage plan to refinance once rates begin to decline. Albertans in particular (58 per cent) view this as a way to reduce monthly expenses.

Renters also see lower interest rates as some hope to get into the housing market, with 57 per cent noting lower rates will make it easier for them to buy a home in the future and 50 per cent saying they’ll more likely be able to buy a home in the future if rates come down.

76 per cent of Canadians aged 18-34 feel lower rates will make it easier to afford a new home and 70 per cent feel it’s more likely they’ll be able to do so at some point.

Read the full report here.