Many sellers in the Toronto-area real estate market are choosing to forgo the attention that a sign on the lawn and a social media campaign brings. They are finding more discreet ways to trade properties.
The Realtor Cooperation Policy declares that, within three days of public marketing, agents must place the listing on their local board’s Multiple Listing Service system. CREA oversees the realtor.ca site that displays properties from the MLS of real estate boards across the country. He also first learned of the change when the CREA missive landed. It was released in advance of a conference hosted by CREA in Ottawa for boards from across the country.
“How you want to sell your home should be a choice and a decision that lies fully with the homeowner,” says Ms. Oxley, who has three off-market listings in her folder at the moment. “I’m hand-picking agents that I specifically know have clients that want something I’m able to offer them.” But Mr. Crigger is concerned that the proposed policy intends to limit agent’s ability to communicate with other agents outside of their own brokerage.As an agent, Mr. Crigger has represented clients on an exclusive basis. He says there are a number of circumstances in which a seller might crave privacy: the homeowner may be a celebrity, for example, or an executive of a public company might be concerned about raising questions among shareholders.
At one time, so-called pocket listings tended to be quietly traded among top agents with a big book of business, says Ms. Oxley. “They have a child so there’s lots of clutter and every wall needed to be painted,” he says. “It’s really hard to keep a house in show-ready condition.”
Sleazy industry involving sleazy people