It’s pretty standard to see bottles of water, wrapped chocolates and canapes at a real estate open house to butter up buyers.
Maybe even some chilled bottles of wine if the real estate agent is really working their game.
But something else is becoming standard at open houses these days – a home inspector.
My conversations with Burnaby buyers and real estate agents say that some of those in the hunt for a home are actually paying home inspectors to come with them to an open house. If the buyer is really interested in a place that’s for sale – especially an older home – then they will spend the extra money to take them to one or more open houses in a day.
But why, you ask? Well, because today’s real estate market is filled with buyers and not enough listings. That means some sellers are receiving so many offers that some of them won’t expect any conditions on the sale, like a home inspection. So, the buyer will already have a home inspector who has at least looked for any glaring issues.
It’s not perfect, but it’s all part of a home market.
According to the most recent statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association, home sales in this country rose 4.6 per cent in February. Sales levels for the month were roughly 35 per cent above pre-COVID norms, as buyers raced to lock in historically low interest rates that are set to rise this year.
According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), in Burnaby there was a big jump in sales in February, with 459 in total – way above the 314 in January. In Burnaby, the average price for a detached house was going from $2.2 million, up from $2,062,000 in January and way up from $1.7 million in February 2021.
And it’s not just here in Metro Vancouver. I did some research and found an interview that talks about the Toronto market.
"In this market — especially the Toronto market but it’s also shifted to Ottawa, Barrie, Burlington, and elsewhere — it would be very rare to see a condition on a home inspection," said John Lusink, president of Toronto-based Right At Home Realty. "Most realtors would be saying, 'If you put that condition in, you will never ever get a home in the current market.'”
Lusink said some buyers who know they won't get a home if they make their offer conditional on a home inspection choose to hire a licensed home inspector or someone else with specialized knowledge to come to showings and open houses with them instead.
"Doing a pre-inspection — yes, it has to be on your own dime — is still something I highly recommend," he said. "Find an expert, maybe a home inspector or someone with a good construction background, to do a walk-through with you."
So, some helpful advice if you are looking to get into the local real estate market.
- With files from the Canadian Press
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
