Do I really need a real estate agent to buy a home in Ottawa?

Did you know that you aren’t legally required to work with a real estate agent when buying or selling a home in Canada?

For some people, this information is enough to convince them to go through the process themselves. And that’s fair, you want to ensure that you are 100% in control of one of the biggest financial decisions of your life! That said, there are plenty of great reasons to work with an agent to ensure that your home buying or selling process goes as smoothly as possible. Below, we’ll list a few things to keep in mind when you’re deciding.

BUYERS

If you’re looking to buy a home, an agent can be a huge asset to you. First and foremost, they have access to information about the market, and can hyperfocus that information for the neighbourhood or neighbourhoods you’re looking to purchase in. This will give you a great idea on how homes are selling - are they mostly going for their asking price, significantly higher, or perhaps lower? Are most homes selling quickly, or sitting on the market for a while? This information can help you make an informed offer on a home when the time comes!

For example, if most homes are selling for well over asking and you aren’t aware, you may offer too low and end up losing to a higher bidder. On the other hand, if homes are typically selling for under or around asking, you may make too high of an offer and lose money you didn’t have to spend.

Further, when buying a home, you’ll need to have a pretty good understanding of paperwork and legal language. When making an offer, and signing paperwork, you’ll want to make sure you’re protected. A real estate agent can assist you in creating a rock-solid offer that can include conditions - like needing an inspection on the home, needing to sell yours before the deal goes firm, or a variety of other events you may want to take place before your deal is official.

Agents also have access to something called ‘exclusive’ listings. Exclusive listings are homes that haven’t hit the market yet. The sellers may be interested in selling their home in the near future, or just haven’t listed it yet. With your agent's help, you could make an offer and make a deal on a home before it ever hits the market, which can be incredibly valuable to avoid bidding wars or create a custom closing date that suits both the buyer and seller.

Finally, agents also have the time to find the best properties for you. Most likely, you work full time, have kids or pets to care for, as well as hobbies and interests, friends and family to see, and need time for you as well! Adding a home search into your day may contribute to a ton of extra stress. Your agent’s main priority will become finding properties that meet your standards - price, size, location, and amenities. They’ll come in through your email daily for you to review! Further, the agent can book showings and request more information on these properties, and then take you through them and provide background information you may not have known.

If you’re looking to bring on an agent, you’ll want to ensure you’re working with someone you trust. But agents are held to a high standard where they cannot keep information from you and must work to serve your best interests, so at the minimum, any agent you work with will be supporting you primarily. That said, before signing on to work exclusively with one agent, you can take the time to meet them and see how their process works to ensure it is a good fit.

An agent also comes through the commission of the sale, meaning you can consider the cost of your agent part of the final sale price.

SELLERS

When selling your home, one of the most valuable assets you will receive from a real estate agent is marketing expertise. A real estate agent will be able to list your home on the MLS (multiple listing service, also known as realtor.ca), their website, and within agent groups across your city. They will know the best photographers and videographers to create stunning images of your property and may have experts on their team to write detailed and searchable descriptions of your property. For example, New Purveyors has a dedicated marketing specialist who writes each of our descriptions to ensure that when people are googling for your home, it will show up!

Getting on the MLS and becoming google-able is one of the best ways to get eyes on your property. In 2023, almost all home-buyers start their search online. A great agent will have a variety of websites on which your home can be found to ensure the buyers who are looking for it can find it with ease!

Your agent will also be able to appropriately price your home for you. We have a blog post on why home-value tools may not be a great option for accurately pricing your home, you can check it out HERE. A well-priced home will ensure that your home sells when you want to, and won’t sit on the market. Further, it will ensure you get the right price for your home in its current market.

Your agent can then assist with hosting open houses, speaking with other agents in the city, and continued promotion of your property while it is on market.

When offer day comes, your agent will be available to receive offers on your home and help you decide on the right one. You can use their expertise to take a look at conditions buyers may be asking (for example, to wait until they sell their home, or once they have an inspection on yours) as well as the price points. This expertise will help you choose the deal that will get you the most money possible while also ensuring that the sale will actually go through without any major troubles.

Your agent will take a commission off your home's sale and split it with the buyer’s agent. There will not be any additional costs.

Agents can assist buyers and sellers in making the smartest decisions with their money and property. A great agent will get you the best possible price, in the shortest amount of time, and support you through the process that they’ve seen hundreds of times before.

Great agents will also have valuable connections across the city including home inspectors, lawyers, plumbers, and other skilled professionals who may assist you in preparing your home for sale or fixing up a new purchase, the legal process, or anything else that comes up along the way.