As many Canadians grapple with the inflated cost of living, leaving home-buying plans firmly on the back burner, it’s become a challenging time to be in real estate. The industry is decidedly downtrodden, and very few players have been exempt.
As such, real estate startup Properly -- they entered the proptech scene in 2018, touting a customer-centric business model -- has announced a pause on all new Sale Assurance offers, under which the brokerage purchased clients' homes that sat on the market for more than 90 days for a pre-agreed-upon price. When the assurance was in effect, it would enable sellers to unlock equity in their homes prior to securing a sale.
According to an update on the Properly website, the indefinite pause on new Sale Assurance offers is a consequence of the “unprecedented volatility in the Canadian housing market.”
The update goes on to say, "This pause does not impact active clients who have an outstanding Sale Assurance commitment from Properly.”
This is not the company’s first attempt to scale back operations.
In November, the brokerage laid off 71 employees, citing the “new reality” of the nationwide housing correction in a letter issued to employees by Properly co-founder and CEO Anshul Ruparell. In the face of an uncertain market, the company has also held off on plans to expand across Ontario and British Columbia and into Quebec.
But it’s not all doom and gloom over at Properly.
In an email to STOREYS, a spokesperson for the company confirmed that the company will continue to focus on its brokerage and mortgage operations, and a number of online tools, including Home Search and Instant Estimate digital products, will still be available to Properly clientele.
She also teases “a number of new innovations” on the horizon, which they will divulge in due time.
Stay tuned!
