For all of the excitement, joy, and fresh starts that colour a real estate purchase, there’s no denying that it also comes with stress and uncertainty – especially during a global pandemic.
For most people, this stress involves dollar signs. Or, perhaps more often, a lack thereof.
One Canadian real estate technology company has been busy eliminating some of this financial stress by enabling customers to buy their next home before listing their current home on the market.
Properly.ca enables homebuyers to unlock equity from their current home and finance their next home with Sale Assurance. They’ll even pay your existing mortgage for you in the meantime (yes, you read that correctly).
The first-of-its-kind home upgrade service in Toronto reduces the stress from the home buying and selling process by allowing customers to list their home after they’ve already packed up and moved out. This eliminates the headache of living through staging, showings, and open houses – all inconveniences in normal times that have only been amplified during COVID-19.
The need for innovation in the real estate market has accelerated with COVID-19. While the Toronto real estate market inevitably took a hit at the onset of the crisis – with the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reporting a 63% drop in sales volumes from March to April 2020 – it didn’t take long for the market to experience a sharp rebound. Between April and July, sales volumes grew by an astounding 345%, with the average sale price increasing by 15%. In fact, the average GTA home price hit an all-time high in July.
The traditional home selling-then-buying process simply can’t keep pace with market movements.
“The pandemic has made an already stressful home buying and selling process even more volatile,” says Anshul Ruparell, co-founder and CEO, Properly. “We’ve created a way for Toronto homeowners to feel confident when managing the biggest transaction of their life. The standard view is that you should sell before you buy or risk being left with two mortgages to carry. With Properly, you have the freedom to buy the home you love as soon as it hits the market.”
For Toronto real estate purchasers, this ability to buy the home that captures the heart as soon as it hits the market is an unprecedented luxury – especially in an ever-competitive real estate market where acting quickly is the only option.
So, How Exactly Does it Work?
In a sense, you get all of the benefits of working with a great real estate agent (Properly has those), but with many additional benefits for homebuyers and sellers. Properly lists its customers’ property on the market, sells it for the highest price, and guarantees a sale. In the unlikely event that a customers’ home hasn’t sold within their bridge loan period, customers can rest easy (in their new home) knowing that they have Sale Assurance from Properly. The company will buy the property from customers at their Sale Assurance value.
The Entire Process Can Be Broken Down into 5 Easy Steps
First: Connect with Properly to learn more about buying first and selling later. When you decide the process is right for you, Properly will provide Sale Assurance for your qualifying home, which means access to equity and secure financing for you.
Second: Properly will match you with an experienced, local real estate agent, who will help you begin your new-home search with confidence. Think: personalized listings, scheduled showings, and negotiations for the right offer for you.
Third: Once you find the home you love, you can bring Properly's Sale Assurance to your financial institution to secure the necessary financing to snag your new home -- no traditional sale on your current property required. With a Sale Assurance commitment, customers can move on their timeline, without the financial pressure to line up purchase and sale dates.
Fourth: Once you've moved into your new home, Properly will sell your old one on the market. Empowered by the team's advice, you'll set the listing price, while Properly will clean, stage, access handyperson services, and cover marketing. Properly will show your old home while you enjoy your new one.
Fifth: Choose the highest offer from potential buyers. The "vast majority" of homes sell within 90 days of hitting the market, and yours probably will too. But, if for some reason it doesn't, Properly will purchase your old home.
Moving On
Machine learning is front and centre of Properly’s business model. An algorithm enables homeowners to discover what their home would sell for on the open market. Customers are invited to simply type in their home’s address on the company’s website to generate ProperPrice™, which is an instant home value estimate calculated based on over 50 live data sources and past sold records.
"We were looking to make an offer on a home we loved in Niagara, but we needed to sell our condo in Leaside first,” said Courtney and Justin, a professional couple who turned to Properly to support them in their recent purchase and sale. “We wanted to move quickly and Properly allowed us to do so with confidence.”
Customers pay Properly a commission that is the same as what you’d pay a traditional agent, but also get the confidence of a guaranteed sale and the ability to avoid living through showings. For the risk-conscious set of real estate buyers, the 5% commission from Properly is a fair price to pay for the peace of mind knowing they can relax in their new home without worrying about their old one.
Interested in the flexibility to buy a new home before you sell your current one? Start with a no-obligation home valuation atProperly.ca.
