One Way to Make Toronto Condos More Livable: Let Buyers Make Them Bigger

Real Estate Agent

Explore the role of a real estate agent in Canada, what services they provide, and how they help buyers and sellers succeed in the housing market.

Real Estate Agent

May 22, 2025


What is a Real Estate Agent?

A real estate agent is a licensed professional who assists clients in buying, selling, or renting properties and represents their interests during real estate transactions.

Why Real Estate Agents Matter in Real Estate

In Canada, real estate agents provide essential services in one of the most significant financial transactions of a person’s life. Agents are regulated provincially and must be licensed by bodies such as RECO (Ontario), CREA (nationally), or other regional boards.

Agents help with:
  • Pricing strategy and market analysis
  • Property showings and staging
  • Offer negotiations and legal documentation
  • Coordination of home inspections and closings

They typically work under a brokerage and may represent buyers, sellers, or both (in dual agency, where permitted). Agents owe fiduciary duties to their clients, including loyalty, disclosure, and confidentiality.

Compensation is usually commission-based, paid as a percentage of the property’s sale price (commonly 4%–5%, split between buyer and seller agents). While optional, working with a qualified agent gives clients access to MLS listings, professional networks, and negotiation expertise.

Understanding the role and obligations of a real estate agent helps clients choose the right professional and navigate the market with greater confidence and efficiency.

Example of a Real Estate Agent

A first-time buyer hires a real estate agent in Vancouver to help find a condo. The agent negotiates a price reduction and walks them through each step of the closing process.

Key Takeaways

  • Licensed professional who facilitates real estate transactions.
  • Regulated at the provincial and national level.
  • Offers market expertise, negotiation, and legal support.
  • Usually paid via commission on property sale.
  • Crucial for navigating complex property deals.

Related Terms

  • REALTOR®
  • Buyer’s Agent
  • Listing Agent
  • Dual Agency
  • Commission

Additional Terms

Public Realm Improvements

Public realm improvements are enhancements to public spaces such as sidewalks, parks, plazas, and streetscapes, often funded or contributed by. more

Mortgagee in Possession

A mortgagee in possession is a lender who takes control of a property after borrower default, but before foreclosure or power of sale. The lender. more

Lease Surrender Agreement

A lease surrender agreement is a negotiated contract between a landlord and tenant that ends a lease before its scheduled expiration. Terms may. more

Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure refers to natural or engineered systems that manage stormwater, reduce heat, and improve sustainability in developments.. more

Escrow Holdback

An escrow holdback is a portion of funds withheld at closing and held in escrow until specific conditions are met, such as completion of repairs,. more

Underused Housing Tax

The Underused Housing Tax (UHT) is a federal annual 1% tax on the value of vacant or underused residential property owned by non-resident,. more

More For You

Expert: For Some, Homeownership Is Just A Dream

Aerial view of houses in autumn
Shutterstock

For decades, buying a home was viewed as a rite of passage to adulthood. It represented stability, security, and the opportunity to build a future. Today, for many young people, it feels more like a fantasy than a realistic goal.

Recent polling and research have consistently shown that a growing number of young people no longer believe they will ever own a home. They don’t believe the housing crisis is being resolved.

Keep ReadingShow less

Moving Day: October 2026 Industry Hires And Promotions

Moving Day: October 2026 Industry Hires And Promotions

From left: Rav Dhariwal, Wesgroup Properties; Erika Schickedanz, Colliers; Noam Goldfarb, Graywood; Myah Ollek, CBRE Canada; Vincent Chan, RBC; Kat Rigter, BGO

We know you like to know what's up.

For your information, reference, and networking needs, here are the moves, hires, and promotions the real estate and development sector saw in October 2026:

Keep ReadingShow less

Ontario Municipalities Begin Slashing Development Charges As Part Of Federal Deal

Ontario Municipalities Begin Slashing Development Charges As Part Of Federal Deal

City of Guelph/Facebook

After reaching an $8.8 billion agreement on March 30 to cut development charges, the Governments of Canada and Ontario have been busy finalizing agreements with local governments to implement the changes.

The initiative is officially known as the Development Charge Reduction Program (DCRP) and applications opened on June 1, as previously reported by STOREYS.

Keep ReadingShow less
MUST READ: Ontario Municipalities Begin Slashing DCs As Part Of Federal Deal

Award-Winning Flemingdon Park Office-Turned-Rental Makes A Case For Conversions

Award-Winning Flemingdon Park Office-Turned-Rental Makes A Case For Conversions

e-lofts suite

Located in Toronto’s Flemingdon Park neighbourhood, e-lofts — a 15-storey office-to-residential conversion project — has won a coveted Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) award in its final months of construction.

The purpose-built rental development, which was first proposed in spring 2025, was awarded High-Rise Building of the Year at the OHBA’s 2026 Awards of Distinction Gala for “outstanding architecture, innovation, and design excellence,” according to a press release from the project’s developer, Amexon Developments. The win is significant given the low number of adaptive reuse projects in the province.

Keep ReadingShow less
Award-Winning Flemingdon Park Office-Turned-Rental Makes A Case For Conversions

STOREYS Partners With Colliers To Launch Top 75 Real Estate Projects Report And Program

STOREYS Partners With Colliers To Launch Top 75 Real Estate Projects Report And Program

In partnership with Colliers as a Presenting Sponsor, STOREYS announces Top 75 Real Estate Projects, a new annual report and program built to recognize the most meaningful real estate projects across Canada – from landmark new-builds and redevelopments through to masterplans reshaping entire neighbourhoods, encompassing iconic office buildings, niche industrial centres, master-planned communities, and mixed-use assets.

STOREYS, now in its tenth year, is taking a format with more than two decades of history to the private sector. Top 75 Real Estate Projects builds on the Top 100 Infrastructure Projects report from sister publication ReNew Canada, a mainstay of public sector infrastructure coverage. Now, for the first time, that national framework, editorial rigour, and Top Projects format are being applied to the country’s most significant real estate developments.

Keep ReadingShow less

Only 18% Of Young Canadians Fully Confident About Homebuying Finances: Survey

Only 18% Of Young Canadians Fully Confident About Homebuying Finances: Survey
Jeff Whyte/Shutterstock

Just 18% of Canadians aged 18 to 34 say they feel confident navigating all financial aspects of buying a home, according to the 2026 Zown Homeownership & Financial Confidence Survey, released Wednesday.

That compares with 35% of those aged 35 to 54 and 50% of those 55 and older.

Keep ReadingShow less

Bank Of Canada Raises Policy Rate To 2.5% In First Hike Since 2023

Bank Of Canada Raises Policy Rate To 2.5% In First Hike Since 2023

The Bank of Canada raised its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, bringing it to 2.5% and marking the first increase since July 0f 2023.

The Bank Rate now sits at 2.75%, and the deposit rate at 2.45%.

Keep ReadingShow less

Costly Construction, Decades Of Delays: Canada’s Project Leaders Get A New Playbook

Costly Construction, Decades Of Delays: Canada’s Project Leaders Get A New Playbook

Tino Ferreira/Unsplash

For much of the past two decades, Canada approached major projects with a simple idea: write the contract well enough, and the project would essentially look after itself. Each risk sat with a party ready to handle it, so when something went wrong, everyone knew who to turn to.

But it hasn’t worked out that way. Canada is one of the most expensive places in the world to build, and paying top dollar still doesn’t keep projects from running late (and over budget). That’s a problem at any time, but an even bigger one today, with the transportation, water, energy, natural resource, military and information technology projects currently being planned carrying multi-billion-dollar price tags — not to mention stakes in trade, sovereignty, national unity, and climate change. For developers and city-builders, these are the projects that determine where and how growth happens.

Keep ReadingShow less
Privacy PolicyAbout UsTerms of UseAdvertise with UsJobsContact UsRSS Feed
All rights reserved SiteMedia © 2026.