Editor:
Re: B.C. Real Estate Association offers alternatives to cooling-off period, NOW News
We need solutions right now as the Burnaby real estate markets overheats to the point where it melts.
I found myself trapped in a multiple offer mania as listings started dropping and the same buyers were all bidding on the same homes.
I can still remember going to open houses and literally seeing the same 20 or so people at all of them. That would have been fine if there were more places to offer on, but instead the offers just kept piling up. I remember one agent telling me that a dozen people had put in an offer on the same Metrotown condo. No wonder the place went so far over the asking price.
My wife and I even decided to forego asking for an inspection just to be considered. We still lost out on too many places. In the end, we did find a good place and are happy, but I read an article recently on the situation and am concerned about the reaction from B.C. Finance Minister Selina Robinson. She seems to be ignoring what real estate agents are proposing to help ease the situation for buyers.
“In a statement Monday, Finance Minister Selina Robinson said she understands a commission-driven industry has a vested interest in the market being hot, but the government’s role is to make sure people are protected,” says the story.
Yes, these folks get a commission but that doesn’t mean their ideas should be ignored.
The article details these ideas from the B.C. Real Estate Association: “Among its 30 recommendations, the paper suggests creating a five-day, no-offer period — what the industry calls a pre-offer period — from when a property is listed that would give buyers time to research a property before making an offer; creating a more transparent process for properties where there are multiple offers; making property disclosure statements mandatory and available when a property is listed; making all strata documents available with a listing; and raising the entry qualification for new real estate agents.”
I don’t think the minister should be dismissing these out of hand. Work with the industry and let’s get some more measures in places to balance the needs and desires of sellers and buyers.
F. Gilbert, Burnaby
