How The Transparency Of The Real Estate Market Can Benefit Buyers

Buying a home is very likely anyone’s largest lifetime purchase, knowing all of the data possible is definitely something every purchaser would prefer to know going in. The Supreme Court of Canada has recently decided to allow public access to all of the records on sale prices, ownership history and trends within Toronto and the surrounding areas. This information that has been available to realtors for years through the data the Multiple Listing Service from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). There are websites which the general public can use to decipher values, but this provides the most accurate and up-to-date data. Many real estate agents have  concerns about this being public knowledge, which doesn’t actually negatively impact the aid they provide, but consumers can now have a concrete understanding of why the values are the way they are. The more information a purchaser has the less concern they will have in this stressful process.

This is not only beneficial in a massive way to anyone with an interest in purchasing, but the government as well. Similar to Vancouver and Montreal, Ontario has an issue with money laundering in the housing market. There was approximately $2.8 billion of undisclosed investments that went into Ontario in 2018, while most of it is likely legal, a large portion of it is definitely unlawful. This came to the attention of the government when approximately $1 billion of laundered funds were discovered in the Vancouver real estate market in 2016. With this information public, everyone can now see where this money is being allocated with a much stronger chance of catching criminal activity hidden behind corporate shell accounts. A substantial amount of funds will inevitably go back to the government, which will benefit the average citizen. This will greatly aid real estate buyers and investors, as the money laundering is driving prices up while also taking properties off the market. This will eventually moderately decrease prices and leave more opportunities for those looking to improve their portfolio. 

This information is such a useful tool for home buyers to be able to decipher what the exact value of the property should be. Real estate prices can fluctuate all across each city in different markets, now you can find out how and why the values are the way they are and purchase according to the market's actual value. This also benefits home sellers as they will have a more clear understanding of what they should sell their home for. This will likely result in less days on the market and less of a concern if the sale price is too high or low. 

TREB has stated their concerns over issues of privacy, but the general home buyer has no issue with the information being presented. The Supreme Court of Canada weighs the minor concerns over the much larger benefits.This transparency creates a stronger amount of comfort, more balance in the real estate economy and a heavier degree of funding going back into the economy. Providing all of the information is a strong course of action to develop more confident buyers and warm people up to the idea of pursuing multiple properties. When purchasing or selling real estate, the more information you have the much better you will be off in your investment.