Canadian real estate professionals are being challenged by a shaky economy and onerous compliance requirements, according to the newly published Ownright Operators Report.
In a nationwide poll (excluding Quebec) of more than 1,000 real estate professionals, 67% of respondent said their clients are more risk-averse than they were pre-pandemic, with 40% citing economic uncertainty for their homebuying hesitation. In comparison, employment or income stability (17%) and interest rates (15%) were lower ranked causes for hesitation.
Nearly one in four professionals (23%) blamed US political or economic tumult for frequently impacting transactions, while 69% said it only plays an occasional role.
The respondents pointed to client indecision as the top cause of transaction delays (38%), followed by financing and mortgage approvals (28%). More broadly, 38% said a growing number of deals are collapsing due to financing issues compared to two years ago. As for bringing stability to their clients, 41% of respondents recommended fixed-rate mortgages, compared to 30% who would recommend variable rates.
Looking ahead, 43% of respondents said they were confident the market will rebound in the next 12 months, while 25% were pessimistic and 28% remained neutral. Less than one-third (30%) said they considered leaving the industry due to regulatory or administrative burdens, while more than half (56%) of respondents complained that compliance or administrative demands reduced the time they can spend with clients. But only 10% reported lost income as a result of these burdens.
“During the pandemic, people felt pressure to move quickly because they were worried prices would keep rising or rates would change overnight. That urgency is gone,” says Joel Fox, co-founder and chief operating officer of Ownright, a law service for real estate transactions that conducted the survey. “Even as prices decrease in some markets, buyers are taking more time, asking more questions, and trying to understand where the economy is headed before making a major financial decision. Uncertainty itself has become a market force.”
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