James Buonassisi, a salesperson with Re/Max Select Realty in Vancouver, never wavers as to what he loves most about this industry.
“What I like about working in real estate has always been the same. I truly enjoy making my clients happy and getting to work with great people. Not everyone appreciates the hard work but most do. I also really like the challenge of putting a difficult deal together, whether it’s a different kind of property or the price is difficult to establish.”
Stéphane Caron
Stéphane Caron, a salesperson with Royal LePage Inter-Quebec in Quebec City, appreciates the benefits of technology. “The use of technology these days helps a lot in managing our time, being more efficient and connecting with clients without meeting in person. For example, the use of FaceTime with my phone to show a house located in Quebec City when the client is working in Vancouver. Another example – I was on vacation in the Philippines for five weeks and got three offers. I could sign the documents electronically from overseas. This would have not been possible a few years ago.”
Working with fellow agents is important to Caron. “We are matchmakers and our goal is to make clients happy. Yes, we are competing to get clients but we all have different personalities and ways to approach clients. I will never get mad if someone got a client that I was hoping to get. It just means the other agent had a better presentation and connection with the client.”
Andrew Ipekian
Andrew Ipekian, a broker with Keller Williams Referred Urban Realty in Toronto, finds the unknown thrilling. “The market in Toronto is hot and with a constant flow of buyers, our listings sell quickly as they appeal to many different walks of life. You never know what the buyers’ motivations are as they could be looking for a primary residence, home for their children, investment rental income, renovate and flip or even a second home. This is what makes the job so exciting!”
Lethbridge, Alta., broker Robert W May thrives on the economic rollercoaster. “As a broker who has been involved in the industry since 1993, I have worked through the ever-changing and evolving economic tides.” He says the best thing about being involved in the profession in 2016 is the pride that he takes “in knowing that the national real estate industry has been instrumental in providing enduring stability in the Canadian economy and is the key source of financial wealth for most families.”
Carol Burke
Carol Burke, the broker/owner of Burke Realty in St. John’s, Nfld. appreciates the diversity of the clients she works with and the types of properties involved. “A typical work week at my office would be meeting with a young couple who are new to Canada and are looking to rent an apartment for a year, and then to purchase their first home the following year. On another day I would meet with a long-time client who is an investor looking to sell several of his condominium rental units to help finance the purchase of a commercial building.”
Burke continues, “I work with clients from the very young to the very mature; from diverse cultural backgrounds; varying levels of financial ability; some who have lived in the same town all of their lives and in the same house in which they were born, and whose first and only real estate transaction is to sell their lifelong home to move to a retirement community.” Others, she says, “are transferred every several years to a different city or country and have real estate investments here at home to deal with from afar. There is rarely a dull day at my office.”
Jessica Stoner
In Canmore, Alta., Jessica Stoner, an associate broker with Re/Max Alpine Realty values the relative strictness in Canadian real estate.
“As Re/Max is an international corporation, I often get the opportunity to chat with agents around the world at our conferences, and it is easy to pinpoint what I like best about our real estate industry… I am so grateful to work in real estate in Canada as we have some of the strictest laws governing agents and protecting the public. These are rigidly enforced and in turn have made Canadian real estate one of the most secure investment vehicles in the world. Canadians and want-to-be Canadians buy and own with confidence and our market has remained relatively stable compared to the rest of the worlds’ housing markets in turbulent times. I am very happy that I can work in a controlled industry and that it isn’t the Wild West like in some countries!”
Like Caron, Rick Dubord, the president of HomeLife Realty Service in Surrey, B.C., appreciates technology. “One of the major benefits of working real estate in Canada has to be Realtor.ca,” he says. “It’s the most visited site in the country for real estate information. In the U.S. where they have multiple different portals for information on home and property listings, that can be overwhelming for potential clients. Not to mention billion-dollar companies like Zillow that are now taking part of the commission dollar. Realtor.ca is non-profit and allows us to connect with the client in a convenient, more efficient way.”
John Knox, the president of Fair Realty in Nelson, B.C., values the professional standards of agents. “Real estate has changed a lot in the last years – and certainly since I started back in 1988,” Knox says. “The best thing for me is how well-informed buyers and sellers are now as a result of the Internet and free access to information and, as a result, how they value the professional advice of their agent as opposed to seeing us as just a salesperson.”
Knox says, “There is a definite shift to valuing agent expertise and advice in the presence of all the information available. It’s also very clear that the level of education, professionalism and expertise amongst agents has never been better and just keeps improving every year. I’m very proud and honoured to be part of this industry and look forward to the future and the continuing evolution that will bring.”
Toby Welch is a contributing writer for REM.
