ComFree, once the largest for-sale-by-owner company in the world, has returned to the Canadian real estate landscape.
The company says it offers a flat seller fee of $997, which includes services such as MLS listings, virtual tours, advertising and legal documents.
ComFree claims its model allows sellers to save between $19,000 and $30,000 per transaction, depending on the province.
Founded in 1996 in Winnipeg, Travis and Erin Holowach became involved in 2002; ComFree expanded rapidly before a “rocky merger” in 2009 led to their exit, followed by multiple ownership changes and eventual dissolution in 2023.
The Holowachs have regained the rights to the brand and are currently operating in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario, with ambitions for further national expansion.
Will they be forced to share the RECO information Guide? Will they clearly explain the safety issue with letting strangers into their home without verification? Will the Seller clearly be explained what they are up against ? Or will we have further confusion in market. Reco not doing much to protect these days. Look at House Sigma with their skewed data and wrong evaluations. We are falling apart at the seams.
Yes and it will get worse. Remember RECO is government.
And our Associations at every level do nothing to protect the industry. We just pay our monthly fees and are told to shut up and do our job. That includes,
Boards
OREA
CREA
Brokerages beloning to boards.
Pay pay pay and no representation for us or our industry.
Which by the way WE BUILT.
This is a FSBO operation and an opportunity for sellers and buyers to minimize marketing costs. Fair competition that is so sadly missing in our resale residential marketplace. It means we have to show real value!