OTTAWA — Canadian real estate agents will be voting Monday on changes that could dramatically change their industry.
The Globe and Mail reports the Canadian Real Estate Association will vote on changes that would allow individuals to handle a greater portion of home sales on their own and not get slammed on commissions.
The changes would also let people selling their homes to pay a flat fee to an agent to post a listing on the organization’s powerful listings database, Multiple Listings Service, but then negotiate the sale without an agent’s help. The traditional way to sell a home involves agents handling the listing and sale process and then take a percentage of the transaction as a commission.
The newspaper says more than 300 representatives from real estate boards across the country are gathering in Ottawa for the vote.