Quebec real estate agents broke the law by offering sales guarantees in their advertisements; The Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec promises to crack down.
“Your house is GUARANTEED SOLD or I’ll buy it!” An advertisement from a real estate agent, for example, proclaims.
However, the practice has been illegal since September 2022.
According to real estate agent Mélanie Bergeron, this type of advertising comes with several problems.
“Will the price shown be high enough? Are we going to use the valuation to make sure we’re selling the house and not being forced to buy it?” she explains.
In fact, a buyer who wants to sell their home for $500,000 might be encouraged to revise their price downwards by the agent who wants to avoid buying the home.
The conflict of interest is obvious, cut off Ms Bergeron.
While real estate agents can offer various benefits through promotions, they must be careful not to create a conflict of interest.
“We cannot pay a specialist who has a conflict of interest,” explains Ms. Bergeron.
Unfortunately, according to the agent, this practice undermines the reputation of the real estate agent and, in particular, public confidence in the profession.
“Public trust is really important. There are always those elements that cause harm. But I think the majority works well, and it’s not a majority that offers such promotions,” she nuanced.
Caution is all the more appropriate since, according to Ms. Bergeron, trust is the “key word” of the profession.