Buy With Dwelly, Save Thousands: Why We Give Back 50% Of Our Commission

Re-designing the way real estate is done has been at the forefront of everything we do at Dwelly. It’s no secret that the real estate industry, in many of its processes, is in dire need of an updated approach. As part of our mission to humanize real estate transactions and make the home buying process more affordable, we commit to giving Dwelly buyer clients 50% of our commission.

At first, it might not make complete sense why a real estate company would willingly give away half of a commission. To add, many of our clients are either completely unaware of our rebate policy or do not know the driving reasons behind it. In this post, we’ll clarify exactly why we give back 50% of our commission to our buyers. We’ll touch on how our buyer’s rebate policy is relevant today, and how it aligns with our overarching mission of making real estate transactions more transparent and reliable.

Commissions (and their stagnant rates) explained

Before we discuss why we give back 50% of our commission to home buyers, let’s start by discussing what a commission is and how it’s structured. In short, a commission is a fee paid in exchange for a realtor’s services. When buying a home, the seller pays a total of 5% (industry standard) of the home price as commission: 2.5% to their realtor and 2.5% to the buyer’s. In 2005, the average price for a home in Canada was roughly $250,000 and the commission rates charged were around the same as they are today (3-6%, with industry standard being 5% in Ontario).

In 2021, the average home price has jumped by a staggering ~140%, reaching over $600,000, and yet standard commission rates in the industry have remained relatively unchanged. The total commission charged for the $250,000 home in 2005 would be $12,500 and if the same exact home sells for roughly $600,000 today, the total commission would be around $30,000.

Now keeping in mind that the advancement of technology (e.g. digital signing, online bookings, etc) has streamlined a big part of the home buying process in 2021, this has resulted in too many home buyers often feeling that their realtor hasn’t provided true value for money. At Dwelly, we don’t think that’s fair - that's one reason why we give back 50% of our commission to buyers.

The Evolution of Home Buyers

Today, more than ever, a home buyer has tons of insightful information available at their fingertips. If you’re a home buyer in Toronto, you can probably get pricing information, neighbourhood guides and market stats faster than your realtor would pick up their phone. This paradigm shift has caused a distribution of power in favour of clients; realtors are no longer the unnegotiable experts who are right about everything. Dwelly recognizes this deeply and instead of feeling threatened by it, we’ve decided to capitalize on it.

We built a platform made to empower informed home buyers every step of the way. We transparently provide you with detailed property information, history, trend charts, comparable pricing stats and pretty much everything you would need to know. We recognize that you, a home buyer now equipped with an information-loaded, intelligent search platform, will take on a larger part in your own home search than ever before.

Now that home buyers are more involved in the home search process than ever before, it’s only fair that they’re compensated for their efforts. Working with clients looking to buy a condo or house, we tend to notice that the average home buyer has a solid idea of what they want. They’ve usually done their research and chosen some favourite options by the time they book a showing. Home buyers are no longer sitting around waiting for their realtor to send over listings at their convenience. The modern-day home buyer is a proactive go-getter - that’s another reason why we’re adamant on giving back half our commission to buyers; you rightfully deserve it.

Our Tech-Enabled Way Of Doing Real Estate

Tech-enabled real estate is nothing to resist - it’s a wholesome way of streamlining your home buying process to make it smoother, more enjoyable and more reliable. Since buying a home is one of the most serious purchasing decisions you’ll make, it’s a difficult one in its nature. Dwelly comes in to make the process itself easier, so that you can focus your energy on making the big decision.

The Dwelly platform creates synergy between the human aspect and the tech aspect. We’re big backers of using technology to drive forward an easier way of doing things, while also recognizing the importance of human interaction throughout the home buying process. Although we encourage autonomous home-searching on our clients’ part, we won’t leave you hanging when you need assistance.

Dwelly’s live chat is available 24/7 to answer any questions or inquiries you might have. There’s no bot on the other side, just a real life Dwelly agent eager to help. Through our chat, you can talk to a licensed real estate agent to discuss any property-specific or offer-focused questions you might need an urgent answer to. We also have a client care specialist available to assist you with scheduling viewing appointments and addressing any other concerns.

We’ve also implemented an online offer submission process to enable you to be more involved beyond the search phase. Once you’re set on submitting an offer, you can use our online offer submission system to fill in your personal details. From there, your Dwelly agent will submit the offer on your behalf and keep you posted on its status. Submitting your offer details online gives us more time and space to focus on the technicalities - yet another reason for us to offer you a 50% buyer’s rebate.

A Win-Win For Everyone

To put it simply, prices are on the rise. Toronto homes for sale are not going out without a fight - offer nights have become more common and multiple buyers per home is the new standard. As the pandemic still lingers, the demand for more spacious homes is still climbing to all-time highs. With this in mind, saving thousands of dollars while buying a home is a true advantage during these tough times.

Our mission to make real estate more affordable for Canadians is the most pressing reason behind our buyer’s rebate policy. To us, half of our commission is way more appropriately allocated going into your bank account. Not to mention, your involvement in the home buying process means much less work for us so splitting our commission with you only seems fair.

Whether it’s for making mortgage payments, purchasing furniture, or boosting your savings account, splitting our commission with you makes us smile - it’s a win-win for everyone.