The market continues to falter in Calgary. While CREB says that it is stabilizing, and hasn’t fallen as far in Q3 as it had in Q2 2018. With sales declining further, and higher inventory levels, prices are still declining in most segments, with apartment condos experiencing the biggest declines.

But this isn’t the topic of note in the market! Around the corner – only two weeks away – is cannabis legalization.

Cannabis Legalization – October 17, 2018

We all know the history of grow ops in this province and the issues surrounding disclosure, remediation and financing. There seem to be more questions than answers as to what constitutes “safe” growing of cannabis.

Then there’s the issue of disclosure. Come October 17, if a seller grows the allowable four plants, does this constitute a grow op and does it need to be disclosed? Will four plants lead to above acceptable limits of moisture and the potential of mould behind the walls?

Then we have the lender side. It is almost impossible to get financing on a remediated grow op. Now that it is legal, will lenders adjust their policies? The same questions above likely apply to financing as well, but there is no solid answer, one way or another, at this point.

So many questions and not enough answers, thus far. I guess we’ll be waiting to see how this all plays out. It’s probably unlikely that a significant portion of the population will start growing their four plants per household on October 17, so expect policies to evolve. We’ll probably see ongoing adjustments over the months and years to come.

For more information on the Cannabis Act, check out this article on REMonline.com.

Technology

Finally we have the technology/data debate. I know there are a lot of Realtors that don’t want the public to have access to sold data. While I understand their hesitation to evolve their business, this doesn’t look like a fight that can be won over the long term.

As long as I have been a Mortgage Broker the rules have been changing and evolving. Every time a new rule is introduced, there is industry drama. “This is going to ruin our industry”. “This is the beginning of the end for brokers”.

Well, we’re still here and recent stats show that the Mortgage Broker market share continues to grow and, in my opinion, this is likely due to all the new rules. We provide education where bank employees offer products. We help buyers and homeowners understand what they are signing, not just ask them to sign on the dotted line.

So I guess what I’m saying is, change is coming. Technology cannot be stopped and the younger generations embrace technology. So it’s time to embrace, evolve and deal, or find a new industry.

Speaking as a professional in a parallel industry that is already inundated with change and technology, this could be a good thing. If you embrace the change, focus on the value you provide that is more than just data, you may be shocked at the outcome.

This article makes some great points about technology and, more specifically, sold data. I don’t agree that generally “people who are active in the housing market already know what the house down the street sold for”. How many borrowers are going to land registry offices to access this information? I wouldn’t.

I do agree that “a well-informed consumer is the best kind”. These are my favourite clients – young professionals in Calgary who are looking to buy or move up and who do their research before the process even begins!

These clients are armed with information but have trouble making sense of it. That’s where we come in: to provide analysis and show them the pros and cons of the options available. We are the professionals after all!

So if you’re worrying about technology, look at the Mortgage Broker channel. Change and technology have proven to be a great thing for our industry and our share of the market.