Becoming a homeowner is a significant achievement in a person’s life. They save money for years, hoping to own a house, a condo or another form of primary residence. 

In recent years, this milestone has become more challenging for Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, the housing price index increased from 103.4 in January 2020 to 125.2 in January 2023. 

Earlier this year, the government unveiled a tax-free First Home Savings Account to assist those trying to buy their first home. However, for over a decade, non-profits have led the charge to help families afford housing.

In Halifax, Nova Scotia, real estate advisor Brenda MacKenzie makes a difference by providing tangible change for local families. Her organization, A Home for Everyone, raised over $200,000 for local organizations between 2011 and 2018. Today, the non-profit continues its work as A Home for Everyone, and its goal of helping Canadians buy homes hasn’t changed.

How does MacKenzie affect change in her community? How does A Home for Everyone raise money and achieve community support? Here’s her story and what the organization has planned for the future.

Finding inspiration

MacKenzie founded A Home for Everyone in 2011, but she’s been helping her community for nearly four decades. The inspiration for her organization came in 2000, thanks to a powerful speech. 

She travelled to Mexico with her friend, Martin Rutte, author of “Project Heaven on Earth” and co-author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work.” At the conference, a keynote speech helped MacKenzie realize she could make a difference. 

“If we all put our mind to it, we can all do something,” MacKenzie says. “So, if you had a magic wand and you could just wave your magic wand and cure something in the world and make it right, what would you want to change?

And I said, homelessness.”

From this point, MacKenzie started her journey that continues today. She involved her company to help people through the business instead of donating to charities. 

This initiative became known as A Home for Everyone until 2018. In 2019, MacKenzie registered A Home for Everyone after joining Engel & Völkers, where she continues her journey to solve the housing crisis.

Drawing from experience

While Canada’s housing crisis is a significant concern for MacKenzie, she has faced other battles in her personal life. These experiences have shaped her worldview and inspired her to help others. 

MacKenzie and her family members have suffered from polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Fortunately, she received a transplant a couple of years ago. This experience overlaps with her vision to end homelessness. 

“I vowed the same thing as I vow with homelessness,” MacKenzie says. “I vowed when I got my transplant and when I was on dialysis that I was going to be an advocate. We need to be advocates for others.”

MacKenzie advocates for others with the disease through the PKD Foundation. She co-founded the organization’s Halifax chapter and is one of the coordinators. MacKenzie says the foundation spreads awareness, discusses the disease and supports those along their journeys.

Spreading a vision

Helping people afford housing doesn’t come cheap. It takes a village to accumulate funds and spread the vision of ending homelessness. 

A Home for Everyone as a society relies on sponsors like Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia and CUA banking. Organizations ask their employees to contribute to the cause, and some funds come from real estate agents. 

Instead of sales pitches, MacKenzie focuses on action because it goes a long way in proving how the organization makes a difference. 

“It’s about telling a story,” MacKenzie says. “As one person, we can make a change. And as a group, we can make a bigger change. Just think if all of us come together.”

MacKenzie repeats the question she heard in Mexico over 20 years ago: What would someone do if they could wave a magic wand and have a wish granted? This impactful approach has helped her gather community support despite the tough times for homebuyers. 

“If you can actually show people how you are making a difference, other people will get on board because they can see the change,” MacKenzie says. “They’re taking commissions and putting it into this pot. And then, they’re putting a family into a home where they might never be able to do that.”

Tackling modern housing costs

Housing costs have risen worldwide, and Halifax is not an exception. Home prices have continued to climb, with Re/Max reporting a 2.1 per cent increase in average sale price between 2022 and 2023. 

Houses that many deem as starter homes have become unaffordable for first-time buyers and families struggling financially. The increasing prices have made it more challenging for MacKenzie and A Home for Everyone as a society to move forward.

“The pricing has gone up on everything,” MacKenzie says. “The price we were used to be able to deal with is now a different price.

And then we’ve got competing offers — so, if you’ve got a low-end product, you’ve got more than one offer. We have to compete, so that’s hard.”

A Home for Everyone as a society aims to assist families by covering a 5 per cent down payment, closing costs, inspection fees, lawyer fees and, occasionally, minor repairs. 

The high costs lead the non-profit organization to tap into its community support. Halifax’s generosity shows when people step up and offer families free services.

Electricians, plumbers and lawyers in the area offer services pro bono to reduce the financial strain on the organization and the families. This donated time helps A Home for Everyone assist more families in Halifax and grow their impact.

“That’s where we’re able to really tap into the community and also through the support because the family needs to have a support system,” MacKenzie says. “We won’t arrange a host purchase and leave them on their own. We want a support system in place, which is usually a charity or a church or a family that knows the family and that’s going to work with them.”

Feeling ambitious for the future 

MacKenzie and her non-profit organization have helped families in Halifax and across Nova Scotia. However, they see more work is necessary across Canada.

While expansion might take some time, there are ambitions to work with more companies in other provinces. For now, A Home for Everyone works with others in Cape Breton, Yarmouth and different sections of Nova Scotia.

The organization’s goal is to house four families in 2023. MacKenzie says it’s close to hitting the mark and achieving it by early 2024.

“I feel like, then, we can go to other companies within Halifax and say ‘this is what we’ve done’.”

The organization has worked hard over the years, but MacKenzie sees growth opportunities. Her office has a board, envisioning what the future looks like. Some possibilities include registering as a charity or hiring a full-time executive director. These opportunities would increase the group’s influence and further impact the community.

Influencing change

Homelessness is challenging to solve, so the average person might be pessimistic about what they can do as an individual. However, MacKenzie says nobody should feel too small or downplay their capabilities. 

“I think people need to get out of their head in terms of ‘it’s too big’ because it’s not too big,” Mackenzie says. “It all starts, again, one person, one idea.” 

Another example of realtors lending a helping hand is through Kindness Above Everything. Mary Johnson, sales representative and vice president of StreetCity Realty Inc., established this non-profit organization in London, Ontario. 

The organization assists single-income families with mortgage payments and donates newborn supplies to safe homes. It also helps students in after-school programs by bringing food and supplies to areas with lower income. 

Addressing homelessness is critical in London, considering the city’s unhoused population. CTV News says London has about 2,000 unhoused people which includes 600 high-needs individuals who live in tents. 

The work of Johnson and other real estate professionals across Canada demonstrates how effective coordination and advocacy can be in addressing the homeless crisis. 

Starting a similar group in other regions of Canada is possible through hard work, patience and dedication to serving the community. Small businesses, contractors, real estate agents and others can help families needing assistance as a token of generosity and an opportunity for brand-building.

While good deeds are the focal point of philanthropy, brokerages discover benefits from helping the unhoused, as MacKenzie and Johnson have. Brokerages build relationships within the community, boost employee morale and stand out among competitors when participating in these housing initiatives.

Non-profit organizations helping the unhoused will grow this decade as more brokerages and realtors engage with their communities and reap the benefits of philanthropy. Housing families is fundamental for setting them and their communities up for success, and there is plenty of opportunity for realtors and other industry professionals to pitch in.

This year, investors and agents are having trouble closing their units. The assignment climate has shifted in favour of buyers, making entrepreneurs wait for another seller’s market.

Year-over-year condominium sales transactions have fallen in Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.

Because of rising interest rates and falling prices, the assignment market is now more rigid for real estate investors to make sound deals.

“Through bankruptcy, more users lose their life savings (to assignments), so we’re calling for government intervention and to scrap the 13 per cent tax”

The Canadian real estate market has seen its fair share of highs and lows in the past few years. Investors and real estate agents have taken advantage of rising demand and housing prices to find lucrative business opportunities.

One growing section in Canadian real estate is the assignment market. How have investors fared in this field? What can you expect in the future? Here’s a guide on the Canadian assignment market and its outlook.

Assignment market favouring buyers

The assignment market was red hot in 2021, with investors buying many properties due to low interest rates. However, 2023 has slowed down due to several factors.

Now, some investors and real estate agents are in a bind because they’re having trouble closing their units. The assignment climate has shifted in favour of buyers, making entrepreneurs wait for another seller’s market.

The assignment market’s conditions depend on where your targeted areas are. Most major Canadian assignment markets have seen a downturn, but a few are on the upswing for investors.

Re/Max’s 2023 National Condominium Report shows that year-over-year sales transactions have fallen in Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax. Edmonton saw a slight increase at 3.1 per cent, and Calgary enjoyed the most significant increase at 22 per cent since 2022.

Why is the assignment market facing tough times?

The assignment market’s downshift has come relatively quickly in the last year, but it’s unsurprising for investors. These reasons show why the market is facing challenging times.

High interest rates

The driving force behind the changing assignment market is rising interest rates. As TradingEconomics.com shows, Canadian interest rates dipped below 1 per cent in 2020 and remained low until 2022. Frequent incremental increases have led to interest rates hitting 5 per cent in 2023, making the market sway out of sellers’ favour.

As a result, the assignment market is now more rigid for real estate investors to make sound deals because of falling prices.

Eric Skicki is an industry professional who has seen this change firsthand. As CEO of BrokerPocket — Canada’s largest marketplace for off-market listings, with over 11,000 agents on the platform currently – Skicki says demand will remain high in metropolitan areas like Toronto, but interest rates have harmed investors and end users.

“Let’s say an investor would have bought this (assignment). They’ll be able to rent it out last year for $3,000, and their carrying costs would have been maybe $2,700,” Skicki illustrates. “That same condo is closer to $5,500 now. That was more than a year and a half ago before the interest rate hikes.”

Although Canada’s 5 per cent interest rates are lower than reported rates in the United States of above 7 per cent, Canadian rates are the highest they’ve been since the mid-to-late 1990s.

Assignment tax

The housing market for buyers has been challenging in the past few years, so the Canadian government has helped residents buy their first homes with a tax-free savings account. The Department of Finance says over 150,000 Canadians are eligible for the New tax-free First Home Savings Account program, allowing them to contribute up to $8,000 a year. While the program is terrific for home buyers, it comes at a cost for investors and real estate professionals.

The Department of Finance levies taxes and funding to support the program, taking some revenue from those in the assignment market. Canada extended GST to assignment sales of newly constructed housing, setting the rate at 13.5 per cent. The government aims to curb speculative trading in the housing market, but Skicki says Canada should reverse the policy.

“It was put in with good intention,” Skicki says. “However, since then, there (have been) over-stimulants from the government in the sense that too many measures were put in place to cool the market.”

Navigating a changing and challenging market: What does the future hold for assignments?

Professionals in the assignment market may struggle due to existing interest rates, and the immediate outlook seems to be more of the same. The Bank of Canada could raise interest rates again to combat inflation if economic conditions persist. Fortunately, the Bank also predicts inflation rates will decrease over the next few quarters. If the trends are correct, you may see the market revert to sellers with increasing assignment prices.

If interest rates stay this high, Skicki fears there could be a significant economic impact.

“There are a lot of end users who are going to be hurting right now — it’s builders and then end users,” Skicki says. “If something is not done soon, you’re going to see more builders go under.

Calling for an end to assignment tax

“Through bankruptcy, more users lose their life savings for this thing, so we’re calling for government intervention and to scrap the 13 per cent of tax on assignments,” explains Skicki.

The current situation brings to mind the 2008 economic crisis for Skicki. He says this time around, reverse effects will happen to the economy. Skicki thinks blue-collar jobs will generally be safe, but those working in tech could see ripple effects in a chain reaction if the government doesn’t take action for the assignment market and its investors.

How can investors and real estate professionals navigate the current market?

Market conditions make it challenging for the average real estate agent and investor to buy and sell assignments. However, you can help yourself and your colleagues by following these tips.

Use off-market listing services

Finding assignments is more complex because they’re not on the typical MLS websites. Instead, it’s imperative to use off-market listing services for your needs. For example, BrokerPocket has 11,000 agents on its platform, letting agents communicate with one another and access exclusive listings.

One of BrokerPocket’s primary features is its ease of access for users. Simeon Papailias, co-founder of REC Canada, says BrokerPocket is the most secure and sophisticated platform he uses for off-market listings. You can filter by criteria like geographical location and amenities, making the app accessible to industry professionals.

Security is a significant feature for BrokerPocket users and has become a platform feature. Real estate agents can keep their client’s identity a secret and ensure confidentiality throughout the transaction. Papailias says BrokerPocket has become a regular tool and essential for day-to-day work in the industry.

Additionally, users have access to a referral network. BrokerPocket says agents can gain back with every converted user, increasing their ease of access. The platform’s objective is to promote off-market properties and effectively refer clients to other agents.

Educate clients

Selling assignments has become tougher amid the high interest rate environment. Buyers look to condominiums for their affordability but lose that advantage once the market prices them out with high demand and high interest rates. Right now, Skicki says real estate professionals looking to enter the market should educate their clients because lacking knowledge could lead to adverse outcomes.

“Make sure you educate your client of where the market is because where the market was last year, people were looking to make anywhere between $50,000 to $100,000 or $150,000 on their assignment,” Skicki says. “But (as of now,) advice to agents would be ‘your clients did well if they’re breaking even.’”

Stay informed

While educating clients is vital, so is educating yourself on the market. For example, if you want to enter the assignment sector, find locations where the market favours sellers, such as Calgary and Edmonton. While the competition may be higher, you’ll have better luck with selling and completing transactions. Skicki says the lack of knowledge and numbers can harm professionals if they don’t do their research.

“There are many people who are failing to close their units and do not understand how much transactions and prices have fallen since last year,” Skicki says. “Even those who are not aware do not have any data to back those claims up.”

Ultimately, Skicki recommends partnering with experts and finding a lawyer specializing in assignments. These professionals will help you navigate the assignment world, considering how different it is from resales.

It’s also crucial to time things right by watching market conditions. Papailias says now isn’t a good time to get into the assignment market if you’re a seller. However, the real estate market is ripe for buyers because sellers are motivated to let go of their properties. Buyer agents who want to get into new construction see the market in their favour, but the tides could turn if interest rates fall.

Real estate is challenging for agents and investors due to the market’s ups and downs. Currently, the Canadian assignment market demonstrates an inopportune time for sellers due to interest rates and the GST on assignment sales.

If your clients are interested in the assignment market, speak with industry experts about getting started. Lowered interest rates could turn the market back in the seller’s favour.