Will a cooling Toronto market weed out part-time brokers?

Sales are falling in Toronto following government intervention – but will that prompt less dedicated brokers to step aside?

Will a cooling Toronto market weed out part-time brokers?

Rakhi Madan
Mortgage broker
DLC Key Mortgage Partners

“If less dedicated part-time brokers are being weeded out of the market, it’s for reasons beyond the rule changes of late last year. They have no idea about what is insurable or non-insurable, that refinances can’t be placed in insurance bucket and so can 30-year AMT, that there are different qualifications, interest rates, and so on.

A cooling market wouldn’t be enough to weed these less committed brokers out, as they are only looking at the mortgage business as providing pocket money or extra cash. This would requireonly one deal a month – or perhaps per quarter – which is easily attainable.”

Paul Mangion
Principal broker/partner
The Mortgage Centre
M.O.S. MortgageOne Solutions

“There will always be people who try to follow the quick money. Now that there is no quick money, agents will need to use their experience, skills and some hard work. Since many quick-money agents don’t possess these skills and only work in easy markets, I suspect we will see many mortgage and real estate agents leave the industry.

This is an unfortunate but necessary purging of poor agents. Higher standards and better education for new agents will help reduce the size and frequency

Dustan Woodhouse
Mortgage broker
DLC Canadian Mortgage Experts

“I would suggest that a cooling market is not really required when it comes to weeding out less dedicated part-time brokers – the rule changes of October 3 already did that to some extent, I am sure. The actual work of a broker is more complex than ever, and it requires dedicated investment of time and energy.

Speculative stats indicate that nearly 5,000 new agents will be licensed in 2017, and perhaps 250 will renew their licenses the year after. In BC, the attrition rate is 85%; it sounds like it is pushing 97.5% in Ontario.”