Cary & Debbie Ernest
In March 2009, the Toronto real estate market was in the doldrums brought on by the collapse of the US banking system. Fear gripped sellers and buyers and the market was at a standstill. Few people were thinking of trading up to a bigger house. Josie and Valérie met with my wife and me and presented us with a scenario that actually made sense.
They explained that it was cheaper to move to a bigger house now than it had been for years since prices had dropped about 15% in Toronto in the previous 6 months. We knew we would get less for our current house but trading up was more feasible because the house we wanted to buy had come down by more money so the spread to buy had actually decreased.
Josie and Valérie also simultaneously had a buyer for our house which prevented the stress that would have been inevitable had we bought before we sold in what had become a buyer’s market. Josie and Valérie’s confidence that we were making the right move gave us the courage to take the plunge.In retrospect, we are ecstatic with the outcome. We were able to successfully purchase a new house in a fabulous family neighbourhood which would have been otherwise out of reach for us today considering the rebound in Toronto real estate prices since 2009. Our new home has almost doubled in value since we bought it! Thank you, Josie and Valéri — you’re the best!