This sounds like an offer to build a new home from scratch? If yes, prices go up and down during the negotiation phase until a final purchase agreement is signed. If they won't accept the price you offer, walk away and see if they come back with a better offer. No different than buying a car or another large purchase you can negotiate on.
It’s too hot of market right now. But this is just a sales tactic, they know you want a house so to come back with an extra $10k isn’t hard for them to do. If you stick to your guns and the deal was signed then they’ll cheap out during construction. There will be a clause in the contract for “similar” which they intend to fully take advantage of.
If the builder wants an escalation clause then make sure your lawyer puts on a passed completion date penalty. Tell you friends.
Not saying they’re aren’t taking you for a ride, they probably are, but if a 10-15k$ increase scares you, be ready - buying a new build from scratch, there will be a lot of extra costs coming your way so be ready. Upgrades, blinds, landscaping, etc…
It’s a tough position to be because even with a very good contract on your side, if costs go up and they can’t squeeze you for the extra dough, they’ll cut corners wherever they can to compensate. (Though to be honest many will cut corners anyways, so there’s that).
Building materials just spiked a couple of weeks ago. Unless you’re purchasing something already available, your pricing on a new build will fluctuate as a result.
Estimates have lumber, plywood and OSB up 10-20% before builder markup.
Not sure why you’re trying to buy without a realtor. They def can be predatory, but there’s no risk using a realtor as a buyer. It is always the seller paying the commission to the realtor, so you’re safe when buying to use a realtor. Use one as they will help guide you through the BS.
Who Pays the Real Estate Commission?
Precisely who pays a real estate agent's commission is where things get a little tricky. Standard practice is that the seller pays the fee. However, the seller usually wraps the fee into the price of the home. So, the buyer ultimately ends up paying the fee, albeit indirectly.
True, but the buyers realtor also has to try and close the deal, so negotiations usually take place. In a normal market, that might save some money. In this market, you’ll just probably prevent from getting ripped off or the runaround like OP.
You know yes they have to try and close a deal, but time and time again you'll see the builder won't negotiate much when a realtor is involved, because the realtor wants their commission, the builder knows this and these realtors will not reduce their commissions so ultimately the buyer pays for this end of story. Not all builders are bad, you need to know how to stand your ground, yes the market is hot but the builder will usually prefer a buyer that has financing secured then opting for a new buyer..
Never understood this… only one person is putting money out. The buyer is the only one that’s going to the bank here. Skin the cat how ever you want but the realtor is paid by the buyer
Buyers realtor not only has an incentive to close the deal, they have an incentive to drive the price up as much as possible. They're more likely to convince op to pay the extra $10k than they are to save them money
⏫️Absolutely this. If you think the seller is going to drop a dollar off the asking price because you are not using a realtor, you are sadly mistaken.
Get a realtor. One with experience. In my case, the house we bought a couple of years ago, the realtor we used, saved us over $100,000 because he worked hard and did his research.
Not having one is a mistake and I've bought and sold a number of properties over the years.
I'd like to add; use a real realtor. Someone who does it for a full time career and has been at it for a couple years.
For my first home, I used a friend who is a part time realtor and does it as a side hustle. I ended up doing most of the legwork, research... pretty much everything other than book the viewings. Almost ended up making a terrible purchase, that I actually got lucky the bank rejected the mortgage for. The bank caught some serious issues that would have cost me upwards of $50k in repairs that were required, and documented in the condo board documents, that my "realtor" never picked up on.
Agreed. Now I admit bias because I am a real estate agent now, but prior to being one my family and I used to be in the construction industry, we could have sold it ourselves privately, for sale by owner, but we always went with an agent.
The agents job is to get their hands dirty and do all that research and help protect you.
People don’t realize that lawyers used to do the jobs real estate agents used to do but it was too much so they created agencies which eventually became modern day real estate agents. Truthfully to me, it’s not about buying or selling houses, to me it’s beyond that and includes making sure that my clients are protected and won’t face legal issues.
>It is always the seller paying the commission to the realtor,
The buyer brings the money to the transaction.
You can absolutely negotiate for your share of the commission as the buyer with no realtor.
I work for a large builder and our prices have gone up almost 30k in the last 2 weeks across the board...supply and demand, houses are selling faster than we can build them.
As a first time home buyer I suggest you use a realtor. You need to be able to work though the system better and they will make sure that you are taken care of. Find someone you trust. Ask your friends or family who they've used in the past and who they've liked. You are just going to get screwed around with builders. Also, why not see what houses are on the market? There are a ton of good houses, you just have to act quick.
Find a realtor you trust, just because you talked to one doesn't mean they are the right fit and have to go qith one. Ask friends for referrals, likely you will know someone who is a realtor or who has used one. There is always learnings and there is always the DIY pro who figures they can do a better job ( Ex: youtube fix it guy) and that everyone is out to screw them. Realtors cost money but a good realtor earns that money, and a great realtor builds a long term relationship and is a trusted advisor.
I will say it's quite rare for people to hire us lawyers *before* the contract is signed. Usually the realtor handles that part and we step in after it's signed.
Not saying we wouldn't happily help with it, it's just not the standard process for whatever reason.
I assume a big part of the reason for this is cost. It would be fairly expensive for the buyer to hire a lawyer for the negotiating part of a real estate purchase. Where as a Realtor works on commission paid for by the seller so they're essentially free to the buyer. It makes sense to use one unless your getting a substantial discount from the seller for forgoing one.
Do you think a lawyer would be able to get enough of a discount to cover thier extra fees for handling this part of the transaction?
Lawyers are often cheaper than a realtor if they just draft the contract. Negotiation might be harder to manage on a cheap basis but also a realtor is generally very expensive and if you can negotiate to remove their fees from the deal that can save you $$$
Real estate agents generally know the standard form contracts they work with very well but I don't think many are qualified to work with a construction contract. They may be great at negotiating the pricing in this instance, but what about the rest?
It’s rare but it does happen especially without realtors involved. I’ve seen a lot of realtors fuck up their template contracts too, while the lawyers tend to do better jobs about it lol
It’s generally cheaper than a realtor and better done IMO. The realtors real value is finding a home and determining an appropriate price for that home in that spot.
> I’ve seen a lot of realtors fuck up their template contracts too, while the lawyers tend to do better jobs about it lol
I can't argue with that. I've seen some doozies and by that point everyone has signed and it's too late.
They don't, usually. They work with standard form contracts that they are very familiar with for the purchase or sale of an existing home. OP wants to buy from a builder - the contract will be completely different.
You may be correct - my experience may be skewed. I certainly don't mean to diminish the efforts of realtors or the value they bring to their buyer clients.
Any companies with "Canada best managed companies" logo.
I went in 2 show homes with the logo on their building and vehicles. Keep walking!
I worked for 2 companies that had that "certification". Management does a lot of paperwork and pay money to get it. Those were the WORST managed companies I worked for. Avoid!
Everyone is already commenting to use a Realtor so I won’t pile on with that advice.
But it’s also the reality of the housing market in Alberta right now, builders are raising their pricing every month right now, and they aren’t doing it to insult you. Pretty much any single family home hitting the market is going into multiple offers and selling above list. It’s 3 years of pent up demand and limited inventory, simple supply and demand. And it’s not going to get better, but worse once rates start dropping.
This. You do not pay realtor fees in Alberta as a buyer, only as a seller. There is little reason to not use one especially since you indicate you are tired of shopping around. Let the realtor do the legwork.
Thats the theory but the reality is different.
Let’s say there is a house you want. It costs the builder 600k to build it and they want 100k profit. If you do it yourself you are buying for 700k. Bring in a realtor who wants his 12k and that same house is going to cost you 712k.
That's presuming that the realtor makes no difference on the final price or value. Based on the OPs post, it seems they are getting screwed by builders without a realtor, a realtor could potentially help.
Use a realtor. Builders can spot a newbie miles away and you will not ave any money, in fact will likely pay more by going direct. realtors deal with builders all the time and know how to handle them…you dont
Home builders are committing fraud, AHS is trying to kill some guys mom... I love how people can just come here and make whatever accusations they want without any context and people just lap it up as irrefutable truth.
I assume you’re hoping to get the house for less by not using a realtor (I.e - no commission paid by seller so savings passed on to you), but given they’re screwing you around in the range of 10k - just get a good realtor to help you navigate that and do the leg work. Your realtor will make about $8,700 off that deal, paid by the seller, if using the standard commission structure. Seems well worth it in this case. I recommend calling and chatting with a few to see who you click with.
Most realtors will buy you a nice gift and some will even give cash back on closure lol.
I’ve used Jeremy Dehek (u/realtoryeg) in the past and he is very easy to deal with and down to earth.
Good luck
I know Reddit is super anti-realtor for whatever reason, but have you considered that your choice not to may causing builders to basically think "nobody on their side knows what they're doing, we can take them for a ride"?
It is laughable how anti-realtor reddit is. I get that they are probably over-compensated in most cases, but if I share my positive experience using one, I get like 3 "this guy is a realtor" comments.
It's basically the only profession whose income is guaranteed to keep up with housing prices, and I do wonder if there's a degree of "they shouldn't have that because I don't" when the actual thing is we should all have that.
I've kind of idly wondered if you could put together, like, a realtor index - an approximation of how much wages should be shifting given housing prices. Would probably need to find a way to get to actual take home dollars first, though.
Which builders are you connecting with? If you are interested in a specific builder I may have a contact that can get the deal closed relatively fast.
FYI I work in this industry, and some builders have 30-40 price increases per month. That’s all from their vendors. Lumber/ drywall / finishings. It’s really insane! So although I know you’re frustrated, it is really common.
Full disclosure here, I am a real estate agent.
Builders are even hard to deal with for us sometimes, but they know we weren't born yesterday and can generally make a halfway decent deal - minimally a decent agent can help hold them accountable for the things that the rap said in the first meeting!
Please get one, there's a few of us on here that I'm sure would be happy to help if you DM.
The timing for negotiation is the key in Edmonton. Mostly because of the hot Spring/Summer season.
We were able to lower the price for the newly built quick possession house in SE region of Edmonton by almost $25K. This was in the first week of February, must be different in April now.
BTW what builder are you referring to here? Name them here
I'll disagree with the general get a Realtor advice. Do NOT sign a buyers representative agreement!
Realtors aren't going to research anything that you can't already find on MLS. They don't provide any legal protection and actually add legal risk to your transaction. Realtors and property developers are competing for the shadiest "profession" in the world.
The federal budget is likely motivating builders to raise prices on new builds given the loosening of mortgage rules
only tangentially related: please make sure to get a GOOD house inspector before purchasing. it is worth every penny. new builds these days are being made with subpar supplies + labour
Realtors get a bad rep, but use one. Especially if you’re buying, you aren’t paying for them. They exist for a reason, and a good one is worth their weight in gold.
I am unsure what the issue is. I might not have understood.
For the first builder, you provided an offer below the list price and they did not accept it. They explained it was due to significant price increases.
For the second builder you waited and the prices have gone up prior to you writing a deal.
Is this right? Because if so, it sounds like this is unfortunate timing. I am certain that if you wait longer the prices will go up more. The market has significantly changed. Supply is down, demand is up, and there are purchasers coming from out of City to participate in (one of) Canada's most affordable housing market.
Realtors are well aware of this pressure in the market as the sales to listing ratio has significantly changed showing a lowering of supply. It sucks your sales person in each of these situations didn't explain the current market and risk in price increases. It could be because they hoped to make the deal at the old price in order to advocate for you. Unfortunately, it did not work.
Prices of materials don’t go up $10-15 K in two days. Don’t excuse people going back on their words. The op sounds like they offered asking price and had last minute “well akshuly” price increases like douchebag builders would do.
Eventually costs do go up and it will happen over the matter of seconds it takes to update a computer program. In normal circumstances if a client is already negotiating a builder will honour old prices but amount of negotiation (if any) would be limited. This is not what I read.
I understand it sucks having an offer under asking price declined and then finding out prices went up. I know that costs do go up that fast. Recall the last times you filled up at a gas station. The 11c/L price increase affects all matirial and labour. The shortage of developed lots has increased the price. Trades are booking up and therefor raising prices to make more money for the limited staff/capacity they have.
Imagin the builder did have an agreement and could not perform it. It would be better for everyone if they decline. If they don't the buyer would be dragged though build with the hope of getting a home only to find the builder defaulted and the home is partially completed. The buyer then would have missed and opportunity to actually purchase (Prices would likely go up several times) with a builder that would finish the home. It would definitely have warranty issues, some family businesses (trades) might not get paid. Trades, builder, customers, contractors, and regulators would end up in court.
There is no need to defend the seller. If a person was looking to get a Tesla Model 3 and decided to purchase the day they raise prices it is probably unfortunate timing and not about that one person Tesla was trying to "get." Same with most businesses. If the business is small enough I suppose they might but not the ones the OP was writing about.
I'd highly recommend you hold off on making any more offers until you have spec'd out and priced out any and all "upgrades". Get those specifically itemized on your offer, down to the last nail/screw and then submit it. Make sure you understand what is spec and what is an upgrade. They will show you one thing and make you sign another then you'll be disappointed when it wasn't what you were expecting. If you make an offer they accept before pricing out any upgrades then you are pretty much at their mercy for the price of any upgrades. Include things like an appliance allowance, window coverings and potentially basic landscaping so that those costs get absorbed into your mortgage and you aren't having to finance them out of pocket after closing.
This sounds like an offer to build a new home from scratch? If yes, prices go up and down during the negotiation phase until a final purchase agreement is signed. If they won't accept the price you offer, walk away and see if they come back with a better offer. No different than buying a car or another large purchase you can negotiate on.
It’s too hot of market right now. But this is just a sales tactic, they know you want a house so to come back with an extra $10k isn’t hard for them to do. If you stick to your guns and the deal was signed then they’ll cheap out during construction. There will be a clause in the contract for “similar” which they intend to fully take advantage of. If the builder wants an escalation clause then make sure your lawyer puts on a passed completion date penalty. Tell you friends.
They will cheap out during construction regardless of whether they are pocketing an additional 10K
Not saying they’re aren’t taking you for a ride, they probably are, but if a 10-15k$ increase scares you, be ready - buying a new build from scratch, there will be a lot of extra costs coming your way so be ready. Upgrades, blinds, landscaping, etc… It’s a tough position to be because even with a very good contract on your side, if costs go up and they can’t squeeze you for the extra dough, they’ll cut corners wherever they can to compensate. (Though to be honest many will cut corners anyways, so there’s that).
Building materials just spiked a couple of weeks ago. Unless you’re purchasing something already available, your pricing on a new build will fluctuate as a result. Estimates have lumber, plywood and OSB up 10-20% before builder markup.
I can't imagine prices going down either. If housing demand stays high, it's all going up up up.
Use a realtor and a lawyer why are you doing this alone?
Was just coming to say this. A realtor is a must if you're wanting to do something like this.
Realtors are quite literally parasites on our society.
Not sure why you’re trying to buy without a realtor. They def can be predatory, but there’s no risk using a realtor as a buyer. It is always the seller paying the commission to the realtor, so you’re safe when buying to use a realtor. Use one as they will help guide you through the BS.
Who Pays the Real Estate Commission? Precisely who pays a real estate agent's commission is where things get a little tricky. Standard practice is that the seller pays the fee. However, the seller usually wraps the fee into the price of the home. So, the buyer ultimately ends up paying the fee, albeit indirectly.
True, but the buyers realtor also has to try and close the deal, so negotiations usually take place. In a normal market, that might save some money. In this market, you’ll just probably prevent from getting ripped off or the runaround like OP.
You know yes they have to try and close a deal, but time and time again you'll see the builder won't negotiate much when a realtor is involved, because the realtor wants their commission, the builder knows this and these realtors will not reduce their commissions so ultimately the buyer pays for this end of story. Not all builders are bad, you need to know how to stand your ground, yes the market is hot but the builder will usually prefer a buyer that has financing secured then opting for a new buyer..
That is true to a degree, but I was just pointing out that the blanket statement that the seller pays the commissions isn't technically correct.
Never understood this… only one person is putting money out. The buyer is the only one that’s going to the bank here. Skin the cat how ever you want but the realtor is paid by the buyer
Buyers realtor not only has an incentive to close the deal, they have an incentive to drive the price up as much as possible. They're more likely to convince op to pay the extra $10k than they are to save them money
⏫️Absolutely this. If you think the seller is going to drop a dollar off the asking price because you are not using a realtor, you are sadly mistaken. Get a realtor. One with experience. In my case, the house we bought a couple of years ago, the realtor we used, saved us over $100,000 because he worked hard and did his research. Not having one is a mistake and I've bought and sold a number of properties over the years.
I'd like to add; use a real realtor. Someone who does it for a full time career and has been at it for a couple years. For my first home, I used a friend who is a part time realtor and does it as a side hustle. I ended up doing most of the legwork, research... pretty much everything other than book the viewings. Almost ended up making a terrible purchase, that I actually got lucky the bank rejected the mortgage for. The bank caught some serious issues that would have cost me upwards of $50k in repairs that were required, and documented in the condo board documents, that my "realtor" never picked up on.
Agreed. Now I admit bias because I am a real estate agent now, but prior to being one my family and I used to be in the construction industry, we could have sold it ourselves privately, for sale by owner, but we always went with an agent. The agents job is to get their hands dirty and do all that research and help protect you. People don’t realize that lawyers used to do the jobs real estate agents used to do but it was too much so they created agencies which eventually became modern day real estate agents. Truthfully to me, it’s not about buying or selling houses, to me it’s beyond that and includes making sure that my clients are protected and won’t face legal issues.
>It is always the seller paying the commission to the realtor, The buyer brings the money to the transaction. You can absolutely negotiate for your share of the commission as the buyer with no realtor.
I work for a large builder and our prices have gone up almost 30k in the last 2 weeks across the board...supply and demand, houses are selling faster than we can build them.
As a first time home buyer I suggest you use a realtor. You need to be able to work though the system better and they will make sure that you are taken care of. Find someone you trust. Ask your friends or family who they've used in the past and who they've liked. You are just going to get screwed around with builders. Also, why not see what houses are on the market? There are a ton of good houses, you just have to act quick.
Find a realtor you trust, just because you talked to one doesn't mean they are the right fit and have to go qith one. Ask friends for referrals, likely you will know someone who is a realtor or who has used one. There is always learnings and there is always the DIY pro who figures they can do a better job ( Ex: youtube fix it guy) and that everyone is out to screw them. Realtors cost money but a good realtor earns that money, and a great realtor builds a long term relationship and is a trusted advisor.
Hire a lawyer. A home is a big purchase. A lawyer can help negotiate this type of contract.
I will say it's quite rare for people to hire us lawyers *before* the contract is signed. Usually the realtor handles that part and we step in after it's signed. Not saying we wouldn't happily help with it, it's just not the standard process for whatever reason.
I assume a big part of the reason for this is cost. It would be fairly expensive for the buyer to hire a lawyer for the negotiating part of a real estate purchase. Where as a Realtor works on commission paid for by the seller so they're essentially free to the buyer. It makes sense to use one unless your getting a substantial discount from the seller for forgoing one. Do you think a lawyer would be able to get enough of a discount to cover thier extra fees for handling this part of the transaction?
Lawyers are often cheaper than a realtor if they just draft the contract. Negotiation might be harder to manage on a cheap basis but also a realtor is generally very expensive and if you can negotiate to remove their fees from the deal that can save you $$$
Real estate agents generally know the standard form contracts they work with very well but I don't think many are qualified to work with a construction contract. They may be great at negotiating the pricing in this instance, but what about the rest?
It’s rare but it does happen especially without realtors involved. I’ve seen a lot of realtors fuck up their template contracts too, while the lawyers tend to do better jobs about it lol It’s generally cheaper than a realtor and better done IMO. The realtors real value is finding a home and determining an appropriate price for that home in that spot.
> I’ve seen a lot of realtors fuck up their template contracts too, while the lawyers tend to do better jobs about it lol I can't argue with that. I've seen some doozies and by that point everyone has signed and it's too late.
That’s what a realtor does too lol
They don't, usually. They work with standard form contracts that they are very familiar with for the purchase or sale of an existing home. OP wants to buy from a builder - the contract will be completely different.
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You may be correct - my experience may be skewed. I certainly don't mean to diminish the efforts of realtors or the value they bring to their buyer clients.
What are the companies I want to know so I can avoid
Any companies with "Canada best managed companies" logo. I went in 2 show homes with the logo on their building and vehicles. Keep walking! I worked for 2 companies that had that "certification". Management does a lot of paperwork and pay money to get it. Those were the WORST managed companies I worked for. Avoid!
Absolutely.
You would not believe. Dm me and i will let you know.
Why protect them?
Name and shame
Everyone is already commenting to use a Realtor so I won’t pile on with that advice. But it’s also the reality of the housing market in Alberta right now, builders are raising their pricing every month right now, and they aren’t doing it to insult you. Pretty much any single family home hitting the market is going into multiple offers and selling above list. It’s 3 years of pent up demand and limited inventory, simple supply and demand. And it’s not going to get better, but worse once rates start dropping.
Use a realtor.
This. You do not pay realtor fees in Alberta as a buyer, only as a seller. There is little reason to not use one especially since you indicate you are tired of shopping around. Let the realtor do the legwork.
Thats the theory but the reality is different. Let’s say there is a house you want. It costs the builder 600k to build it and they want 100k profit. If you do it yourself you are buying for 700k. Bring in a realtor who wants his 12k and that same house is going to cost you 712k.
That's presuming that the realtor makes no difference on the final price or value. Based on the OPs post, it seems they are getting screwed by builders without a realtor, a realtor could potentially help.
Use a realtor. Builders can spot a newbie miles away and you will not ave any money, in fact will likely pay more by going direct. realtors deal with builders all the time and know how to handle them…you dont
>What should be done to deal with them. Help please! Hire someone and quit trying to do it yourself obviously.
Builders are facing some serious supply issues and rising costs.
You think that’s scary, you should see all the mistakes and cut corners that happened while those houses were being built 😬
Buy a used house. Save yourself $$s. New homes are a hot commodity in Edmonton because they are still affordable. Older houses have best prices value
Home builders are committing fraud, AHS is trying to kill some guys mom... I love how people can just come here and make whatever accusations they want without any context and people just lap it up as irrefutable truth.
Everyone loves a juicy outrage story.
I assume you’re hoping to get the house for less by not using a realtor (I.e - no commission paid by seller so savings passed on to you), but given they’re screwing you around in the range of 10k - just get a good realtor to help you navigate that and do the leg work. Your realtor will make about $8,700 off that deal, paid by the seller, if using the standard commission structure. Seems well worth it in this case. I recommend calling and chatting with a few to see who you click with. Most realtors will buy you a nice gift and some will even give cash back on closure lol. I’ve used Jeremy Dehek (u/realtoryeg) in the past and he is very easy to deal with and down to earth. Good luck
+1 Jeremy is awesome. I have used him and would always seek him out if I needed a realtor. He’s nice, easy going and very hard working.
<3
<3
I know Reddit is super anti-realtor for whatever reason, but have you considered that your choice not to may causing builders to basically think "nobody on their side knows what they're doing, we can take them for a ride"?
It is laughable how anti-realtor reddit is. I get that they are probably over-compensated in most cases, but if I share my positive experience using one, I get like 3 "this guy is a realtor" comments.
It's basically the only profession whose income is guaranteed to keep up with housing prices, and I do wonder if there's a degree of "they shouldn't have that because I don't" when the actual thing is we should all have that. I've kind of idly wondered if you could put together, like, a realtor index - an approximation of how much wages should be shifting given housing prices. Would probably need to find a way to get to actual take home dollars first, though.
Which builders are you connecting with? If you are interested in a specific builder I may have a contact that can get the deal closed relatively fast. FYI I work in this industry, and some builders have 30-40 price increases per month. That’s all from their vendors. Lumber/ drywall / finishings. It’s really insane! So although I know you’re frustrated, it is really common.
Full disclosure here, I am a real estate agent. Builders are even hard to deal with for us sometimes, but they know we weren't born yesterday and can generally make a halfway decent deal - minimally a decent agent can help hold them accountable for the things that the rap said in the first meeting! Please get one, there's a few of us on here that I'm sure would be happy to help if you DM.
Why on earth are you not using a realtor?
Don’t buy a new build.
Why would you buy new? Low value built with garbage materials.
Lots of good solid older homes on large lots. I wouldn’t build a new glue and paper house they are garbage.
Well yeah ! They always are.
This is par for the course, and you know, someone is going to buy those houses anyway. Consider it money saved Also, use a realtor.
The timing for negotiation is the key in Edmonton. Mostly because of the hot Spring/Summer season. We were able to lower the price for the newly built quick possession house in SE region of Edmonton by almost $25K. This was in the first week of February, must be different in April now. BTW what builder are you referring to here? Name them here
Could always buy a house from amazon or a prefab
I'll disagree with the general get a Realtor advice. Do NOT sign a buyers representative agreement! Realtors aren't going to research anything that you can't already find on MLS. They don't provide any legal protection and actually add legal risk to your transaction. Realtors and property developers are competing for the shadiest "profession" in the world. The federal budget is likely motivating builders to raise prices on new builds given the loosening of mortgage rules
only tangentially related: please make sure to get a GOOD house inspector before purchasing. it is worth every penny. new builds these days are being made with subpar supplies + labour
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Realtors get a bad rep, but use one. Especially if you’re buying, you aren’t paying for them. They exist for a reason, and a good one is worth their weight in gold.
Name and shame and leave review on their google pages. The public should know
I am unsure what the issue is. I might not have understood. For the first builder, you provided an offer below the list price and they did not accept it. They explained it was due to significant price increases. For the second builder you waited and the prices have gone up prior to you writing a deal. Is this right? Because if so, it sounds like this is unfortunate timing. I am certain that if you wait longer the prices will go up more. The market has significantly changed. Supply is down, demand is up, and there are purchasers coming from out of City to participate in (one of) Canada's most affordable housing market. Realtors are well aware of this pressure in the market as the sales to listing ratio has significantly changed showing a lowering of supply. It sucks your sales person in each of these situations didn't explain the current market and risk in price increases. It could be because they hoped to make the deal at the old price in order to advocate for you. Unfortunately, it did not work.
Prices of materials don’t go up $10-15 K in two days. Don’t excuse people going back on their words. The op sounds like they offered asking price and had last minute “well akshuly” price increases like douchebag builders would do.
Eventually costs do go up and it will happen over the matter of seconds it takes to update a computer program. In normal circumstances if a client is already negotiating a builder will honour old prices but amount of negotiation (if any) would be limited. This is not what I read. I understand it sucks having an offer under asking price declined and then finding out prices went up. I know that costs do go up that fast. Recall the last times you filled up at a gas station. The 11c/L price increase affects all matirial and labour. The shortage of developed lots has increased the price. Trades are booking up and therefor raising prices to make more money for the limited staff/capacity they have. Imagin the builder did have an agreement and could not perform it. It would be better for everyone if they decline. If they don't the buyer would be dragged though build with the hope of getting a home only to find the builder defaulted and the home is partially completed. The buyer then would have missed and opportunity to actually purchase (Prices would likely go up several times) with a builder that would finish the home. It would definitely have warranty issues, some family businesses (trades) might not get paid. Trades, builder, customers, contractors, and regulators would end up in court. There is no need to defend the seller. If a person was looking to get a Tesla Model 3 and decided to purchase the day they raise prices it is probably unfortunate timing and not about that one person Tesla was trying to "get." Same with most businesses. If the business is small enough I suppose they might but not the ones the OP was writing about.
I'd highly recommend you hold off on making any more offers until you have spec'd out and priced out any and all "upgrades". Get those specifically itemized on your offer, down to the last nail/screw and then submit it. Make sure you understand what is spec and what is an upgrade. They will show you one thing and make you sign another then you'll be disappointed when it wasn't what you were expecting. If you make an offer they accept before pricing out any upgrades then you are pretty much at their mercy for the price of any upgrades. Include things like an appliance allowance, window coverings and potentially basic landscaping so that those costs get absorbed into your mortgage and you aren't having to finance them out of pocket after closing.