The Canadian housing market is expected to stabilize in 2025, with declining interest rates and new lending rules bringing buyers back. Royal LePage forecasts a 6% rise in the average home price, reaching $856,692 by Q4 2025. Single-family detached homes are predicted to see a 7% price increase, while condo prices are expected to grow by 3.5%. The backlog of buyers and upcoming mortgage rule changes are expected to boost Canadians’ borrowing power. Optimism is also fueled by the Bank of Canada’s recent policy shift, which has already led to increased market activity.

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Homeowners in Canada may face challenges over the upcoming year when renewing their mortgages in 2025, particularly with higher interest rates on fixed mortgages than when they purchased.  With this forecast in mind, homeowners need to be thinking about how to maintain the greatest equity in their home and ease the potential stress of these mortgage renewals.

A few factors to consider:

• How can you preserve the maximum equity if a home sale is necessary at the time of your mortgage renewal?
• If listings are expected to surge through 2025, what do you need to do to be competitive to ensure you can buy and sell with ease?

If your mortgage is coming up for renewal in 2025, ComFree is here to help, offering a service with zero commissions for buyers and sellers alike, while providing maximum exposure and a competitive pricing advantage.

How ComFree Can Help:

1. Higher-Quality Showings with Qualified Buyers: ComFree offers immersive virtual tours that provide potential buyers with a more detailed, accurate view of the property. This helps reduce the number of “tire kickers” — casual browsers who aren’t serious about purchasing. With fewer low-quality showings, sellers are more likely to attract qualified buyers who are truly interested and financially able to make a purchase.
2. No Commission Fees — Save on Costs: One of the most significant benefits of ComFree is that there is no middleman, which means sellers don’t have to pay high real estate commission fees (typically around 5% in Canada) and buyers don’t needs to pay increased asking prices.  This saves both parties thousands of dollars, which can be especially helpful in a market where pricing may need to be adjusted.
3. Maximum Exposure:  ComFree listings receive the same exposure as those listed with any full service brokerage.  All ComFree properties are listed on the MLS®/Realtor.ca and comfree.com.  This ensures sellers still reach the maximum audience and buyers know your home is on the market.
4. Discounted Legal Fees: ComFree offers is discounted legal services through its partnerships across Canada.  Buyers and sellers can expect to save between $500 and $1,200 in closing legal fees, helping to reduce the overall cost of selling their home.
5. Streamlined Buying & Selling Process: ComFree provides a the maximum benefits of a full service agent, but cuts outs the middleman, making the transaction process simple and easy! From listing to closing, home-owners have come to reply on ComFree to offer all the tools and support needed.

If you are looking to sell in the upcoming month, ComFree allows you to save thousands which increases your buying power AND increases your competitive advantage if the prediction of increased listings in 2025 rings true.

Founders of Canada’s largest for sale by owner company revive the brand

EDMONTON, AB, Oct. 29, 2024 /CNW/ – After a 15-year hiatus, real estate disruptor ComFree is now back and in the hands of its Edmonton-based founders. Originally launched in 1996 in Winnipeg as a small local business, Erin and Travis Holowach purchased franchise rights to Edmonton and Northern Alberta in 2002 and quickly scaled the business. Under their leadership, ComFree became the largest for sale by owner company in the world, saving Canadians over $85 million in commissions.

After a rocky merger in 2009 with PowerCorp, that resulted in the Holowachs’ exiting, the company underwent a succession of rebrands and owners, including Yellow Pages Group, Purple Bricks and finally Desjardin Insurance (operating under the name FairSquare).  The company was then officially dissolved in 2023. In the meantime, Erin and Travis Holowach had been involved in a variety of entrepreneurial ventures and in 2023 founded HomeFree; an iteration of ComFree. They have now regained the rights to ComFree and will operate in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario under the brand they originally scaled, with further expansion plans in Canada and the United States.

“The rebirth of ComFree comes at a crucial time with consumers more interested than ever in saving money as homes become increasingly unaffordable,” said ComFree co-founder Travis Holowach. “For over a decade, the Federal Competition Bureau has addressed concerns over how real estate commissions are charged and this June launched a national investigation into anti-competitive practices in the industry.”

ComFree offers a fully supported process with everything needed to sell privately for a flat seller fee of $997, including listing on MLS® and REALTOR.ca, a virtual tour and photos, advertising, signage, pricing support, Offer to Purchase forms, discounted legal fees and more. Buyers and Sellers alike can benefit from the commissions saved while successfully navigating their own real estate transaction without intermediaries and with the support of the ComFree team.

Customers of ComFree can sell their homes while preserving more of their home equity, saving anywhere from $19,000–$30,000 per transaction, depending on the province. The process is transparent, a stark contrast to the traditional agent model which requires the Seller to pay significant commission to both the selling and buying agents, usually around 5% of the sale price. Under this model, the Buyer is often unaware of the amount of commission being paid.

“This is a full circle moment for us as serial entrepreneurs,” said Erin Holowach, co-founder of ComFree. “Our mission is simple; to continue to empower and educate Canadians on how to sell their own homes while saving enough money for a renovation or adding equity to another property.”

About ComFree
Operating in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, ComFree provides everything needed to sell and buy homes privately. First founded in Winnipeg in 1996, the company changed hands several times before returning to Travis and Erin Holowach in 2024. ComFree is built on a foundation of service, trust, and transparency with an unwavering commitment to education and empowering customers throughout the entire real estate process. For more information, please visit www.comfree.com.

Editor’s Note: The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS® and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by CREA and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA.

SOURCE ComFree