This is BREL: 2018 Edition

How was 2018, you ask?

We served a lot of Buyers, Sellers, Tenants and Landlords

In 2018, the BREL team helped our clients successfully sign on the dotted line 286 times. It was a crazy, unpredictable year as we alternated between hot markets with bidding wars, to slow, sluggish markets in select neighbourhoods and then navigated the wildest competitive rental market we’ve ever seen. In 2018, we hustled. 

We made life easier for our Sellers

We know getting ready to sell your home sucks. It’s why we include cleaning, staging and concierge home prep services in our commission. But showing your home to potential Buyers sucks too. Thankfully, BREL Sellers sold their homes more than 50% faster than the average home on the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). In 2018, the average home listed on TREB sold in 20 days. At BREL? 13. That’s a whole week of not having to make your bed every day. Booya!

We made them some extra $$ too

In 2018, the average home listed on TREB sold for 100.5% of the asking price. That’s amazing – and the sign of a fabulous real estate market. But the Sellers who chose to list with BREL? They sold on average for 102.5%. That extra 2% represented an extra $9,500 for our condo Sellers, and $33,000 for our house Sellers (vs. the average home sold on TREB). Cha-ching!

We felt the love!

Stats and awards might be satisfying, but the true measure of our performance is the feedback from our clients. In 2018, our Buyers and Sellers left us 99 new online reviews. Those reviews helped us in being named at the top of the list: Toronto’s Three Best Rated Real Estate Agents.

We grew. And people noticed.

In 2018, we hired two more rockstar agents: Allie and Jenny. They quickly proved their BREL-ness and it feels like they’ve been BRELs forever (that’s a compliment, ladies, lol).

 In the fall, we were thrilled to be named one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies (2012-2017) by Canadian Business Magazine and Macleans. We aren’t big on awards, but that one was special. And we thanked some special people who helped make it happen.

Surprise! Baby Will made his appearance in May. Born to our I-Can-Do-Anything agent Kristin, Will took us all a bit by surprise and has been delighting us ever since. Mom Kristin sold a condo from her hospital bed the day after Will was born (!!) and was out showing homes within a week of giving birth. She really can do anything. Thanks to a supportive partner and helpful 9-year old daughter, Kristin is proving that being a top real estate agent AND a new mom can go hand and hand. Thanks Geoff and Ella!

We had a lot of fun

It’s no secret that the BREL team works hard and plays hard.

From the annual BRELapalooza client party (complete with an alpaca hugging station) to a team retreat in Prince Edward County to a night of making meatballs and celebratory evenings with our partners, we drank a lot of wine, discovered new craft beers and ate a lot of cheese. A LOT of cheese. 2018 was a lot of fun.

In 2018, our team travelled to Playa del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Costa Rica, France, Monaco, Italy, Morocco, Aruba, Greece, Switzerland, Nashville, Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Boston, New York City and the Bahamas.

We became better agents (and hopefully helped our colleagues do the same)

We love learning, and in 2018 we learned a LOT. From participating in advanced negotiation courses to attending real estate and marketing conferences across North America to me (Mel) completing Seth Godin’s altMBA, I’d like to think we exited 2018 as smarter, sharper agents.

We also love helping our agent colleagues learn, and in 2018, we facilitated cross-brokerage courses about Human Rights in real estate, spoke at the National Association Conference of REALTORS (Boston), the REALTOR.com Summit (Las Vegas) and the Mastery Summit (Nashville) and we hosted a one-day ‘unconference’ for 89 Ontario REALTORS at our home in Prince Edward County.

So what does 2019 hold for the BREL team?

2019 will be a HUGE year for the BREL team. Stay tuned…