3 mins

What Toronto REALTORS® Think about Key's Co-Ownership Model

Mark McLean
2021-05-28
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It’s no secret that the Canadian real estate market has gone crazy in the last few months. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association and its April national home price index, residential real estate appreciated by 23.1% over the previous year. There were record home sales in March and the pace of gains is higher than previous years (think 2006-2007 and even 2016-2017).

For many Canadians today, homeownership is an impossible goal. The real estate model has not evolved to solve this generational issue. Key is creating a third, hybrid option outside of traditional homeownership and renting; it’s a co-ownership model that allows more Canadians to prosper from real estate. It’s the benefits of owning with the freedoms of renting. “Key is a company that is actually trying to solve the affordability crisis in the GTA. It's nice to see a solution for once instead of everyone just reiterating the problem and saying we need to do something about it,” said Alex Roy, REALTOR® with CENTURY 21 Percy Fulton Ltd. Brokerage.

The Key model allows aspiring homeowners to co-own their condo suites with an initial investment of only 2.5 per cent of the suite value – typically $15,000. They then pay monthly payments comparable to reduced market rent, with a part of their payments serving to increase their home equity over time. Lambros Demos, broker at Royal LePare Realty Plus, recently referred one of his client’s to Key, “It is a better option than renting. You are building some equity. You also have more control over the property and how long you stay,” he continues, “It makes sense for people who want to get into homeownership but can't qualify for a mortgage or do not have a large down payment. It also makes sense for people who want to live downtown.”Kimberly Wake, REALTOR® with Royal LePage, has also referred a client to Key, “Home values are going up faster than they can save so recommending Key as another option made perfect sense,” she continues, “Key is now just a part of my client offering and I know more of my clients will join Key in the future.”

With 20 owner-residents living in 14 suites in downtown Toronto and a growing waitlist for our next available suites, Key’s vibrant community of owner-residents continues to grow, in part due to strong relationships with the real estate community.  Key’s vision is to help more people benefit from the financial and social prosperity that comes from owning a home. It’s rewarding to see our growing community of owner-residents, and the many innovative REALTORS®, like Alex, Lambros and Kimberly who are recommending Key to their clients.

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