New trend saving home buyers and sellers thousands
Justo is bringing fairness to residential real estate
Many real estate agents give their clients a gift at closing, something for the new home: Gift cards to buy decor, furniture, even washers and dryers. But when Megan Russell and her husband Jeremy purchased their $1,050,000 home last November, they received a far greater present from their agent: a little over $13,000 in cash.
The windfall wasn’t actually a gift, but rather cashback courtesy of their agents, Justo Inc. Brokerage, a new real estate concept that’s disrupting the residential real estate market in the GTA.
“We met with a few different agents first, but they all seemed dismissive of the listings we were interested in and kept pushing their own listing on us,” said Russell. “But with Justo, our agent really seemed invested in finding us the perfect house, and she didn’t try to push us to spend more. It was really a pleasure, and the cash back was the cherry on top.”
This is the type of experience Justo is striving for with all of its customers, based on its mission, which is evident even in the name: Derived from the Latin word meaning “just” and “righteous,” Justo aims to bring fairness and transparency into an industry that has, until recently, been shrouded in secrecy.
“Years ago, customers didn’t have access to online listings or data on other properties, but technology has made this information infinitely more accessible to buyers and sellers. Yet despite these and other advances in technology, the standard commission model remains the same as 20 years ago. This is unfair to our clients,” said Daphne De Groot, Justo’s co-founder and CEO. “By leveraging existing technologies and working to create new ones we’re able to work far more efficiently, freeing up time and money, both of which we’re able to pass on to our clients.”
This means sharing their commission with their buyers 50/50. In addition to the cash back bonus, Justo also pays for their buyers’ home inspections from Mike Holmes inspections, and lawyer fees*.
This philosophy applies equally to sellers as well. When listing with Justo, clients pay only 1.25 per cent in listing commissions — half the amount typically charged by other brokerages. On an average GTA home, that’s over $12,000 in savings. And as with Justo buyers, sellers listing with the firm can cancel their agreement at any point in the process.
Further, Justo’s all-inclusive model means that the brokerage covers the costs of staging, professional photography, 3D virtual tours, MLS listings and traditional marketing to their clients. This saves sellers several thousand dollars more, while helping to maximize the potential price of the home. These are all critical services that usually fall on the customer to source and pay for.
It’s all part of Justo’s commitment to not only bring fairness to the transaction cost, but to provide outstanding service to its clients. Justo’s licensed, experienced agents are people who believe in the mission, are tired of the status quo and want to be a part of the Amazon or Uber for real estate.
The brokerage takes care of lead generation, so its agents can focus exclusively on delivering outstanding customer service (part of their compensation is even based on client satisfaction), rather than spending the lion’s share of their time on business development and personal marketing. Additionally, agents are assigned set territories, ensuring they are experts in their given neighbourhoods who are able to use that expertise to the customer’s benefit.
Overall, Torontonians are rapidly turning to Justo’s new model. The company can significantly lower the costs of buying and selling a property — while still making sure their clients get the best possible deals.
“We really believed the industry was due for a reset, and that Torontonians could benefit from our vision,” said Vicki Schmidt, Justo Broker of Record.
In a city whose real estate is among the top 10 most expensive in the world, it’s time for buyers and sellers to get a much-needed break, and be given the care and service they deserve.
by leveraging existing technologies and working to create new ones we’re able to work far more efficiently, freeing up time and money, both of which we’re able to pass on to our clients.” —Daphne De Groot