New Ontario Regulations Coming in 2023

According to the Ontario government, there are new regulations that will provide more transparency when it comes to home buying. However, many people disagree, thinking the rules will add confusion and won't bring down housing prices.

The Ontario minister of Government and Consumer Services, Ross Romano, says the regulations will enable home sellers to disclose details of competing bids on their properties if they choose and that the province wants to give sellers the option of an "open offer" process.

The real estate market currently has a process we refer to as blind bidding, in which buyers submit their offers but do not know the prices or conditions of competing bids. The law requires real estate brokerages to only be open and transparent about how many bids there are, not the details of those bids.

Many argue that blind bidding should not be a choice, but should either be allowed or not allowed for everyone. Another argument is that it creates the opportunity for agents and sellers to increase prices as they can send offers back for improvement.

Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario, says: 'Home-sellers shouldn't be able to pick and choose when the bidding process is transparent and when it is blind. That defeats the purpose of ending blind bidding, since it's in sellers' best interest to keep buyers in the dark.'

To bid blindly, or not to bid blindly, that is the question, and a hot topic amongst Ontarians right now. The regulations are set to take effect on April 1, 2023.

So, what do you think? 

Are you for or against blind bidding and why?

Source: CBC News