First-Time Homebuyer Finds Large Detached Home in Hamilton and Gets Cashback on His Purchase

When homebuyers take advantage of Wahi’s Cashback Program they receive up to 1% of their home’s purchase price.

By Kristin Doucet | 2 minute read

When Mayank bought his first home in September, he hadn’t dreamed of owning a large two-bedroom detached house with a yard big enough for his dog to play in. 

Priced out of the Greater Toronto Area housing market, the web developer, who works at a tech company in Toronto, decided to look for a home further west, towards Hamilton. While Mayank mostly works from home, he wanted to be close enough to Toronto without having to pay Toronto home prices. 

“Even though I work from home, I still wanted to have that accessibility to Toronto should my work ever change,” he says. “And there’s great connectivity between the two cities.”

As a newcomer to Canada, Mayank moved to Toronto in 2019, and had a nephew who was studying at McMaster in Hamilton. Other than Toronto, Hamilton was the only other Ontario city he was familiar with. “I loved Toronto, but it’s just really hard as a newcomer who doesn’t come from a lot of money to [afford a home,]” he explains. “And Hamilton is a more affordable real estate market than Toronto.”

While Mayank’s long-term goal is to buy a home in the GTA, he saw an opportunity to take advantage of the softer market conditions and lower home prices in Hamilton, where the median list price for a home is $750,000 compared to $958,900 in the GTA.

Hamilton has also seen an increase in underbidding activity throughout the year as homes in more neighbourhoods have been selling for below asking. According to Wahi’s latest analysis, the percentage of Hamilton neighbourhoods with homes selling for below list price grew in the third quarter of this year to 92%, up from 76% in the second quarter. Only 4% of neighbourhoods had homes selling for at-asking, while 5% had homes selling for over-asking,

Mayank had been house hunting for over a year when he stumbled across Wahi’s Cashback Program in a Google search. When homebuyers take advantage of Wahi’s Cashback Program, they receive up to 1% of their home’s purchase price after closing to use towards renovations, furniture, or even a vacation. 

When homebuyers choose to work with Wahi they are matched with an in-house Wahi REALTOR® and after they buy a home, Wahi passes some of the commission they earn to the customer, which amounts up to 1% of the purchase price. 

“One of the struggles I had with my previous Realtor was every time I saw [a home] I liked, I would have to message him to book a showing,” says Mayank, “I really liked the instant communication [with my Wahi Realtor] and the ability to book a showing online on my phone. It was a much more efficient process.” 

Mayank also used the Wahi app to search for homes, get recommended listings, save his favourite listings and then share photos of them with his family and friends. Wahi’s all-in-one app provides personalized listings recommendations tailored to a homebuyer’s preferences, making the home search experience smarter and faster. The app also lets you invite a co-buyer to start house hunting together and create a personalized home search experience. Available on the App Store or Google Play, the app recommends properties based on the co-buyers’ preferences and allows partners to chat with each other and their Wahi Realtor about listings, and book showings directly.

While Mayank had planned to buy a small, detached home, he ended up with a large detached house in Crown Point East, a neighbourhood in East Hamilton, complete with two bedrooms, a home office, a detached garage, and a large backyard.   

“It’s very family-friendly with not a lot of traffic throughout the day,” he says about the neighbourhood. “I wanted a place to take my dog outside where we could roam around. And [the house] was within my budget!”

In addition to the convenience of the app, Mayank found Wahi straightforward and transparent. “My Realtor, Faraz, was very clear about what I could expect from him and the homebuying process as a first-time homebuyer, “ he explains. “I had no idea what to do once you put in an offer, how it works…but he guided me every step of the way and made it easier for me. And also knowing he was just a message away if I needed anything gave me that peace of mind.” 

Maynak received his cashback shortly after closing on his Hamilton home, and since then he’s been recommending the program to friends and family, and through social media. “I only have positive things to say about my Realtor, Faraz,” he adds. “I really liked his approach. He wasn’t pushy and he helped me when the time came for me to decide [on a home].”