Tristian Clunis

Tristian Clunis Whether you are a first time home buyer, looking to sell, or an experienced investor, I can provide you with complete real estate solutions.

07/15/2026

I got into real estate in Durham 14 years ago. The market today looks nothing like it did then. Here's what actually matters now that didn't before.

Buyers are more informed than they have ever been. They come in having already done the Realtor.ca search, the walk score, the school research. What they need from me now isn't information. It's judgment. Knowing which information actually matters and which is just noise.

The offer process is completely different. We went from standard conditions and 5 business days to waiving everything in 2021 and now conditions are normal again. Knowing how to read a negotiation in this market right now is everything.

Social media changed how trust gets built. Buyers and sellers find me before they ever call me. They watch videos, read content, and decide before the first conversation whether I'm the right fit. That is new. And it means showing up consistently online is now part of doing the job well.

What hasn't changed: relationships win. Referrals win. Doing right by your clients wins. That part is exactly the same as day one and it always will be.

07/13/2026

This one mistake costs first-time buyers the most money and almost everyone makes it.

They buy with their emotions and justify it with logic after.

They fall in love with the kitchen, the backyard, the street. And from that moment on every decision gets made to protect that feeling. They waive conditions they should keep. They stretch their budget past what's actually comfortable. They ignore the things their gut was already trying to tell them.

I've sat across from buyers who talked themselves into offers they knew were wrong because they couldn't stand the idea of losing the house. And almost every one of them knew it wasn't right while they were signing.

Here's what I tell every first-time buyer before we write anything. The right house doesn't require you to talk yourself into it. And if the deal only works if everything goes perfectly, it is not the right deal.

Your first home is your biggest investment. Make that decision like one.

I'm Tristian Clunis with Royal LePage. If you're buying in Durham and you want someone in your corner who will be straight with you, let's talk.

07/10/2026

Most people spend more time researching a television than they do choosing the person who handles the biggest financial transaction of their life.

Here are the questions you should actually be asking before you sign with any agent.

How many homes have you sold in the last 12 months and where? An agent who primarily works in Mississauga doesn't know Durham. Specificity matters and a good agent will have a clear answer.

What does your marketing actually include? If the answer is MLS and social media and they stop there, that is not a marketing plan. Push for specifics.

How do you handle multiple offers? Do they have a defined strategy or are they figuring it out as they go?

Can I see samples of your recent listings? Look at the photos, the description, the overall presentation. That will tell you more than anything they say in the meeting.

What happens if I'm not happy with the service? Is there an easy exit clause in the listing agreement or are you locked in regardless?

A confident, experienced agent welcomes every single one of these questions. A weak one gets defensive.

I'll answer all five of these on camera right now if you want to put them in the comments.

07/08/2026

Everyone talks about buying a house. Nobody talks about what happens after you get the keys.

Month one you are spending money you did not plan for. Changing the locks.

Cleaning supplies. Something breaks within the first two weeks and trust me, something always does. You are eating out more than expected because you have not found your routine yet and that adds up faster than you think.

Month two the excitement is still real but so is the mortgage payment landing in your account. It feels different when it is not a number on a pre-approval letter anymore. It is just your life now.

Month three you start a list of things you want to fix or update. That list gets long very fast.

None of this means buying was the wrong decision. It means buying unprepared makes everything harder than it needs to be.

The buyers who navigate this period best are the ones who went in with realistic expectations, a real monthly budget, and an emergency fund they did not raid for the down payment.

That is what I try to give every client before they ever get to closing day. Not just excitement about the purchase. Actual preparation for what comes after it.

07/06/2026

If you're a homeowner in the Durham region right now, this question is probably already sitting in the back of your mind. What happens to my home value if we hit a recession?
Here's what history actually tells us.

During the 2008 financial crisis, Canadian home prices dipped but recovered within 12 to 18 months. In early 2020, Durham prices dropped briefly and then exploded upward within the same calendar year. The 2022 rate hike correction was the sharpest pullback in recent memory and even then well-located Durham properties held a significant portion of their value throughout.

Real estate is not immune to recessions. But it is one of the most resilient asset classes through them, especially in supply-constrained markets like Durham where demand from the GTA doesn't just disappear because the economy slows down.

The homeowners who get hurt are the ones who bought near the peak with no financial cushion and are forced to sell at the wrong time. The timing of the sale is the problem, not the asset itself.

If you bought in the last two years and you're feeling nervous, the question isn't what your home is worth today. It's whether you can stay in it long enough for the market to do what it has always done.

07/03/2026

Not every deal makes it to closing. And most buyers don't find out why until it's too late.

Financing. The buyer gets pre-approved, goes firm on the offer, and then something shifts. A new credit card opened, a missed payment, a job change. The lender pulls back and the deal dies.

Inspection disputes. Something unexpected comes up and one side won't budge on who's responsible for fixing it. Neither party moves and the transaction collapses.

Buyer panic. This one is more common than people admit. The period between an accepted offer and closing is long enough for serious doubt to set in, especially for first-time buyers making the biggest financial decision of their life.

Here's what most people don't realize about Ontario real estate. Walking away after you've gone firm is not just losing your deposit. The seller has the right to pursue you for additional damages beyond that. This is a conversation I have with every single client before we write an offer, not after.

Appraisal gaps. In competitive offer situations the buyer's lender sometimes appraises the home below the agreed purchase price. That shortfall has to be covered in cash or renegotiated, and not everyone is prepared for it.

Most of these situations are preventable. Strong pre-approval, an experienced legal team, and an agent who keeps you grounded when things get stressful.

If a deal fell apart on you before, I'd genuinely want to know what happened.

07/01/2026

A brand new home feels like the safe choice. No previous owners, no hidden problems, everything fresh. Here's what most buyers find out too late.

You're paying today's price for a home you won't move into for 12 to 24 months. Your life can change in that window. The market can change. Interest rates can change. And your purchase agreement locks you in regardless.

The closing costs on a new build catch buyers completely off guard. Development charges, Tarion warranty fees, HST that isn't always fully rebated, utility hookups, landscaping that the builder doesn't include. Buyers routinely face $50,000 to $100,000 in additional costs on top of their purchase price. Most of that is written into the builder's agreement in language that gets skimmed or skipped entirely.

With resale you see exactly what you're buying before you commit. You move in on a date that's real. What you negotiate is what you pay, with no surprise schedule at closing.

New builds are not the wrong choice. But they are not the straightforward, worry-free purchase most people assume they are. Read the full agreement. Work with a lawyer who specializes in builder contracts. And make sure you know your actual all-in number before you put your name on anything.

06/29/2026

Here's how I can tell if a house is overpriced in under a minute, and how you can too.

First, days on market. If a listing has been sitting for 30, 40, or 50 days and the market around it is moving, something is wrong. In most cases that something is the price.

Second, price changes. Open the listing history. If you see one or two reductions, the seller launched too high and has been chasing the market down ever since. That's a motivated seller and a negotiable price.

Third, recent comparable sales. Pull three similar homes that sold in the last 60 to 90 days. Same bedroom and bathroom count, same neighbourhood, similar condition. What did they actually sell for? If this listing is sitting 10% above that number it is overpriced, regardless of how it looks inside.

Fourth, buyer activity. Is it quiet? Are agents reporting no second showings? Nobody coming back for a second look is data. It tells you exactly what the market thinks of the price.

You don't need years of experience to identify an overpriced home. You need the right comps and the patience to read them. I do this for every client before we ever talk about writing an offer.

06/26/2026

If you're a first-time buyer in Ontario and you haven't looked into these programs, you could be leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table.

The Land Transfer Tax Rebate gives first-time buyers up to $4,000 back on their land transfer tax. On most Durham Region purchases that covers a significant portion of what you owe at closing.

The RRSP Home Buyers' Plan lets you withdraw up to $35,000 from your RRSP tax-free to put toward your down payment. Couples can combine for $70,000 and you have 15 years to pay it back.

The First Home Savings Account lets you contribute up to $8,000 a year. It's tax deductible going in and tax-free coming out when used for a home purchase. If you haven't opened one yet, open one today. Every year you wait is $8,000 you can't go back and contribute.

And if you're buying new construction, the GST/HST New Build Rebate may qualify you for a partial rebate on the HST you paid.

Combined these programs can put $10,000 to $70,000 back in your pocket. Talk to your agent and your mortgage broker before you assume you know what you qualify for.

06/24/2026

The Condo vs Freehold debate never goes away. Here's what people actually get wrong about it.

The condo fee isn't the enemy. If you're paying $600 a month and it covers your building insurance, exterior maintenance, and the reserve fund, that's real money you're not spending out of pocket somewhere else. A freehold owner is paying all of those same costs. They're just doing it in lumpy, unpredictable chunks whenever something breaks or needs replacing.

The real question is lifestyle and control. In a condo, decisions about the building aren't yours. You vote but you don't decide. In a freehold, you can do whatever you want with your property, but you also own every single problem that comes with it.
For first-time buyers, condos often make more financial sense as an entry point. For families who need space and flexibility, freehold wins.

Neither option is wrong. The wrong move is buying the wrong one for where you actually are in life right now.

Drop where you're at in the comments and I'll tell you which one makes more sense for your situation.

Address

8 Sampson Mews, Suite 201
Toronto, ON
M3C0H5

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Friday 9am - 9pm
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+14169096115

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