Swim Homes
The Hidden Cost of Selling a Home

The Hidden Cost of Selling a Home

2 Minute Read
By Connor
Article

For decades, Canadians have been told that selling a home is too complex to do alone. That belief costs the average seller tens of thousands of dollars—for a process that, with the right tools, most people can handle themselves.

At Swim Homes, we started with a simple question:

Why are homeowners still paying $50K to sell their own house?

The Real Cost of “Standard”

In Canada, the typical real estate commission is around 5%. On a $1M home, that’s $50,000—money that comes directly out of your equity.

But most of that cost isn’t going to high-stakes negotiation or premium marketing. It’s paying for access: MLS listings, templated paperwork, and basic scheduling.

If you’ve ever sold a home, you’ve probably asked yourself:
What exactly did I just pay for?

We asked the same thing.

This Has Happened Before

Over the past decade, we’ve seen this story play out again and again:

  • Wealthsimple made investing accessible without a broker.
  • Shopify gave entrepreneurs the tools to launch without middlemen.
  • TurboTax helped people file taxes without paying a pro.

These weren’t just cheaper alternatives.
They were better products—built for regular people, not gatekeepers.

Real estate is next.

This Isn’t Just About Saving Money

Yes, Swim Homes helps people save on commission. But the bigger shift is what happens next:

  • Sellers realize they’re not just a participant—they’re in charge.
  • They learn the system. They gain leverage. They feel ownership.
  • And they see just how much of the process can be automated and simplified.

Once you’ve sold with full visibility and no middlemen, you don’t go back.

What Swim Homes Does

We give homeowners what agents use:
MLS exposure, pro-grade listing tools, digital contracts, and showing management.

It’s everything you need to sell—without giving up a piece of your future.

The Future of Real Estate

The next generation of sellers won’t just want to save money.
They’ll want to stay in control.

That’s why we built Swim Homes: to make agents optional—not inevitable.

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