The First-Time Buyer Generation — What’s Changing About Home Ownership

This episode is designed to give both first-time buyers and real estate professionals a clearer understanding of what’s actually happening in today’s market. It explores how the mindset of first-time buyers is evolving, the common misconceptions and emotional barriers they face, and what a realistic path into home ownership looks like right now. Through real experiences and practical insight, the conversation highlights how buyers can approach the process with more confidence, and how agents can better guide, support, and build trust with this next generation of clients.

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Transcript

Christan Bosley 0:00

There's a lot of noise right now around buying your first home. Headlines, opinions, and constant market updates can make it hard to know what's real and what actually matters. Today, we're here with Mr. Greg Balian talking about what first-time buyers need to understand in today's market. For nearly a century, Bosley has been helping to shape the landscape of Canadian Real Estate. This podcast is an extension of that legacy, our way of staying connected to what matters most to you. Join us as we sit down with leading voices from across the industry and beyond to explore the ideas, trends, and stories that move real estate forward. Whether you're an agent, investor, homeowner, or just curious about the market, there's something here for you. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Like a Bosley. I'm your host, Christan Bosley, president and broker of record of Bosley Real Estate. Joining us today, we are here with Mr. Gregory Balian.

Gregory Balian 0:56

Thank you for having me.

Christan Bosley 0:57

Thank you for joining. I understand we're talking about first-time buyers today.

Gregory Balian 1:01

Yes, we are.

Christan Bosley 1:02

One of my favorite topics. And

Intro to Greg

Christan Bosley 1:05

a huge congratulations. You were our rookie of the year in your very first year in real estate, 2024. Tell us a little bit about how you did that.

Gregory Balian 1:14

Um, I mean, straight off the bat, it was busy right away for me. Thank God with that. But what I will say is it starts from the day you get licensed. Uh, if you wait a couple months, you wasted a couple months. So it's really just hitting the ground running and proper support, training, and it led me there.

Christan Bosley 1:36

Okay. So this is why you were rookie of the year, because I find that there are two types of realtors that start in this business. The first type that's like get ready, get ready, get ready to go. And then the other type that's like, go, go, go, and I'll figure it out later. So what I'm hearing is that you had the support to figure it out later.

Gregory Balian 1:53

No, straight off the bat I had it all done.

Christan Bosley 1:56

Yeah, you were go, go, going.

Gregory Balian 1:57

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Christan Bosley 1:58

Yeah, but you weren't like building a website. You were actually dealing with clients.

Gregory Balian 2:02

Yes, yes.

Christan Bosley 2:03

Yeah.

Gregory Balian 2:03

Because that, I mean, building a website, that's not really getting you clients right there. That's to manage clients or to have clients know who you are. Uh, that's not going to get you a client, though, right off the bat.

Christan Bosley 2:17

Music to my ears, Greg, because you know, oftentimes the people who are building websites and getting all their systems in order have a very, very long runway to start. So, what advice would you give to a new agent starting out today?

Gregory Balian 2:31

Um, even when I was in real estate school at Humber, many people started interviewing brokerages after they actually got their license. I did all my interviews while I was still in school. Okay. So when I actually started with Bosley, I think two, three days into me choosing, I was there, I actually got licensed right after that. Um, I did all my prep work from the beginning. Uh well, I'm gonna talk about the letters a bit later on that I actually ended up doing, but I had that all prepared. And then the day I got licensed, right away I started. I wasn't figuring things out. It was all figured out already. I just had to press go and get it going.

Christan Bosley 3:14

Okay, amazing. I'm gonna slip a question in here because I can do that.

Gregory Balian 3:19

Okay.

Christan Bosley 3:19

Okay. Um, you said you interviewed brokerages.

Gregory Balian 3:22

Yep.

Christan Bosley 3:23

You, from my understanding and recollection, did a very extensive interview of brokerages, which I believe everybody should do. So, can you give me a little history about why Bosley?

Gregory Balian 3:35

Uh well, Bosley's always had a great reputation from what I saw. Um, now, again, originally I'm from Mississauga. So I may not have seen Bosley as much as you may see in Toronto, but whenever I saw them, they were just always presented very well. There was a professionalism behind it, a trust behind it. And right away I found it had a bit of a gravitational pull to it. Uh, why I chose it. There was a confidence behind Bosley. Um, a lot of other brokerages, although no discrediting, fantastic. I felt coming to Bosley, it felt like it was going to be a bit of a challenge to keep up with the other agents over there. And coming from a sales background, I know a lot of what you do is about the people around you. If the people around you aren't all very successful, you're not going to be very successful yourself. So I felt like it was a bit of a challenge. And I actually had that conversation with you when I interviewed, and I was up for it.

Christan Bosley 4:42

So we met all the expectations.

Gregory Balian 4:44

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 4:45

Amazing. Um, thank you. I assure you I didn't pay him for that response, but I did really want to hear it. So thank you so much for that. Tell me if we're going to rewind back before you went to real estate school. What is it that drew you to real estate in the first place?

Gregory Balian 4:58

So I always had a career in sales. I used to be in financial sales. And I mean, when it comes to real estate, at least from the Canadian perspective here, Toronto is the premier real estate city. Um, not only in Canada, but you know, teetering upon some of the mega ones across the world. Um, and even with that being said, I've always had family members of mine, whether it be uncles, aunts, cousins, uh, just people in my immediate family always tied to real estate, whether it be real estate investors uh or just loving real estate. So I've always had an interest in it. I mean, I think everyone has. Everyone's like to play realtor watching HGTV. And really, it just was such a good fit with my skill sets already that I said, you know what? It's a good time to make that jump. And we already started seeing some shifts in the market. So I found the entry point at that time was a very good time to actually get into it right there.

Christan Bosley 6:04

Absolutely. Uh, we're talking a lot about confidence of agents these days from a leadership perspective. And I actually think that your tenure in the business is right in the sweet spot. You know, you don't have to worry about confidence because you've only ever experienced this market.

Gregory Balian 6:19

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 6:20

So with the proper training and support, you've really excelled in that. So well done.

Gregory Balian 6:24

Thank you.

Christan Bosley 6:24

Um,

Who First Time Buyers Are Today

Christan Bosley 6:25

let's turn a little bit to first-time buyers. You obviously have a lot of experience with first-time buyers, given how you've started out. You've referenced HGTV. I personally had a few of those clients myself. What are you seeing on the ground?

Gregory Balian 6:43

Well, I find nowadays, especially in the last few months, I'm seeing a big influx of first-time home buyers. Uh, we're getting at the point now that when some people are looking to rent an apartment, for instance, spending over three, four, or five thousand dollars a month on rent, they're starting to think, wait, maybe I should just be buying. It's pretty much the cost of my mortgage. And a lot of people now aren't going from renting to buying. A lot of younger people are also just living at their parents' place and buying right away. So they might be sitting on a bit larger amounts of money. And if they're gonna pay the rent as well, too, they're thinking, well, you know what, let me park my money in real estate and mortgage is my rent. So I'm seeing that change happening quite a bit. And every week or every month, I'm seeing with that I'm talking to a lot more first-time home buyers too.

Christan Bosley 7:39

Right. Well, there's definitely huge opportunity in the market for first-time buyers right now. And, you know, the last time we saw a market like this was probably back in the 90s, but the interest rates were 18 to 21%, right? So we're still sitting in a really low interest rate environment, lots of opportunity, lots of negotiation ability, really well set up for first-time buyers. Do you think that that pattern of you know staying at home until you can buy is related to a generational trend at all?

Gregory Balian 8:09

Um partly. One thing I'm noticing, at least, for the people that I know is a lot of moving out also comes to relationships. Uh people are waiting until maybe a relationship gets a bit more serious before moving out with their significant other, or they're using it as a bit of a tester to the next stage.

Christan Bosley 8:32

Right.

Gregory Balian 8:33

Um, so that's why I'm finding I've actually dealt with quite a few people that went and bought a place before getting married, for instance. Whereas I mean, I wasn't really alive back then, but people used to probably get married and then buy a place. Now you're seeing people buy a place, then get married, which honestly, once you buy a place, you're pretty much getting married at that point.

Christan Bosley 8:56

So Right. Yes, massive investment.

Gregory Balian 8:59

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 9:00

Okay. So given the opportunity in the market, given the difference in how people are operating in the market with affordability and all that kind of fun stuff, are you seeing hesitation and fear from first-time buyers, or is that starting to dissipate a little bit?

Gregory Balian 9:15

No, I feel like first-time buyers, I mean, there's always a little hesitation because it's something that they've never done before. That's normal. That's like anything in life. Um, but I'm seeing a bit more confidence from people, knowing that they can buy something that they thought they maybe couldn't have bought maybe a year or two ago. So I'm seeing confidences growing from their end, but obviously, you know, not knowing how it works or maybe not being guided the right way is what could lead to a little hesitation with them.

Christan Bosley 9:49

Okay. Do you have any little trick in your back pocket to help people get off the fence?

Gregory Balian 9:53

Um, just going through everything with them, like being an advisor with everything, not just throwing it at them and letting them figure it out. I mean, like going back to the whole HGTV thing, people, it's a real estate is a thing that everyone has curiosity in. So I find when you bring them along the process and tell them some different outcomes and kind of give a storyline to the whole thing, it makes it much more enjoyable. And I always try to teach them things along the way so that next time they buy or sell a house, they're not completely lost. It's they already feel like they know what they're doing, which they do know what they're doing at that point.

Christan Bosley 10:32

Right. And so, in my experience, there are a lot of realtors out there who are not necessarily having a formal buyer consult to discuss the process. Is that a fair statement? Yep. Your experience as well. Okay. So if I'm a first-time buyer and I have not had the experience of a full service advisor sitting down and taking me through the process, what are the things in the process that are giving me the most anxiety?

Gregory Balian 11:01

Well, one is what you can actually buy. So a lot of people say, I've done my budgeting, this is what I can afford. Well, that might be what you can afford, but unless if there's a bank to give you that money so that you can afford it, it becomes very challenging as to what's actually within your range over there. So I always recommend get pre-approved before anything, before any showings, really.

Christan Bosley 11:25

Okay.

Gregory Balian 11:25

Uh, because the worst thing is, is if you're looking at places that are more expensive than you can afford, it messes up the whole process right there. You're gonna say, why can't I get that one? Well, you know, it's not possible. Right. So I'd say starting off with that over there, and then from there, talking about, you know, listings that maybe have uh 24-hour irrevocable or 48-hour soft holdback or even an offer date and explaining what those different scenarios, uh, what the results of those scenarios are, so that when they see something listed at 999 that ends up selling at 1.6 million, they know why it's actually that case. It wasn't actually necessarily listed to go for 999. There's strategy behind everything. And I'd like to guide them through that strategy and see how they're coming at the numbers that they're uh strategizing for.

Christan Bosley 12:19

Right. And I think that's part of the big part of the value that as a buyer rep you provide, right? It's not just about opening doors, it's the it's the advice, it's the professional kind of distillation of information, right? So

Market Realities and Opportunities

Christan Bosley 12:33

we hear a lot of buyers, I'm sure you hear this multiple times a day, say we're gonna wait for prices to come down before we move forward. What do you think of that as a mindset? And what do you do to overcome it?

Gregory Balian 12:49

Well, look, we're in a very highly volatile world right now. Things can get drastically better or worse on any given day. Uh, we're seeing prices right now at in certain neighborhoods, some pretty steep discounts compared to before. Other neighborhoods necessarily haven't been as affected as much. Uh, but if you can buy at a discounted price today, knowing that you're buying at a discounted price, or you might wait for another two to 10% slip, let's say, you're also risking this shooting back up one day. And when that happens, it goes quite quickly. Now, again, I'm not trying to put fear into anyone buy now, buy now, obviously not. But we don't know how much it could keep going down, and we don't know when it'll go up. So if you buy a value, no matter what the time period is, in my opinion, that's the biggest thing. You're seeing some people that bought in the peak that are still actually doing fine on selling their house because they bought it at value and they didn't overpay. And really, that's the number one thing to do.

Christan Bosley 13:54

What does a realistic entry point look like for a first-time buyer today? And do we need to take a look at the types of housing in that?

Gregory Balian 14:01

I mean, it's such a big range because if you're looking at a turnkey property, that's very different than something that you can put some sweat equity into and do a bit of the work yourself. Uh, I've dealt with people dealing from the 500s all the way up to about 16, 17 on their first house. Wow. But again, it varies so much. If you want a turnkey property, but your budget might not be 15 plus, maybe you're looking at a condo townhouse or a condo right there. You're not gonna necessarily find too many semis or a detached nulla ones. You won't really find turnkey right there. Uh, but if you're open to a bit of work, then you can maybe go into a higher price range. And if it's livable for a bit, maybe you're fine paying a bit more and saying, you know what? I'll buy in a fantastic area and I'll do the renovations as time goes on right there. And you just heavily bought at a discount because you're buying maybe the not so best house, but on the best street right there, which you can make some good money that way.

Christan Bosley 15:10

Location, location, location, they say, right? I used to always tell my first-time buyers, you're better to stretch to get into the neighborhood that you want and forget about the actual house than to buy in a place that you're just not going to be happy in, right?

Gregory Balian 15:23

Totally agree.

Christan Bosley 15:24

I also am a huge believer, and tell me if this still holds true in today's market, that if you buy a property that you can put some sweat equity into, you actually have much greater control over your long-term investment potential than if you're buying something turnkey.

Gregory Balian 15:40

Absolutely. I mean, the way I like to look at it is like this is if we compare this to a stock, for instance, as an individual, I personally cannot increase the value of a stock. I'm just following what the market is, and that's what it is when you buy a turnkey property. There's no more value to add. But if I'm buying a property at one, two and I know I can maybe get it to one eight and I can put, let's say, four or five hundred thousand dollars into it. I myself am controlling the value that I'm adding. Now it depends how I do it, of course, but it gives you the power as opposed to being a casualty, not necessarily always a casualty. It could be a good thing too.

Christan Bosley 16:19

Right.

Gregory Balian 16:19

But you're fully dependent on how the market's going at that point.

Christan Bosley 16:22

Right. So tell me. We are advising our clients to be able to put a little bit of sweat equity in because I think we're on the same page with that. I personally like to have a little bit more control over my investment.

Helping Clients Zero In

Christan Bosley 16:35

We are being able to give some really good advice on strategy and pricing and all that kind of fun stuff. But tell me, what's one thing that you bring to your clients in terms of value that perhaps they don't even realize you do?

Gregory Balian 16:49

That's a good question right there. What I'd say is, well, especially when it comes to sweat equity right there. Uh, one that's a probably majority of the deals that I've done, uh, when I purchased myself, it was the exact same thing. Uh, so it's actually having a hands-on experience with it as well. And giving a bit more of a holistic approach to everything. Again, saying sweat equity doesn't necessarily work in every neighborhood. If you're buying not so great house in a not so great neighborhood, I mean, it's just doing renovations right there. There's not really much sweat equity in that situation. Uh, but it's knowing the right spots, looking at the end value and the exits, and how can you strategize towards your exit plan is the most important thing that I look at right there when I look at this. I mean, how you decide to do the reno, that's completely up to you. Uh, but let's look at when this house is done, how much could you sell it for? Uh, and let's do a bit of calculations with each other. I mean, I have quite a few tradesmen that I know myself. Uh, let's have a few conversations with them, see what it's gonna cost, and you know, try to give you the best exit that we can.

Christan Bosley 18:06

Yeah, absolutely. I also want to go back to your term about you having sweat equity for your clients, though. And I'm just gonna tell you straight up what I want you to talk about because I think it's amazing.

Gregory Balian 18:17

Sure.

Christan Bosley 18:18

Um one of the things that I think you bring to your clients that again I find to be rare in this marketplace is when you have a first-time buyer that wants a particular location, you are not scared to go find it by door knocking or conversations or calling agents, right? You are actively quite proactive in your business w rather than waiting for something to hit MLS.

Gregory Balian 18:40

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 18:41

Is that something that you actually discuss with your clients, or is that just something you do behind the scenes as a value add for them?

Gregory Balian 18:47

A bit a bit of a little bit of both, sorry. Uh I go straight to it on my own. But let's say if we're looking for something that's not quite there and I want to keep them posted with what's happening, I'll tell them what I'm doing over here. Um, you know, part of a consultation will be talking about off-market deals, and that I've had quite a bit of success coming across those. But I mean, the best thing about off-market deals is it's all about the right time and the right place right over here. Uh, you're getting access to something that no one else has. Now, that could also mean that you could be paying more sometimes for something like that. Because if the person doesn't want to move and you're coming to them and saying, hey, Christan, here's the money, you know, they're gonna want a premium. But other times, they could have been thinking about moving that week, and all of a sudden, you made their life easy, you made your client's life easy, and there we go. But the only way to know it is by doing it. So you just gotta get onto it.

Christan Bosley 19:50

So let's say you're actively engaged with a client, you've found a property on market or off. It doesn't really matter. You know in your heart of hearts it's the right property for them from an investment standpoint, from a future planning standpoint, from a look location, everything that they've shared with you.

Gregory Balian 20:06

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 20:07

Okay. How do you help your clients zero in on that perfect home for them? Right? Because there's a lot of information. So how do you help them distill that?

Gregory Balian 20:17

Well, it comes down to asking them questions. Uh, I'm not purchasing the house, they're purchasing the house. My job is to advise and guide them along the way. So very openly, I will ask them as many questions as possible and I'll tell them if you like what you see, tell me. If you hate what you see, tell me you hate it. In fact, I'll even sometimes challenge them with some certain things uh for them to give me a genuine feedback when you say, Oh, it's nice. I don't want to show you things that you're saying that to right there because I'm not doing justice to you. Right. So I find you have to be very candid with everyone. And once you get the feel for what they're looking for, it's for you to take action at that point and find them the property. That's what we're here to do.

Christan Bosley 21:07

Okay, beautiful. So you referenced a few minutes ago that you have recently bought a property yourself. So congratulations. Thank you. It's very exciting. Is this your first uh matrimonial home, if you will?

Gregory Balian 21:20

First house, correct.

Christan Bosley 21:21

Okay. How is that process for you?

Gregory Balian 21:23

It's amazing. Uh so funny enough, I actually ended up getting it on the day that uh Blue Jays were playing the game seven day. Of course. Uh, game story. So it was a little stressful having to deal with that. But ever since getting it, you know, the best part I can say as a first time buyer, for instance, is buying something that especially if you did the sweat equity, like with what I did, is coming home to a place that you know you did yourself, you worked on it, looks the way it looks because. You chose it to work that way. And you know, you sit at home, whether it be with boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, whatever it might be for me, my wife, and you know, turn on the TV, turn on the fireplace, look outside the bay window, and you just say, Wow, okay, we did this. We did this. It's so enjoyable.

Christan Bosley 22:20

Okay. Lots of pride of ownership. That's what we talk about, right? Okay, amazing. So I have to know. Did you buy it yourself or did you hire a realtor?

Gregory Balian 22:30

I bought it myself. I hired my own realtor, which is me.

Christan Bosley 22:34

Okay. There you go. Do you know that I move historically every three years? I'm on year five in my house right now, and I'm itching to move every day. I'm looking at different properties. Do you know that I have never bought or sold my own property ever in my life?

Gregory Balian 22:49

Really?

Christan Bosley 22:49

Yep. Some might call me an emotional person.

Gregory Balian 22:53

Okay.

Christan Bosley 22:54

Those emotions are not helpful in a negotiation.

Gregory Balian 22:58

I mean, fair enough. You know, the difference between you and me by the sounds of it is you know when you want to buy. I wasn't planning on buying, actually. Um, like I said, I was looking at the market as I always do. And we're actually on the way to Niagara on the lake to meet up with some friends. And I look at my wife and I say, Oh my God, I think we might be offering on a house over here. Uh, so it was on a complete whim, to be honest. So there wasn't much time for me to digest the emotions with you. You're already thinking about it. So I'm sure you'll be quite into it when the time comes.

Christan Bosley 23:34

We're in real estate. We're always thinking about it. But I will tell you that not once did I plan on buying a property. Uh-huh. I just walked through an open house and bought it.

Gregory Balian 23:44

Wow. Okay.

Christan Bosley 23:46

So that's how I operate.

Gregory Balian 23:47

Okay.

Christan Bosley 23:48

Yes. But um, but I am a firm believer that I can't negotiate for myself. I'm too emotionally like, I'll give you whatever you want. I just want the house. You know, it's fair enough. It's not good.

Gregory Balian 24:01

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 24:01

And then, you know, because I have a last name that is synonymous with real estate, I also like to put things in my husband's name so that people don't try and take advantage of that.

Gregory Balian 24:12

Fair enough.

Christan Bosley 24:13

Yeah. Little tricks here and there, right? You've got to do it. So I personally found that buying and selling every three years was an incredibly stressful experience, yet I continue to do it. But it really shaped how I interacted with my clients and empathized with what they go through. So, has that experience changed anything for you and how you engage with your clients?

Gregory Balian 24:34

Yeah, definitely. I mean, going through the whole process of buying your first home, obviously, it's quite a stressful thing. And what I find is the biggest stress of it is the jump that you're making over here. But what I will say is, even though that's the stressful part, it's taught me more than anything that you can't control everything. And like anything in life, you just gotta do it sometimes. And you gotta go with the flow. When you find the right property, you'll know. Uh, don't force yourself onto anything, you know, right time, right place, and everything will sort itself out over here. And just not getting greedy with it, just going with the flow.

Christan Bosley 25:21

Belief in the universe. Believe in the universe. If it's meant to be, it will be.

Gregory Balian 25:24

Exactly. And if you miss out on a house, you'll get the next one, and the next one will even be better.

Christan Bosley 25:29

It's true. I'll like every time. I've never had that not be true.

Gregory Balian 25:32

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 25:33

Okay. So if somebody's listening right now and they're thinking about buying and they are terrified of this experience, or they're just on the fence.

Gregory Balian 25:43

Okay.

Christan Bosley 25:43

What is one thing that you would want them to consider?

Gregory Balian 25:47

Well, timelines. I mean, if you're saying that they're going to be listing as well, too, they're not just buying as first-time buyers.

Christan Bosley 25:53

No, first-time buyers.

Gregory Balian 25:54

Oh, I mean, you got to think of the area that you want to live in. I mean, nowadays, buyers do have a bit more power than they did before. Uh, the world's your oyster, so you have all of Toronto to look at at this point. So start narrowing down as to the lifestyle that you want to live, where you want to live. And then the houses come into play after that. But again, this is all fully based on your pre-approval.

Christan Bosley 26:21

Right.

Gregory Balian 26:21

Uh, prices in one neighborhood can be double on average what some other neighborhoods are. So once you have that set, you look at your lifestyle, and then from there, just start looking. Go with a realtor, even if you want to even go at some open houses, you might not even be there mentally quite yet. Um, do what you have to do, get a feel for it, walk around, and you go to the open house, take a walk in the neighborhood, and see if you could live there. If you can live there, then you just gotta start looking or wait for the off-market deals.

Christan Bosley 26:54

This is the difference between an advisor and a salesperson. Okay. I once walked into an open house and I never disclose who I am when I walk into open houses because I'm just that person. I want to see how the agent's interacting in the open house. I once walked into the open house and and the agent said to me from a different company, you know, what do you think about the house? I said, Well, I love the house. And he said, Great. And so how does it fit into, you know, your future lifestyle? And I was like, I don't think it does. And he was like, What do you mean? And I was like, Well, the bedroom upstairs is small for my children. And I gave him the whole list of reasons why I didn't feel that this house fit into the future of where I wanted to be three to five years down the road. And he looked at me and said, Well, the good news is it's just a property. So if you buy it today, you can always change your mind or flip it two years from now. And I thought to myself, is this what we're doing? Like, really? Are we not here to support our clients to talk about what that three to five year picture looks like to make sure that you know we're matching them with the right scenario? You just described it perfectly. So thank you. The art of being a Bosley agent. Um, okay. What is one kind of really great feel-good story that you have of a first-time buyer experience?

Gregory Balian 28:14

Oh, I have a good one actually. Okay. So I was this is actually someone related to me over here uh that bought their. They had a condo before, but they were getting engaged, and it was their first house together over here. So I was doing an open house for another Bosley agent out in Burlington, actually. And as soon as I see it, I know that this couple's getting engaged. I'm like, oh, you would really love this property if um if you sold your condo, but they didn't even have their condo uh for sale yet. And she says to me, Okay, well, you know, let's put the condo up for sale, see what happens. And I'm open housing the property. I even met the people that owned the house, lovely people, super nice people. And this family member of mine comes even to the open house and says, Wow, this is really, really, really nice. And I messaged the agent saying, you know, unfortunately, if my family member sold their con, if they already sold their condo, they would have loved to buy this, but just not possible right now. We can't really make an offer conditional pon sale of a condo, it just wasn't the right time. The next day they sold their condo, they bought that buried house the next day. The universe they are so happy. And it came down to just me being asked to do an open house in Burlington that I took on. And happily ever after, they're married now.

Christan Bosley 29:42

Love it. Okay, congrats.

Gregory Balian 29:45

Thank you.

Christan Bosley 29:45

I feel like every agent who works with first-time buyers has like one story that sticks with them that like brings them joy, you know? So congrats. That's great. Um, we're at the wrap-up part of our segment, which I'm very excited about. Do you have any other stories or advice or anything of that nature for first-time buyers who may be listening? Or buyers in general, really.

Gregory Balian 30:10

Um advice. Be prepared. Do all your background work when before you actually start getting into offer situations because as you're putting pen to the daughter line, people get very nervous. Uh all your fears, get them out of the way early on, because a lot of things will be going through your head at that time. Have those difficult conversations with yourself or significant other family or even your agent so that when the time does come, you can act confidently. Because being confident in the market, whether it's as an agent or as a buyer, is what's ultimately going to get you that house. Um, and even to other agents. I mean, it kind of goes back to with me starting off. I will always give one piece of advice to every single person to help me out when I was a new agent, is write a letter, send it to everyone you know. Uh, I was lucky because I just got married a couple months before, so I had my big uh Excel spreadsheet.

Christan Bosley 31:18

Perfect.

Gregory Balian 31:18

And then I called everyone I sent a letter to two weeks after, and I ended up getting six sales from that alone within my first few months of real estate right there.

Christan Bosley 31:27

Amazing.

Gregory Balian 31:28

All by sending a letter and actually calling them after because no one Because you were not a secret agent. No, and no one reached out to me when I sent the letters. It was when I called that you know, you're catching up with people and genuinely having a good conversation, and one place leads to another. That's what got me going, right?

Christan Bosley 31:45

Sorry, can I ask what generation you're part of?

Gregory Balian 31:48

Uh 90s, but late 90s.

Christan Bosley 31:51

Okay, so is that Gen Z?

Gregory Balian 31:53

I think so.

Christan Bosley 31:54

Yeah. And you know what a telephone is?

Gregory Balian 31:57

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 31:58

And it effectively worked for you?

Gregory Balian 32:00

Absolutely.

Christan Bosley 32:01

What? Text messaging emails don't work. Text message and emails don't work because this is a people business. Absolutely. And we're also dealing with people's largest investments. So voice-to-voice, human contact, it's important. Absolutely.

Gregory Balian 32:15

Thank you.

Christan Bosley 32:16

Also explains why you were rookie of the year.

Gregory Balian 32:18

Thank you.

Closing questions

Christan Bosley 32:19

Okay, so some fast questions for you. Sure. Okay. Number one, what's one lesson you wish you learned earlier in your career that benefits you today?

Gregory Balian 32:35

That's a good question, actually. Um, just approach every single day. Uh like it's a good day. I mean, uh this industry is very up and down, right? It could be quite stressful sometimes. Uh, you're also dealing with people that are very stressed out buying their first house, and ultimately the way you react you react to stuff will affect everyone else. So, you know, wake up, you go put a smile on your face, and uh everyone else around you will be in much better hands and feel a lot better throughout the whole transaction.

Christan Bosley 33:12

Yes. Yeah, um, I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen you in a mood. So I kind of may have been one, you just haven't seen me in it. I would like to see, I would like to see that experience at one point, but I think that you really, you know, walk that walk. The positivity and how you present yourself is really important. So amazing. What brings you joy?

Gregory Balian 33:32

Um I mean, obviously, family, friends, everyone I know, but right now, when I leave here today, I'm gonna go to the house and see my wife and enjoy the house. I mean, we're still in the process of doing some final touches to everything. Right now, that's what's bringing me joy is coming home and knowing that's mine when I pull up to the driveway.

Christan Bosley 33:57

So love that. Do you read? Are you a podcast guy? Do you read? Do you how do you consume your information?

Gregory Balian 34:04

Um, I want to say podcasts uh slash short clips, a lot of it is that YouTube shorts? Yes, big time. Okay. Uh when it comes to books, though, so not too much of a reader. I like more historical stuff, but one book I did read recently called The Trading Game.

Christan Bosley 34:23

Oh, okay.

Gregory Balian 34:25

Unbelievable book. Uh, for someone that's not a big reader, I would recommend it to everybody.

Christan Bosley 34:30

Why?

Gregory Balian 34:31

Um, it's pretty much about this guy that enters a trading competition while he's, I believe, at school at London School of Economics.

Christan Bosley 34:39

Okay.

Gregory Balian 34:40

Uh comes from a bit more of a rougher background and goes from that to being the most successful uh I think it was bond trader at Citibank, and how he could not get out of the industry anymore because the way it wraps your whole life around. So that was a fantastic read to the point that I will still follow the author there. That it's based on a true story, by the way. I'll still follow him and see what he's posting, what he's doing, because such an amazing story.

Christan Bosley 35:09

Okay. Last question.

Gregory Balian 35:11

Sure.

Christan Bosley 35:12

If you were asked to give a TED talk, what would your topic be?

Gregory Balian 35:17

Uh, probably what's worked best for me so far. So I don't know if you know this too. In my prior career, I was also rookie of the year. Uh, so I got two rookie of the years going now.

Christan Bosley 35:29

Track record of success.

Gregory Balian 35:30

And I'd probably make it about getting started in sales. Um, it's been what I've been probably most successful at, is especially the beginning stages. How to set yourself up and not only set yourself up, but have happy clients that you keep working with throughout the years.

Christan Bosley 35:50

Amazing. Yeah, that was wonderful.

Gregory Balian 35:52

It was. Thank you.

Christan Bosley 35:53

Thank you so much for joining us today. Really appreciate all of the insights on first-time buyers and beyond. Congratulations on your consistency year over year, on your new house, on your future. And um, that's it.

Gregory Balian 36:11

Thank you very much. That's all for today. I appreciate it.

Christan Bosley 36:14

Okay. Thanks so much, everyone, for listening. I am Christan Bosley with Like a

Credits

Christan Bosley 36:19

Bosley. Thanks so much for tuning in. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might find it valuable. We've got more conversations coming your way with incredible guests across design, finance, wellness, tech, and more. All through the lens of real estate. A special thank you to our set design sponsors, Stage.