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Sep 5, 2019
Calgarian, former-NHL player settle home price negotiation with hockey shootout
By Paige Ellis
Two men settle home price negotiation with a hockey shootout
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Two men in Calgary settled a “heated” negotiation over the sale of a home on a quiet, tree-lined street with a good old-fashioned hockey shootout.
Real estate agent Daniel Weiner said the owner of the semi-detached house and the buyer were just $3,000 apart on price.
“No one was budging,” Weiner told BNN Bloomberg in a phone interview. “It was an old Canadian standoff.”
With talks near collapsing, homeowner Gavin Wolch said he made a sarcastic comment to Weiner, his agent, about heading to the rink to break the impasse.
“I was surprised when [the bidder] came back and said, ‘Game on,’” Wolch said in an email. “It took on a life of its own.”
The buyer, who asked not to be identified, used to play in the National Hockey League. But Wolch, himself a goalie in a men’s recreational league, said he wasn’t intimidated by his opponent’s NHL career.
“He is a fierce competitor and a great sport,” Wolch said. “The guy could pick up a truck one-handed.”
With an audience of roughly 30 family and friends, Wolch and the bidder hit the ice at a local recreational centre for a best-of-eleven competition.
Wolch ended up besting the former NHL player with six saves to four goals.
The shootout loser – or buyer of the home – then had to raise the agreed purchase price by $1,500. The home was originally listed for $689,000, and sold for $661,500, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board.
“It’s very unique,” said Weiner. “And something I’ve never been a part of.”
Home sales and price growth have declined in Calgary over the past two years, according to the city’s real estate board.
In a forecast released this summer, the board noted a recent drop in supply may help balance the real estate market, but added prices are expected to stay below last year’s depressed levels.
Against that backdrop, Weiner says it’s important for Calgarians to have a sense of humour.
“We have to be creative to keep our deals together in a challenging market,” he said.
Weiner and the buyer’s agents also managed to get in on the action: the realtor representing the shootout loser had to pay the $260 ice rental fee.
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