Not many events can compel people to shell out more than $150 to spend an entire Saturday perched on metal folding chairs inside a chilly, cavernous auditorium. But in Toronto, the prospect of getting rich in real estate will do the trick. Last month, a spectacle billed as the Real Estate Wealth Expo stormed into town, drawing upwards of 15,000 people to see an eclectic mix of speakers, from motivational speaker Tony Robbins to musician and gyration enthusiast Pitbull.
At 8:30 in the morning, a quartet of real estate industry professionals takes the stage to whoops from the crowd for a panel on Toronto’s housing market. Local realtor Daryl King (the “king of real estate!” according to the moderator) tells the crowd the key for first-time buyers is just to get a foot in the door. “We haven’t seen the end of it,” he says of the region’s double-digit surge in home prices. “So buy today, before it’s too late.”
