5 days to find a home: Inside the business of military moves

Military housing in Borden, Ont./Canadian Forces Housing Agency

When Melanie Leblanc’s military clients arrive in Halifax for a house-hunting trip, there isn’t much time to waste — including at the front door.

After nearly 20 years of refining her relocation systems, Leblanc has the process down to such a science that her pre-trip instructions include what shoes to wear: something that’s easy to get on and off for jam-packed days of showings.

The team lead of Leblanc & Associates of Royal LePage Atlantic tries to pack most showings into the first two days of a house-hunting trip. Depending on the market, her goal is to have an offer submitted by the end of the second day.

“It’s not the amount of houses that we’re looking at that’s important,” she said. “It’s the amount of right houses.”

A business built around military moves

Leblanc came to the work with first-hand experience.

She was a military member herself when her husband’s naval career brought them to Halifax about 20 years ago. When she entered real estate, she saw a gap in the market for specialization in military and RCMP relocation.

“There were a lot of agents who were good agents, per se, but maybe not as well versed in relocation moves, because they are a totally different type of move,” she said.

She began developing her own systems, drawing partly on what she thought could have gone better during her own moves, which took her to three different postings. 

Over time, that grew into a well-oiled machine, starting with packages for buyers containing information on communities, maps and distances to places such as the dockyard and CBF Shearwater, an air force base.

Part of the niche is also studying the Canadian Armed Forces Relocation Directive, which details the benefits available to relocate CAF members and their families. 

The directive contains details on the SIRVA Third-Party Service Provider directory, an official list of approved professionals — such as real estate agents, lawyers, home inspectors and notaries — who agree to government-approved ceiling rates and direct billing.

Agents don’t need to know the directive cover to cover, she said, but they need a working understanding of the benefits and expenses involved.

Military clients now account for about 60 per cent of Leblanc’s business, she said, within a practice handling roughly 50 to 75 transactions annually. She said she has surpassed her 2026 goal of 32 military transactions. 

Heather Beauchesne with Remax Hallmark Chay Realty in the Barrie, Ont., area, also came to the specialty through personal experience.

Both of her parents served, as have several other relatives. She grew up moving from posting to posting herself, including time at CFB Borden and in Vancouver.

“I’ve gone through the whole process of the military lifestyle,” she said.

This year, Beauchesne estimates military relocations have accounted for about 66 per cent of her transactions.

Preparation before the plane lands

Both agents say much of the work happens before the house-hunting trip (commonly called “HHT”) begins.

Leblanc meets clients over Zoom, goes through the buying process in Nova Scotia, makes sure financing is lined up and asks them to separate their needs from their wants. She sets up a listing portal and increases contact as the trip approaches.

About 48 hours before clients arrive, she reviews the list again. Showings are generally booked the day before, with the route planned to minimize time spent driving back and forth across the Halifax region.

“I can show you houses for five days, like 15 houses a day if you want,” Leblanc said. “But at the end of the day, maybe 12 or 13 of them will actually be right within your criteria.”

Beauchesne describes a similarly compressed schedule around Borden. Some trips are more intense than others.

“Sometimes I’ve had some people say, ‘I want to buy a house today.’ And sometimes I’ve got clients that I’m showing 60 houses in three days.”

Caught between markets

Specializing in military moves also means working with sellers who don’t always have the option of waiting for better market conditions.

Beauchesne said four military clients in the past two years have sold homes for losses of more than $100,000. One bought for $450,000 and later sold for $345,000 after receiving a posting. He still had equity and was moving to a less expensive province, so he was in decent shape, Beauchesne said, but he couldn’t simply wait for the market to recover.

Military homeowners watching prices fall “usually just hope and pray not to have to move,” she said.

Some support is available to offset costs when moving to a more expensive market. The Canadian Forces Housing Differential (CFHD) provides eligible members with payments varying by location and pay level and adjusted annually based on market conditions. Most locations saw CFHD payments decrease under the updated rates that took effect July 1, according to a press release. 

Lower commissions, but a loyal client base

There is a financial tradeoff to specializing in military relocations. On the listing side, Beauchesne said the commission under the military relocation program – which is funded by the military for its members – is 3.25 per cent, lower than what she would typically earn on a conventional transaction.

It hasn’t deterred her.

“I don’t care,” Beauchesne said. “I’d just rather help people move because they already do enough for us.”

Building a business around people who regularly move away might seem counterintuitive, but both agents say the military community can generate long-term relationships and referrals.

“Military people are probably the most loyal people,” Beauchesne said. “If I can make their life easier, I’m totally happy with it.”

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