Own it: Women, Wealth and Real Estate in Uncertain Times - with guest Puja Aggarwal

In this episode of the Women’s Wealth Canada Podcast, host Glory Gray dives into the world of real estate with guest Puja Aggarwal, an expert in wealth building through property investment. Together, they explore how Canadian women can confidently navigate the ever-changing housing market, even in uncertain economic times. 

Puja shares practical strategies for getting started in real estate, building equity, and making smart investment decisions that align with your financial goals. Whether you're a first-time homebuyer or looking to grow your property portfolio, this episode offers empowering insights to help you take ownership of your financial future through real estate. 

Resources: www.KAPSrealtygroup.com 

Hosted by Glory Gray, BSc Finance, MFA

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Own it: Women, Wealth and Real Estate in Uncertain Times

Our guest today is Puja Aggarwal. She's the broker of record at KAPs Realty in the Greater Toronto area. After earning her MBA in real estate development, Puja was working with a commercial real estate development investment trust when she was asked by one of the largest developers in Florida to help market Florida real estate to Canadian snowbirds during the 2009 recession. Puja’s company grew quickly and soon, clients began asking her for help in buying investment properties in the Greater Toronto area as well. 

Given the current interest in investing between the U.S. and Canada, we’re lucky to have Puja with us today to talk about the opportunities and challenges right now in using real estate as an investment in both the U.S. and Canada.

So, grab a beverage and join us as Puja and I talk about Women, Wealth and Real Estate in Uncertain Times.

Glory Gray: Puja, with rising tariffs and shifting economic conditions in both Canada and the US, what trends are you seeing in the real estate market that investors should be paying attention to right now?

Puja Aggarwal: That's a great question. We are in a time where macro factors like tariffs, interest rates, and even elections, are driving investor demand. And as you know, I've had my real estate brokerage for the last 15 years and have personally gone through two recessions. One in 2009, the US financial crisis when we first started our brokerage, and then again in 2020 during Covid.

And how I see it differently now is that there's a lot more uncertainty. During the 2009 recession, Canada didn't get affected as much as our banking system was a lot more vigorous in giving out mortgages. So we didn't have foreclosures like the US did. Right? So a lot of our investors here weren't impacted as much in their Canadian real estate holdings. We helped them understand that it was a complete buying opportunity, in fact, in the US instead. And that's when we actually started offering a lot of the properties in Florida that we helped our Canadians get for the last 15 years. So there was uncertainty, but not as much in Canada. There was a lot more in the US.

In 2020 what we saw was during Covid, we knew that things would eventually get better and there was so much government stimulus that the uncertainty actually only lasted a few months. Contrasting both of those last two recessions to what we're experiencing now, I feel there is a night and day difference, especially in Canada, right?

Like for the last 15 years, we haven't really experienced a big recession. And not to say that we are in one, but the signs are fully showing that things have definitely slowed down. Prices for the first time are decreasing, especially in the Toronto market. For the first time ever, we're noticing almost a 3% price decline in the GTA and as investors and as property owners, we're not used to that.

So we have uncertainty. and then we also have Interest rates. We all thought, especially in our real estate industry, that, you know, as the government's decreasing rates this year and the spring market's coming, things will get back to normal this year. And we're really hoping for that recovery.

And then in February, boom, out of nowhere, we hear about the tariffs. 

Puja Aggarwal: And that kind of just threw the entire market out of whack. And with the tariffs, it's a territory a lot of us are not familiar with. We haven't experienced this in the past. We don't know how to basically predict what's going to happen in the future.

A lot of people, you know, they're scared for their businesses, what's gonna happen? They're scared for their jobs. So a lot of investors in general and, and buyers and sellers are kind of on hold at the moment. Trying to make sense of it all. So yeah, no, things are really getting affected right now, but I always tell, especially a lot of our clients, that this is actually a very good buying opportunity for real estate.

When there's uncertainty, that's when you're gonna get the good deals. So there's always a good and bad in each scenario and, yeah, but we definitely are getting affected. And to share some stats with you, in the GTA here… 

If we compare this month compared to the same month last year, we're already noticing a 28% increase in the number of listings. So there's a lot more properties in the market. There's a lot more choice for buyers. So buyers are what we're noticing at the brokerage level.

They're taking their time, right? They're picking the home that they really want or they're trying to negotiate the best deal. And sellers at this point really don't have much choice. If they really need to sell, they gotta take what they get or they're waiting to sell. It is definitely a buyer's market, which is amazing for our buyers and investors alike.

Glory Gray: I love what you were saying about opportunities because one of the tenets that I often talk about on the podcast is that money never disappears. Somewhere, someone is making money right now. Right? In good markets, in bad markets, whether it be real estate, stocks, bonds, any investment market, someone somewhere is making money.

Given what you were saying, with the current economic conditions, how is that impacting investment strategies in Canada versus the US right now? 

Puja Aggarwal: Yeah, so it's funny 'cause you, to your point where there's always money being made somewhere, so when I started my brokerage back in 2009, it was very much the similar thing, right?

And we, you know, the US is going through a recession, Canada's a little uncertain. Everyone's on hold, but at the same time. That was the best buying opportunity in the US till this day, investors are waiting for properties to be 30 cents on the dollar, you know, the dollar to be at par. So those who did take advantage of that buying opportunity are laughing right now.

So, no, that's a very good point you made. And, how are current economic challenges affecting both sides of us? Like I told you, our strategy from day one, for us and our investors has always been to diversify, diversify, diversify. So even when you're investing into real estate, it's important for your portfolio to have both geographic and asset class diversification. 

I've always believed, like I've got an MBA background. I always knew you can't have your eggs all in one basket. And this is something I have been literally educating our clients on for the last 15 years. So, like I mentioned, when we first began introducing Florida properties to a lot of our Canadians back in 2009, our number one point was, you need to diversify your Canadian real estate.

So this way, if anything happens in Canada, you still have a US asset that's earning US dollars. So not only are you diversified in real estate, but you're also diversified in currency.

And now if you compare it to 2009 when a lot of our Canadians bought their property at par, when one Canadian dollar basically equaled one US dollar. And now they've made over 45% on just the currency alone. So that shows you the power of diversification. So thus, you know, we wanna continue to help our clients buy and invest in real estate on both sides of the border.

So you have less volatility when different things happen in the market. because it usually affects markets in a different way. Depends on where you are. Like we're seeing right now, Canada's a lot more impacted than the US at the moment in terms of real estate. but like I mentioned, I'm seeing a huge buying opportunity right now, especially in real estate in the US. There's a lot more availability we're noticing, especially on the commercial side 'cause a lot of loans are beginning to renew.

So I believe 2025 is definitely gonna be a buying opportunity. So we've got, you know, our eyes open. Our investors are ready to go and this is the time that you basically have to be ready to steal those real estate deals, when no one else is really, you know, ready to go into the market.

Glory Gray: That's great. So as you mentioned, when those commercial loans are ready to be due, it might be a good time to buy. Can you just briefly explain to our audience what you mean by that? 

Puja Aggarwal: Yeah, absolutely. Commercial loans in the US are just like in Canada, they have five year terms. A lot of the commercial property that was bought during Covid, for instance, had the five year term, but at the low interest rate that was available covid time, which was around one point a half, 2%.

Now, when those loans are coming up for renewal, five years later in 2025, they're coming up at renewal at a higher interest rate, almost around five, six, 7%, which makes it usually very unaffordable for the owner to still keep that asset and cash flow. A lot are able to keep it, but a lot are not able to keep their assets.

So they might be selling out of desperation, because they can't renew at the higher interest rate. 

Glory Gray: Very interesting and, and similar to what you were saying about 2009, I do have clients who went down and bought property in Florida, in Arizona in 2009, and boy, they are so happy.

So, so happy they did. A lot of people were afraid to do that, like you're saying, because it seemed like a scary time to do it. But if you can think clearly and make those decisions like you're saying, you can take advantage of those markets. 

I know that you have multi-generational wealth in your family in real estate. It's a family business. So why do you believe that real estate, especially across borders, is such a powerful tool for building generational wealth? 

Puja Aggarwal: Yes. You know, you're absolutely right. So everyone from my grandfather to my father to myself now has been in the real estate business and I actually manage a multimillion dollar real estate portfolio for our family as well and we believe in real estate.

It's because it's bricks and mortar. At the end of the day, you can touch it, you can feel it. You know, even if the market's volatile, even if things are going down, you still have the assets there in front of you at the end of the day. And if you look at the trend for real estate over the last 100 years, yes, you'll see ups and downs every 10, 15 years, which is a normal cyclical market. But if you look at the hundred year trend, for the most part, it's an upward trajectory, right? Real estate tends to move upwards if you have a long-term perspective. So that's why we love it. 

When you invest across borders, you diversify not just your asset class, but your currency exposure. Like I mentioned, you have different taxation strategies you can work with and you have a lot more growth potential. So it definitely is a long-term game, but when it's done right, real estate can really, really add generational wealth.

That's the number one reason why my family and I, we love real estate 

Glory Gray: And I know a lot of our listeners think in terms of five generations down the road. How are we going to build wealth for the fifth generation to follow us? So real estate's a perfect example of that and how to do that.

We women often tend to think in terms of family, but what are the biggest misconceptions that people, especially women have about getting started in real estate investing? 

Puja Aggarwal: That's a great question. I honestly think the biggest misconceptions are that you need a ton of money to start, or it's too much work to manage these properties, or it's just overall too risky and they're kind of waiting for that perfect time and not sure when to pull the trigger.

Or they sometimes feel like they need to know everything upfront. And I can tell you in my last 15 years of doing real estate, not a single deal has been the same as another deal. Like there's always different things that come up, new things that you're gonna learn, and it never really is a perfect time.

Like Warren Buffet says, the best time to buy real estate was yesterday. Is that right? So, yeah. So I love that saying because it's. So true. Year in year after you look at that quote, it's always true. It's always you wished you bought sooner, you wished you bought, you know, five years ago, 10 years ago.

Like I said, if you look long term, your investment in real estate goes up. So I think all these concerns can really be overcome if you're working with an experienced and professional team that can guide and advise you properly based on your individual investment goals. And in terms of money, there's honestly so many strategies you can use to minimize your down payment on a property.

Again, working with the right team, they can give you different strategies and management wise, you can hire management companies, right? They can literally take care of everything for you. If you choose to do so, or you can do it on your own, or sometimes you can even build a team for that. And timing wise, like I said, you know, now's the best time, right?

So the key is just to get started. And, these concerns, I feel they're all normal. They're all natural. I, myself, when I first started investing 15 years ago, had the same concerns, but, you just gotta, you just gotta take action, right? And, all will be fine. 

Glory Gray: I'm often questioned why I work in particular with women. 95% of my clients happen to be women, and my answer is often that the discussions we have around money are different from the discussions that men might have around investments and money. Have you seen women approach real estate differently than men? And what unique strengths do you think that women bring to investing in real estate?

Puja Aggarwal: I love this question, and yes, absolutely. I've seen a huge difference since I started in real estate. the meetings that have come into our office, Glory, I will tell you I'm shocked by these numbers, but since I've started my brokerage, I would say 60% of the people that walk into my office are usually men.

30% of those are couples where most of the men are usually taking lead in the conversation, and only 10 to 15% are women taking lead. And, you would think in this day and age, things have changed, but no, we're in the 2020s and I still see very similar numbers. I wish women would be a lot more involved in these real estate decisions because it's so important and they need to know the ways that they can grow their wealth, be educated on different investment strategies and, you know, we all wanna retire early, but we also all want to build that generational wealth for our families, take care of them, take care of our communities, take care of our health. And I feel that through investing, it just makes it a lot easier.

Glory Gray: Do you see that women can bring certain strengths that are different to investing in real estate? 

Puja Aggarwal: Absolutely. As women, I feel we make much more informed decisions where we take a lot less risk than I have seen men take, and I feel we're a lot more proactive in our approach to investing, where we analyze situations and options.

We kind of weigh which would best fit our needs at that time. Whereas men sometimes just kind of go for the first one or two things that they see an opportunity in whereas we'll kind of analyze, okay, these are the five, six opportunities. We look at all the ‘what ifs.’ And then make our decision, which I think is a much, much better way, to approach real estate because you have to look at different exit strategies when you buy real estate, right?

You can't just bank on one exit strategy. You have to have different options because again, we all never know what's gonna happen with the economy or things that are outside of our control. So we need to have different ways on how to handle our investment. And I also think women usually look just beyond the numbers.

I've seen women, including myself, bring a more ‘whole picture’ approach to investing. It's not all about just making money. I feel a lot of us think more about community legacy, you know, alignment with our personal values and It's just a more holistic approach they take, which is beautiful and a lot more women should do that because I feel by investing, yes, you're helping yourself, like I mentioned, but you're also helping those around you.

You're helping your family build generational wealth and in the end, you know, if you do really well, you can help your community, the world, make as much impact as possible. And I think that's an amazing way to look at it. 

Glory Gray: What kind of return of the heart have you gotten from working in real estate, working with families?

Puja Aggarwal: Aw, I've gotten a huge return. We love giving back to our community through real estate. A percentage of each transaction that happens in our brokerage we give back to our community. We donate back to the food bank, there's a single women's charity that we take care of.

We also give back a lot to charities overseas, and I would love one day to open up my own schools overseas to really educate women and show how we can make a difference. But all this was honestly possible through our investing journey. And, yeah, no, I think, heart wise, it really does help you make a difference.

Glory Gray: And I've heard over and over again from scientists who study, people around the world, and they always say, if you invest in educating the women of a community, no matter how small or how large that community, you build the community up because as you say, they have a bigger picture.

They want to make a difference in the world and in their community and their families. So I love that. But some women do feel overwhelmed by market uncertainty or maybe they feel like, well, it's too late for me to start. I missed my chance. So what's the first mindset or step they need to shift, do you think?

Puja Aggarwal: That's a great question. And what I want women to realize is that you're absolutely not late.

You're actually right on time for your journey. We all have different journeys in this lifetime, and everything I believe happens for a reason. So if you haven't thought of real estate or if you haven't thought of investing before, there was a reason for that, maybe it wasn't the right time for you or the right stage of your life, but now if you are thinking this is your time to move forward. 

So, the first step is to stop waiting for the perfect situation because I'm telling you now, perfect does not exist in the investment world. You have to make calculated, educated decisions, and if you don't have much guidance, get yourself together with people that you know that are investing or, you know, get advice from a professional team and start asking questions.

Get educated. Surround yourself with people. Maybe go to a seminar that's happening locally, in your market, right? Or join a real estate group. Just things to build momentum and feel more confidence. And soon your confidence is gonna grow with experience. And like I said, till this day, I'm still learning, right?

And, you will continue to learn, but the key step is to take action. Just start. 

Glory Gray: That's awesome. And in that kind of vein, that idea, looking forward to the next 12 or 18 months, where do you see the greatest opportunities for real estate investors, especially for those who might be a little cautious or afraid to dip their toe in?

Puja Aggarwal: I've mentioned a few times, I think 2025 is gonna be one of your best buying opportunity years for investors. So even if you're a first time investor, start looking at, you know, your local public, MLS systems, right? Or where properties are listed. Start looking at what's out there, what are the prices?

Do you see price changes happening? And, just get more involved because with uncertainty comes opportunity, right? Like Warren Buffet says, you should not invest when everyone else is investing. Always invest when hardly no one else is investing as that is when you'll find the best deals. And in real estate, we often say in our industry that where you make the most money is on the buy side of the deal.

So this opportunity, I'm telling you, in the last 15 years, I've only seen a buying opportunity like this back in 2009, 2010. I don't think we'll see such low prices, but we'll start seeing properties more available in the market and slight price decreases, both on the Canadian and on the US side.

So start looking, start getting more educated, and that way when the property deal does come up, you know more to take action. 

 Right now, locally, what's happening, what we're noticing is both in Toronto and the US, many deals have begun to surface, but these are different kinds of deals. In Toronto, we're noticing a really good opportunity on the residential investment side, especially on the condo market. There are amazing assignment deals that are beginning to show up where, you know, some buyers are walking away from half of their deposit.

Prices have come down. It's a great time if you have the money set aside to invest in the condo market in Toronto. And on the US side, what we're noticing is there's not as many deals on the residential side, but we're seeing a lot more deals coming up in the commercial side, mainly to do with the five year loan renewal that I mentioned, in the beginning to you. So us and our investors are literally every day sourcing out deals, looking at them, and just getting ourselves prepared too for that buying opportunity. There are some that are coming up now, but I feel the next few months, there will be a lot more opportunity.

So keep an eye out and always remember the key thing in real estate is location, location, location. So always buy where there is population growth and a growing economy. And always keep a long-term mindset in real estate. And for the long run, you will do well. 

Glory Gray: You mentioned assignments, Puja. Can you explain how that works in Canada ? 

Puja Aggarwal: Yeah, so in Canada, and especially in the Toronto and Vancouver market, the last five years we've had a lot of pre-construction condos being built. What pre-construction means is you're buying the property before it's even built. Say two, three years ago a buyer signed the contract, they were gonna buy a two bedroom condominium for, let's say $600,000 at that time, and they put a hundred thousand dollars deposit, but now when the closing is here in 2025 because of the economy or maybe their businesses not doing well, or some personal issue, or interest rates, they might not be able to close on their unit. And they say, instead of closing, the builder gives you an opportunity to assign the unit.

And what that basically means is taking over the contract, like a new buyer will come in, take over the contract, and the new buyer will do the final closing. So it's basically assigning the contract to a new buyer without. Going into the full closing, which means getting the mortgage and firming up the property.

Glory Gray: Wow. That's a great thing to know about. 

Puja Aggarwal: Yeah, so there's a huge opportunity there in assignments right now. We are literally getting a handful a week that are excellent deals. So for first time investors, that's definitely a great opportunity. 

Glory Gray: This is awesome Puja. So, if people are in the GTA area, how can they get a hold of you and your team? 

Puja Aggarwal: So there's a few ways you can either go onto our website, which is KAPSrealtygroup.com and contact us through there, or we are on social media. We do have an Instagram page, KAPS Realty group. You can contact us through there. We're on Facebook, we're on LinkedIn, as well as YouTube. Or you can always call our office, (905) 698-0044, and we'd be happy to help anything real estate related.

Glory Gray: Thanks so much for being on the Women's Wealth Canada podcast with us today, Puja. 

Puja Aggarwal: Thank you so much, Glory. This was wonderful. 

Have you had a successful story about your financial journey that you want to share with our listeners? Send us a text through Buzzsprout! If you’re listening to this podcast on your phone, you’ll find a link in the episode notes that says “send us a text.”

I'm Glory Gray, your personal trainer for financial fitness telling you to take charge of your finances, plan for the future but most of all, enjoy today. Bye for now.

Announcer:

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice. It is not an offer to sell or buy or an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any entity or security cited. Mutual funds offered through Portfolio Strategies Corporation. Other products and services provided through Glory Gray Wealth Solutions. 

Resources in this episode:

www.KAPSRealtyGroup.com