ARE YOU RELOCATING EMPLOYEES? If so, you might need a CVE.

Many people in the mobility industry will be familiar with a CVE report but for the uninitiated, a Comparable Value Estimate is used by an employer to establish the difference in the housing costs between a relocating employee’s current situation and what they will experience in their new community.  If the employee is being transferred from a location with a reasonably low cost of living to a city like Vancouver or Toronto, for example, they may very well experience a substantial difference in living expenses.  The CVE will quantify the cost differential allowing the employer to put the appropriate compensation in place to enable their employee to maintain a constant lifestyle after the move.
The mechanics of the report involve taking the employee’s current situation and comparing it to three similar properties in the new location.  The three “comparables” are dissected to identify any and all material differences to the employee’s current home.  Each key difference (e.g. size, number of bathrooms, parking facilities and proximity to amenities) will be assigned a dollar value and cost adjustments will be made to create a meaningful “apples to apples” comparison.  The ultimate product is hard data the employer can use to set a reasonable housing allowance.  From the employer’s point of view, they can be confident they are looking after their employees properly while at the same time knowing they aren’t overspending on the relocation benefit package.
Producing this type of analysis is a task for a seasoned real estate professional.  They must have the ability to generate focused research on different types of housing, neighbourhoods and socio-economic factors at a local level.  Possessing keen insight into every major real estate markets across Canada, they also must have access to an extensive network of contacts for intelligence gathering.
For further information on CVE reports, please contact Welcomehome Relocations.