WATERLOO - A high-profile Waterloo Region real estate broker has stepped down from the Board of Directors of Ontario's self-regulatory real estate council amid an investigation into alleged unethical behaviour.

Steve Bailey, who insists his resignation from Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) is unrelated to any allegations against him, is accused of attempting to arrange a deal for his parents that would have paid a Waterloo woman about half what her house was worth.

That house ultimately sold for $635,000 during 2017's real estate boom - $315,000 more than Bailey says the woman agreed to sell for just a few months earlier.

Bailey, who promotes himself as Waterloo Region's top-selling broker, stepped down from the RECO board last month. He said his departure, just a year into his elected term, was because it was too much of a time commitment.

The broker, whose Bailey Group out of the Re/Max Real Estate Centre in Cambridge sold more than 500 homes last year, is now awaiting the outcome of a RECO investigation into the aborted, private sale of a home on McCrae Place in Waterloo.

He denies any wrongdoing and says rival real estate agents are trying to hurt his reputation as one of the top-selling brokers in Ontario.

"There was no intent to swindle anybody," he said. "We have absolutely nothing to hide."

Bailey says his success has put a target on his back in a commission-based, competitive industry where there's a lot at stake for brokers. He's also been investigated by RECO after a complaint he fabricated multiple offers on a house to drive up the price - an accusation he firmly denies, and hasn't faced any discipline over.

Bailey, endorsed by celebrities such as John Tesh, Rascal Flatts singer Gary LeVox and TV's Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran, is trying to reassure his clients after being investigated by RECO over the failed real estate deal from December 2016.

In September 2016, Bailey went to do an evaluation of a woman's Beechwood West home. He claims the seller, Laureen St. Denis, told him she wanted $320,000 for the house - significantly less than the average price for a four-bedroom home in her neighbourhood.

St. Denis declined to be interviewed for this story. After the deal was cancelled, Bailey's lawyer sent a letter telling her to never speak about the situation, according to her family.

The broker, meanwhile, said he was just helping his B.C.-based parents, who he said wanted to buy a retirement home in Waterloo Region. Although he says they own other investment properties in the region, he insists the plan was not to flip this house for a profit.

He says he drafted an offer letter for his parents, but was not acting as their agent and did not plan to collect a commission on the sale.

St. Denis initially agreed to the private offer for the large, two-storey home on a quiet cul-de-sac. The sale was about to close when her family found out about it and became concerned.

But Bailey contends the seller was embarrassed about the state of her home and wanted a quick sale without a public listing. The home needed a lot of work, from plumbing updates to new windows, he said.

"In my opinion, it was a fair price ... But every day, what I consider to be a fair value for a home, that's up for interpretation," he said.

"She basically said to me she just wants the house sold, she wants X for it and she doesn't want it on the market. She didn't want pictures, she didn't want conventional real estate."

Bailey said he didn't want to buy the house himself, but suggested it to his parents. He said he felt the house needed $250,000 in renovations.

After lawyers' letters started flying, the sale was stopped. Bailey said he was threatened with a lawsuit if his parents didn't release the sale.

The woman found a new realtor, Doug Coulter of Keller Williams, and he sold her house for $635,000 in January, 2017 - $85,000 above asking, after just six days on the market.

Bailey's behaviour prompted several family members to complain to the Real Estate Council of Ontario, which sent an investigator to look into the issue.

But Bailey says he contacted RECO himself after someone started circulating letters to his clients, accusing him of "swindling" an "old lady."

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"I informed them out of a sense of ethics and an abundance of caution. This is merely a tempest in a teapot and, as a former director of RECO, I know they are only doing their due diligence," he said in a statement posted online after learning The Record was working on a story.

The RECO investigator, retired detective constable Jim Makris, formerly of the Toronto Police Service's fraud squad, has completed his report into the issue, but it has not been released publicly yet.

RECO said it couldn't confirm the status of that investigation, and declined to comment further. It said investigations only become public once disciplinary action is taken.

Bailey said he co-operated fully with the investigation and is bracing for some kind of penalty for a potential code of ethics violation.

"We've given them everything," he said. "What they find at the end of the day, I don't know what they're going to do. Am I concerned for my livelihood and my business? Every day."

Bailey's wife, Kat Bailey, said Waterloo's real estate market exploded in the three months between when the offer was signed and when the sale was aborted - and they can't be blamed for that.

"We can't be hung out to dry because we did something in August, and something happened in December," she said. "He was just trying to help somebody out."

Bailey says he has "no crystal ball" and had no way of knowing the home would sell for twice what was agreed to just a few months earlier.

"Everyone looks at real estate differently," he said. "When I was first there, based on what was selling, based on the amount of work needed and based on where the market was, I thought it was fair. What happens after the fact, unfortunately, I can't control."

The broker said he now regrets the whole episode and wishes he'd never stepped foot inside the home at McCrae Place.

"Everyday I act in the best interest of my clients," Bailey said.

"I'm still committed to every client that I've had, past and present, I'm committed to this region as it grows and booms and expands. And I still want to be No.1 in this market."