Canadian Real Estate Association to Open Up Listings Data, Revolutionizing Home-Buying Process

Strategic Insights -

As the real estate landscape in Canada continues to evolve, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is taking a significant step forward by opening up its listings data to the public. By the end of the year, CREA's 100,000 members will give up their lock on listings data, paving the way for a proliferation of U.S.-style websites that allow users to browse enhanced listings. This move is in response to growing market pressure, as well as the Competition Bureau's criticism of the industry's restrictive data practices. The new program will share extensive data not currently available, such as days on market and previous sale prices, on a three-stage rollout schedule, starting with large brokerages like Royal LePage and Century 21.

Key Takeaways:

  • CREA's listings data will be opened up to the public by the end of the year, allowing users to browse enhanced listings.
  • The data will be shared in three stages, starting with large brokerages like Royal LePage and Century 21.
  • Agents will be required to push their listings to the national database, but can opt out of any distribution system.
  • CREA will decide which sites have access to the feed, but several companies are already positioning themselves to take advantage of the data.
  • The move is expected to spur competing websites and services that cater to real estate buyers and sellers.
  • American sites such as Zillow have exploded in popularity, credited with improving the home-buying process by putting more information in the hands of buyers.
  • The industry has welcomed the change, with Butch Langlois, CEO of zoocasa.com, stating that "any Canadian website offering this feature would be flooded with traffic overnight."
  • Phil Soper, president of Brookfield Residential Real Estate Services, believes the enhanced data will allow the company to roll out an "en Sixty per cent of users who browse Zillow lists on ZillowTM."
  • CREA's president, Gary Zalepa Jr., expects that whoever receives the feed will be able to layer features on top of it, which is "pretty revolutionary."
  • The plan to share data has been quietly worked on since CREA's annual general meeting in April.

Statistics:

  • 90 per cent of Canadian real estate sales are originated on Realtor.ca.
  • There are 100,000 CREA members and more than 100 million U.S. properties maintained on Zillow.
  • CREA members have given the organization the green light to develop the program at its annual general meeting in April.
  • 79 per cent was the initial share price increase of Zillow on its IPO.
  • It's estimated that over 60% of Zillow users browse listings on Zillow.

Sources:

  • "CREA to Open Up Listings Data" - no date available
  • Zillow.com
  • Redfin.com
  • Butch Langlois, CEO of zoocasa.com
  • Phil Soper, president of Brookfield Residential Real Estate Services
  • Gary Zalepa Jr., CREA director and chairman of the association's MLS Technology Council
  • Cliff Peskin, cofounder at buzzbuzzhomes.com
  • Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)
  • Canadian Competition Bureau
  • The Toronto Real Estate Board
  • Wall Street Journal