Episode 25: The Role of REALTOR.ca in Modern Real Estate

In the mid-90s, the Internet ushered in a new era in how consumers buy and sell real estate. Today, one platform is more popular than any other in Canada.

So, how did we get here? And what’s next?

On Episode 25 of REAL TIME, we’re joined by Patrick Pichette, Vice President of REALTOR.ca, and Andrew Jackson, Head of Business Development at the Canadian Real Estate Association. We explore the evolution of listing sites and how REALTOR.ca has staked its claim as a leading platform beyond listings.

We also discuss the future of Canadian real estate, new innovations on the horizon, and REALTOR.ca’s trajectory to further support REALTORS® and their clients.

Transcript

Erin Davis: Welcome to REAL TIME, the podcast for and about REALTORS® presented by the Canadian Real Estate Association. I'm Erin Davis and I'm delighted to be your host for these informative, enlightening and often groundbreaking discussions about everything going on in your world now, how far we've come, and equally importantly, what's around the corner. Let's dig in. REALTOR.ca is Canada's most popular and trusted real estate platform developed and operated by CREA.

REALTOR.ca helps REALTORS® and their listings achieve greater exposure while providing an easier, more accessible experience for property buyers, sellers, and renters. It's more than that. On this episode of REAL TIME, we're going to explore the evolution of listing sites and how REALTOR.ca has staked its claim as a leading platform beyond listings. We'll look at the future of Canada's real estate landscape, new innovations on the horizon, and how REALTOR.ca will continue to add value to best serve REALTORS® and their clients. We are so pleased today to have with us two people who know REALTOR.ca inside out. Let's welcome them here on REAL TIME.

Patrick Pichette: Hi, Erin. Patrick Pichette, Vice President, REALTOR.ca. I'm the Vice President at CREA who is responsible for our technology offering which obviously includes our flagship product REALTOR.ca. This month is my 10th year anniversary with this wonderful organization.

Erin: Wow. The changes you've seen, and we'll be talking about those for sure. Andrew, sir, hi.

Andrew Jackson: Hey, nice to meet you. Thanks for having us, Erin. I'm Andrew Jackson, I'm the Head of Business Development at CREA. I myself joined about three years ago, and I primarily focus on developing partnerships and commercialization strategies.

Erin: Now, before we get too far into our conversation today, can we clarify the difference between an MLS system and REALTOR.ca? Patrick, you can lead us off into this.

Patrick: That's a great place to start, Erin. It's a question that comes up a lot even within our membership. Let's take a second talk about what is an MLS system. Without getting too technical, an MLS system is a cooperative selling system that is operated by a local real estate board or association. The Ottawa Real Estate Board operates an MLS system. Victoria, where you live, Erin, they operate an MLS system. Some are local and some are province-wide like in Nova Scotia, for example.

As a member of a board, you get access to an MLS system and you can share your listings with other REALTORS®. The MLS systems also contain all sorts of detailed information and tools that are really geared towards the REALTORS®. REALTOR.ca on the other hand is not an MLS system. This is where people get confused. REALTOR.ca is a national listing portal where consumers can view the listing info that is stored in these various systems across the country. Essentially, every REALTOR® represented listing across Canada, residential, commercial, and even some rentals as long as they are shared within this local cooperative, will appear on REALTOR.ca. It's REALTOR.ca's role to engage consumers and be that one-stop research destination if that makes sense.

Erin: Yes, it does. Andrew, that's really where you come in, this sort of the consumer-facing angle of the whole thing. Is that correct?

Andrew: Yes. Well, I focus primarily on sourcing partnerships that are really going to enhance the experience for consumers on REALTOR.ca but also deepen the value to our members. Any partnership that we entertain, the first and foremost question is really where does this contribute to member value? What is this doing for the member? You can imagine that our phone rings off the hook because of how popular REALTOR.ca is, and oftentimes, people are like, "Yes, man, we'd love to put our thing there up on REALTOR.ca. Yet, often actually, those calls don't really have a clear value proposition to our members, so they don't really go anywhere. A lot of them have, so we've been able to bring a number of exciting partnerships and consumer experiences to bear.

Erin: Can you give us an example?

Andrew: Yes. Patrick, I'm just thinking of all the things that we've been adding even over the course of the pandemic, to the viewing experience. I know you want to touch on a couple of those.

Patrick: Yes, I think just really quickly one that comes to mind is the partnership with TD Bank. We know that consumers will visit various sources of data before making any decision. Actually, there's some research that indicates that the average consumer will look at 11 different sources before making a decision. We know that, yes, they're coming to REALTOR.ca. They're probably looking at other real estate sites. They're going to their bank website to see how much they can afford. They're going to social media. They're going to look up editorial content on sites like The Globe and Mail and so on.

The beauty about a partnership like TD Bank, in this case, when a consumer visits the site to go find out how much they can afford, and they do that by using their mortgage affordability calculator. Once they get that ideal range of a mortgage, TD will then show them listings from REALTOR.ca that fall within that range. The idea is that whether a consumer is on TD or Scotiabank, which is another partner, or Kijiji or The Globe and Mail, or they're on Microsoft Bing or on social media, that the information that they're seeing is consistent and that it's up-to-date. That's why we value these partnerships very much. It helps give credibility to that REALTOR®, -generated information.

Erin: When we come back, how REALTOR.ca came to be? I'm sure you've heard the old saying that charity begins at home, and no one knows or exemplifies this better than the people we trust to sell and find our homes. You, the REALTOR®, by volunteering and raising funds across the country, REALTORS® play meaningful roles in the communities where you work and live. Let us know how you're giving back by sharing your story at REALTORSCare.ca, won't you?

Now, back to Patrick and Andrew on REAL TIME. Gentlemen, how did most consumers navigate listings prior to the advent of REALTOR.ca? Patrick, let's go back in the Wayback Machine and when did this start? Was it like renderings of condos on cave walls?

Patrick: Almost.

Erin: What are we looking at?

Patrick: Almost. I love the fact that you're going there because I love telling the story. Before REALTOR.ca was launched in 1995, there was no single source website in Canada for real estate information. You had to scroll through individual brokerage websites to see what was available and keep in mind that we're talking about the early '90s. There was very few brokerages that had websites. Really, the other option was to go directly to a brokerage office or even to the mall to see those one-pagers that are pinned up against the wall. I think we still see those one-pagers today, but back then, that was your best option. That and driving around, and looking for lawn signs.

Going back to 1995, the leadership back then made the really wise decision to launch a national website where consumers could see what was available in the market. Regardless of which broker represented the listing or which franchisor was doing their promotion, consumers now had a single source to access that information. However, the site was very primitive back in 1995. Most listings did not even include a single photo. Most listings did not even include an address. Address was not a mandatory piece of information for REALTOR.ca. You would literally have some listings that would have no photo, no address. It would be a message like, "I have a listing, a detached home, 1500 square feet, three bedrooms, call me for more information." That was the model back then.

Erin: If I understand this correctly, it's become the obverse if you will because, in 1995, REALTORS® were driving consumers to listings, but now, as we see some 27 years later, it's listings driving to REALTORS®. Is that about right, Andrew?

Andrew: Absolutely. REALTOR.ca is honestly one of the greatest pieces of member value that CREA delivers to the REALTORS® of Canada. How that translates is in enormous amounts of leads generated as consumers continue to come to REALTOR.ca. The listing agent has always clearly displayed alongside a listing. Our mission there is to generate leads for our members. It really has created this great virtuous circle scenario.

Erin: What differentiates the platform from other real estate sites, Andrew?

Andrew: The way that I frame that question is actually to reflect what I'm hearing from the partners t