In Canada, we are less vulnerable to tech Disruption…..

Canada is a special place.  As we celebrated our 152nd Birthday this past weekend (though indigenous people have inhabited this land for much longer), I feel so grateful for this amazing country we call home.

Our culture is one of inclusion, acceptance, and collaboration and while our track record is far from perfect, we are moving towards a better place all the time.  Reconciliation with our first nations is evidence of our willingness to grow, improve and challenge our long-standing biases.

This collaboration is our strength and this is true in the real estate industry as well.   Realtor.ca is our magic bullet in the fight against real estate disruptors.   Realtor.ca is our real estate platform, and every property listed through a real estate broker in Canada appears on realtor.ca. (or should if the agents are looking out for the best interest of their client). This is the kind of cooperation and collaboration that the US tech giants are spending billions trying to assemble and we already have it!

Having all of the properties available for sale listed on one platform is great for the consumer and it is the consumer we serve.

In the US and other countries, there are hundreds of platforms listing properties and consumers need to search several different websites to get all of the listings that are relevant to them.  This creates a hugely competitive field where different platforms are at war with each other to get more listings and therefore more eyes.  It causes a maelstrom in the industry and doesn’t serve the consumer.  Who wins this race in the US will own an unbelievably valuable piece of national infrastructure that will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

And we already have this in Canada – and as REALTORS, we own it.  Our MLS and our REALTOR.Ca is the envy of the real estate world and if we want to save organized real estate in Canada, we need to protect this amazing asset.

To help protect our industry we need to support great people in continuing to get involved with organized Real Estate and maintain the high bar of Realtor.ca and the many other initiatives that set Canada apart.