Leave it to Zillow to be the first to go north of the border big time. The Seattle-based juggernaut has produced +50,000 Canadian listings of for sale and/or lease properties from its partnerships with Canadian franchises and brokerages. These listings are currently being rolled out to US users of Zillow’s website and mobile app.
Properties in the Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto markets are Zillow’s current offerings. Users can search those properties by postal code, city or province now. More refined neighborhood searches as are common for US properties are soon expected. Montreal listings, as well as other markets throughout Canada, are expected sooner rather than later as well.
Also coming soon is a Canadian version of Zillow’s wildly successful Premier Agent advertising program. As for Premier Agents in the US, Zillow will include the agent’s contact information, profiled background and links to the agent’s respective brokerage and/or franchise website.
Alex Fiander, Zillow’s communications manager, indicated that the company’s expansion into Canadian property listings was methodical, disciplined and focused on developing strong partnerships with multiple real estate firms operating in Canada. Those partners include
- Century 21 Canada
- Right at Home Realty
- RE/Max Ultimate Realty
- Exit Realty Corporation International
- Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Signature Service
- Core Assets Realty
- Greater Property Group
Additionally, Scottsdale Arizona’s Realty Executives International has agreed to send listings from its Canadian franchises to Zillow’s mobile app and website.
Canadian listings will look like American listings…displays of a home’s list price, property description, photos and available home facts. Pricing is to be presented in both Canadian and US dollars.
Errol Samuelson, Zillow’s Vancouver-based chief industry development officer, has dreamed of Zillow’s presence in Canada since he began working with the company some years ago. Samuelson said, “…now, millions of home shoppers who use Zillow every day have an easy way to see Canadian homes for sale.”
Currently, more than 100M non-US viewers visit Zillow’s site for information about homes for sale. No doubt those viewership numbers will rise exponentially with Zillow’s expansion into Canada.
