More Ontario Realtors now have access to more data as the PropTx MLS database expands to include listings from most boards in the province. 

PropTx, a wholly-owned and for-profit subsidiary of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), promises members access to a centralized MLS, a long-standing priority among Realtors, according to TRREB CEO John DiMichele. 

“This has been a strategic focus, and through the creation of PropTx, was a key mandate for the organization,” says DiMichele. “The participating boards and associations were essential collaborators, recognizing that working together benefits all Realtors. A unified MLS database ensures consistency and continuity as it matures.”

Participating boards and associations currently have access to the PropTx MLS system, with the final stages of data transition underway. DiMichele explains several enhancements are expected in the first quarter of 2025, including expanded mandatory fields and the integration of pre-populated external data sets. These updates are based on feedback from participating boards and new users of the platform.

Participating boards and associations

The following boards and associations are part of the PropTx MLS collaboration:

• Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (including the former Brampton Real Estate Board)
• Central Lakes Association of Realtors (including Durham, Quinte, Northumberland, Peterborough, and Kawartha Lakes)
• London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors
• Niagara Association of Realtors (NAR)
• Kingston & Area Real Estate Association (KAREA)
• Timmins, Cochrane & Timiskaming District Association of Realtors
• Ottawa Real Estate Board
• Cornwall & District Real Estate Board
• Renfrew County Real Estate Board
• Rideau-St Lawrence Real Estate Board
• Oakville, Milton & District Real Estate Board (OMDREB)
• One Point Association of Realtors (formerly Lakelands, Guelph & District, Huron Perth, and Grey Bruce Owen Sound)
• Woodstock, Ingersoll Tillsonburg & Area Association of Realtors (WITAAR)
• North Bay & Area Realtors Association (NBARA)

DiMichele explains that through PropTx, members of these associations have access to more data than ever before, and that will expand as new features are introduced.

“The move towards a single MLS database creates incredible efficiencies for Realtors, both in the operation of their business as well as in the cost of operating their business,” DiMichele says. “The move towards a single MLS database reduces the need for interboarding MLS listings as well as paying for multiple real estate board and association memberships.”

TRREB’s CEO calls PropTx a for-Realtors-by-Realtors solution, “The long-term strategic goal of PropTx is to continue to offer a range of best-in-class tools, insights, and applications to improve the transaction experience for realtors and the clients they serve efficiently and effectively.”

Impact on ITSO

More boards transitioning to PropTx marks a shift for the Information Technology Systems of Ontario (ITSO), a not-for-profit corporation established in 2020 with the primary goal of creating a unified MLS.

Geoff Halford, ITSO chair, says the organization was initially created to increase access to MLS data through the operation of a regional MLS System when associations were not ready to amalgamate but wanted to share data. Halford says this purpose may no longer be relevant.

Member boards such as KAREA, NAR, OMDREB, NBARA, WITAAR, and OnePoint are leaving or have left ITSO in favour of PropTx.

Halford acknowledges the evolving landscape and its potential impact. “We are proud of the success we had creating a regional system that at its peak brought together 23 real estate associations and more than 24,000 users who had access to data from 29 of the real estate associations in the province, but we also understand that the landscape is quickly changing,” he said, adding  ITSO remains committed to supporting its current member associations, ensuring that the system continues to meet their needs.

“We are disappointed that a solution could not be arranged with TRREB that would have fostered competition in the MLS services market…” Geoff Halford, ITSO chair

ITSO will operate its MLS system for its remaining three member boards, the Barrie & District Association of Realtors (BDAR), Brantford Regional Real Estate Association (BRREA), and Cornerstone Association of Realtors, for the next two years under the current MLS Services Agreement.

“We will be reviewing what is in the best interests of our members and the future of ITSO over the course of the next two years,” says Halford.”There are other MLS Systems in Ontario and in other provinces that operate with far fewer users than ITSO, so we know such a system is viable, but we also understand the political pressure that our remaining members face to solve the problem of fragmented data access.

“We are disappointed that a solution could not be arranged with TRREB that would have fostered competition in the MLS services market and enabled all realtors in the province to access all the MLS data they need in the system of their choice.” 

Halford adds, “It is especially disheartening to see Realtors who formerly used the ITSO system complain on social media about the quality and quantity of listing content they now have access to in their new MLS System, as ITSO and its members prided themselves on building a comprehensive database of detailed and accurate MLS listing content.”

Industry perspectives

Paul Czan, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, says the board joined PropTx last fall.

Czan explains, “This new platform promises a much better experience with more data readily available. Faster communication and smoother transactions, in a sense. Another thing is we’re able to have input on the system.”

OREB’s president has high hopes for PropTx’s impact.  “I think it’s going to be a platform that’s going to bring stability and consistency amongst a bit of a shifting landscape in our industry, meaning that Realtors can be assured that they can have access to the same quality data as their counterparts in all the other regions.”

Editor’s note: The original article stated that the Ottawa Real Estate Board had left ITSO for PropTx. The board was not an ITSO member and the article has been updated to reflect that.

For years, Ontario’s real estate boards were the gatekeepers. Need MLS access? You joined the local board—no questions, no choices. But that’s history. Today, with most Ontario boards subscribing to PropTx, MLS services are no longer region-locked. Instead, the majority of Ontario Realtors are or will be soon, operating on the same shared MLS platform. 

Shared MLS access redefines membership value

This shift fundamentally changes the equation: the core value every board used to offer—exclusive MLS access—is now a standard feature across (most of) the province. So the question becomes: what else do boards offer, and is it worth the price? If boards want to keep members, they’ll need to bring something new to the table. They have to compete.

This competition should mean better pricing, improved services and tangible value. And it’s not just Realtors who will benefit; brokerages can too. In a standardized MLS world, brokerages now have the option to choose boards that best match their cost and service priorities, creating material savings for their agents. This choice gives brokerages a new edge in recruitment, allowing them to align with boards that deliver the best return on dues. In a market as tight as Ontario’s, this competitive choice is a recruiting advantage that’s as valuable as it is overdue.

Power through choice

But competition also empowers individual members. Not happy with the direction of your board? Feeling like your concerns are ignored, or that your dues aren’t delivering value? You no longer need to wait for quorum or for your brokerage to make the call—you can vote with your feet. The ability to choose a board that better aligns with your priorities creates a new level of accountability and responsiveness that was unheard of under the old system.

At the same time, this level of choice exposes the weaknesses in the current multi-board structure. Despite the increased pressure to compete, many boards are doubling down on costly mergers and amalgamations that fail to deliver meaningful improvements in service or value. If the goal is to provide better options for members, shouldn’t these efforts focus on addressing redundancies and inefficiencies at their roots?

And here’s the issue: despite the shifting landscape, only one board in Ontario seems truly prepared to compete at scale—TRREB. That is to say that there is likely not a board in Ontario that can offer competitive pricing even if all that is offered is the most basic of services. If most boards aren’t in the game to win, why are they spending valuable resources on mergers and amalgamations that won’t increase their competitiveness? At what point do realtors have the right to ask: where’s my money going, and why isn’t my board focused on delivering more value? 

Mergers without meaningful results

When I have this discussion with clients—whether broker/owners or franchise corporate offices—I’m often met with concerns that autonomy or culture is at stake, that a merger risks “losing the board’s unique character.” But let’s be clear: mergers and acquisitions are meant to add value, not size. If you’re a member of OnePoint, Central Lakes or any of the Eastern Ontario Boards, it’s fair to ask—what value is being added by these changes? Are these amalgamations truly making boards more competitive, is your dollar stretching any further when it comes to providing you value in your real estate business or are they just merging to delay the inevitable? Without measurable improvements, these mergers are little more than costly reorganizations, creating larger, equally uncompetitive boards that fail to meet members’ evolving needs. 

The concerns around autonomy and culture aren’t unique to large mergers; these challenges arise in smaller amalgamations, too. Boards are pouring resources into combining forces without a meaningful plan to compete on a broader scale, leading to expensive exercises that result in larger, but still uncompetitive, boards. If these mergers aren’t driving efficiencies, improving services or creating real value, they’re ultimately a waste of members’ dues.

The case for a single-board model

In the for-profit world, mergers are strategic, and designed to increase efficiency, expand market reach, or add unique capabilities. Successful acquisitions often preserve the best parts of a company’s culture and structure—consider Berkshire Hathaway, which buys companies but allows them to retain significant independence, or Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, where cultural preservation was a priority. These models thrive because they combine strengths without losing what made each company valuable in the first place. Ontario’s boards could—and should—take a page from these playbooks, focusing on creating competitive value and preserving unique benefits instead of just merging for the sake of consolidation.

If mergers aren’t solving the core issues—redundancy, inefficiency, and lack of value for members—it’s worth asking if there’s a better way forward. Rather than continuing to consolidate small, struggling boards into larger but still inefficient entities, consider a fundamentally different approach: moving toward a single-board model.

Provinces like Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and PEI have demonstrated the benefits of unified governance. A single, consolidated board eliminates duplicative costs and invests resources directly into what matters most for members—training, advocacy, and technology. This structure creates a streamlined system that serves the entire province’s interests while maintaining local insights and autonomy where it counts.

The business of boards and a call for accountability 

With one board, Ontario realtors could also overcome challenges tied to vote distribution and representation. Consider last year’s ORWP vote through OREA—a win that left many members questioning how the outcome was reached. A system incorporating referendum tools could have provided a broader and more equitable resolution. Unified governance simplifies decision-making, ensuring every member has a clear and equal voice in shaping the industry’s future.

The shift toward competition places a new and necessary responsibility on associations: they must operate efficiently. Just as businesses must streamline operations to stay competitive, boards must be prepared to deliver greater value and service—faster, smarter, and with a focus on real results. The boards that can’t meet this standard will inevitably be left behind, while those that embrace this challenge set a new bar for value and relevance in the industry.

Ultimately, organized real estate is a business. Realtors owe a fiduciary duty to clients, and our boards should behave no differently. Why should realtors accept less from their boards than they give to their clients? Realtors deserve boards that focus on tangible value, evolving to meet real needs rather than clinging to outdated structures or protecting internal interests.

Ontario’s real estate boards are at a crossroads. Realtors and brokerages deserve value, transparency, and innovation—not outdated systems. It’s time for boards to compete, consolidate or step aside for a streamlined provincial model that better serves its members.

The Nova Scotia Association of Realtors (NSAR) recently announced it’s the first MLS system in Canada to launch mandatory information fields that help prospective homebuyers determine the accessibility and adaptability of a home to meet their mobility needs.

The fields went live on June 5 and include door and hallway widths, bathroom dimensions, turning radius of kitchen and bathrooms, types of entries into the property and the ability to note any special features of the home.

Over 2,100 realtors have had mandatory training to learn how to take proper measurements related to home features and their suitability for accessibility needs.

Partners and support

“With the most common barriers people with mobility issues face being in the built environment, NSAR worked with several key partners to look at how we could make a difference in searching for an adaptable home. Everyone’s definition of an accessible home is different, so adding more information to listings will enable people to determine if a home is adaptable for them,” Bonnie Wigg, director of NSAR’s MLS system, explains.

NSAR partnered with and received input from Atlantic Accessibility, Canadian Real Estate Association, Rick Hansen Foundation, Nova Scotia Community College and members of the disability community in Nova Scotia. Project funding was provided by NSAR and The Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage.

NSAR president, Andrew Gilroy, says, “NSAR recognizes the support of the Province of Nova Scotia. We are pleased to work in partnership with the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage to deliver this project which will benefit all Nova Scotians.”

In December 2023, over 100 MLS, association, proptech and brokerage leaders from 32 countries embarked upon Paris, France, for the inaugural International MLS Forum.

Spearheaded by the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) and the European Association of Real Estate Professions (CEPI), the forum was organized to discuss the future of global real estate but primarily focused on the starting block for this transition: a common data standard creating a unified “language” of real estate regardless of borders.

That standard, of course, is the RESO Data Dictionary, which is the standard in North America and has expanded into over 20 countries. 

Current global data landscape

In most countries besides the US and Canada, real estate markets are loosely regulated and have virtually no centralized data repositories or standards. Generally speaking, most brokers focus on hyper-local markets that cover neighborhoods rather than cities. That local focus, coupled with the fact that buyer and seller broker cooperation is the exception, not the norm, limits the need for robust data repositories.

However, as it tends to do and has been proven by other industries, the internet has rewritten the dynamics of the real estate profession by empowering the consumer with more information and the desire to have as much information as possible to make the best decision. 

With consumers demanding more market data and information and the opportunity to leverage new technologies to scale a broker’s business, the global real estate industry is waking up to the idea of data-powered tools and resources as a critical component of their business. 

Building with a unified global mindset

With real estate consumers demanding more insights into the biggest purchase of their lives, and the emergence of proptech companies bringing valuable process and efficiency improvements for both consumers and agents, MLSs and associations across the globe are taking essential steps to ensure that their respective markets are organized in a way that benefits all stakeholders. 

As those conversations ramp up, the natural tendency is to build these MLSs with standards that best fit their hyper-local market, without thinking about how they fit into the “bigger picture” of integrating into regional, provincial/state, national and international data systems. Building highly bespoke and disparate MLSs will bring about highly disparate and isolated markets, leaving stakeholders to navigate many different platforms, interfaces and systems to shop and find real estate. 

Building an MLS using a comprehensive and globally accepted data standard creates an agile framework that allows even the smallest real estate markets to plug into the global property search landscape and take advantage of leading innovations in the industry.  

The importance of a single data standard

First and foremost, a single data standard fosters transparency. Imagine a world where a property’s specifications, transaction history and market trends seamlessly flow across borders, accessible to consumers and professionals alike. Such transparency breeds trust, empowering buyers and sellers with the insights they need to navigate complex markets confidently.

A unified standard propels broker-to-broker collaboration. By speaking the same “language of real estate data,” brokers can effortlessly share information, streamline transactions and expand their networks across geographic boundaries. This collaboration transcends competition, enriching the industry’s collective knowledge and enhancing the client experience.

Perhaps most importantly, a single data standard catalyzes industry innovation. With a solid foundation of accessible and standardized data, proptech companies can efficiently develop cutting-edge solutions that revolutionize real estate, further empowering consumers and real estate professionals. In other words, with all real estate data built under the same standard, proptech companies can build a single product with identical inputs in every market abiding by the standard. 

Adopting a single data standard is the surprisingly simple answer to the complex challenges facing the global real estate industry. It’s a necessary first step in guiding us toward a future where real estate borders blur, collaboration flourishes and innovation knows no bounds. As MLSs, associations and stakeholders embrace this paradigm shift, they pave the way for a more transparent, interconnected and dynamic real estate ecosystem that empowers consumer transparency while opening up new business opportunities for brokers around the world. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the work to create a single standard, visit the International MLS Forum’s website and stay tuned for the 2024 International MLS Forum announcement.

The suit names CREA along with several board, association and corporate defendants (including specific brokerages and franchisors).

A ‘Canada-wide version of the Sunderland claim’

CREA goes on to describe the claim as “essentially a Canada-wide version of the ongoing class action in Sunderland v. CREA et. al. and was filed by the same legal counsel. The only association defendants named in the Sunderland claim are CREA and the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), while the new McFall claim names a number of boards and associations across Canada but does not include TRREB.”

Like Sunderland, the McFall claim was filed on behalf of anyone who sold property on any of the named defendant board and association’s MLS systems since March 11, 2010.

Allegation: Cooperating commission rules & defendants’ actions result in anti-competitive, price-fixing conspiracy

The communication states both claims allege that “rules requiring home sellers to offer a cooperating commission to prospective buyer brokerages when listing a property on an MLS system are anti-competitive and have harmed home sellers in the form of higher commissions, even though the cooperating commission is the subject of negotiation and the amount offered can be any amount except zero.

The allegation is that these rules, together with actions by the corporate defendants to implement and enforce those rules, amount to a conspiracy to fix and control buyer brokerage commissions and insulate them from competition, contrary to the Competition Act.”

“We consider the allegations to be without merit and will continue to vigorously defend against them”

CREA explains that “MLS systems, including the Cooperation Pillar, are efficient and effective cooperative marketplaces that bring together realtors acting on behalf of Canadian home sellers and buyers, and are both pro-competitive and pro-consumer.”

In a statement provided to REM, CREA spokesperson, Pierre Leduc, says this article “covered a number of important points in these lawsuits. Given that the courts haven’t heard any arguments, there isn’t much more we can add at this time. 

That said, we consider the rules that frame cooperation between members as well as MLS systems result in efficient and effective cooperative marketplaces that are both pro-competitive and pro-consumer. We consider the allegations to be without merit and will continue to vigorously defend against them.”

Defendants: CREA, several Canadian boards and associations, but not TRREB

Aside from CREA, the defendants listed in the McFall suit are:

Regional real estate board defendants

1. Newfoundland and Labrador Association of REALTORS® 
2. Prince Edward Island Real Estate Association 
3. Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® 
4. Greater Moncton REALTORS® 
5. Real Estate Board of the Fredericton Area, Inc.
6. Saint John Real Estate Board 
7. Québec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers
8. Bancroft and Area Association of REALTORS®
9. Barrie and District Association of REALTORS®
10. Brampton Real Estate Board 
11. Brantford Regional Real Estate Association
12. Cambridge Association of REALTORS®
13. Central Lakes Association of REALTORS® 
14. Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS® 
15. Cornwall and District Real Estate Board 
16. Durham Region Association of REALTORS® 
17. Guelph and District Association of REALTORS® 
18. Huron Perth Association of REALTORS® 
19. Kawartha Lakes Real Estate Association 
20. Kingston and Area Real Estate Association 
21. Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® 
22. Lakelands Association of REALTORS® 
23. London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® 
24. Mississauga Real Estate Board 
25. Niagara Association of REALTORS® 
26. North Bay Real Estate Board 
27. The Northumberland Hills Association of REALTORS® 
28. Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board 
29. Ottawa Real Estate Board 
30. Parry Sound and Area Association of Realtors® 
31. Peterborough and the Kawarthas Association of REALTORS® 
32. Quinte & District Association of REALTORS® Inc.
33. REALTORS® Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound
34. REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington
35. Renfrew County Real Estate Board 
36. Rideau-St. Lawrence Real Estate Board
37. Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board
38. Sault Ste. Marie Real Estate Board
39. Simcoe and District Real Estate Board
40. Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS®
41. Sudbury Real Estate Board
42. Thunder Bay Real Estate Board
43. Tillsonburg District Real Estate Board
44. Timmins, Cochrane & Timiskaming Districts Association of REALTORS®
45. Waterloo Regional Association of REALTORS®
46. Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS®
47. Woodstock-Ingersoll & District Real Estate Board
48. Brandon Area REALTORS®
49. Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board
50. Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association
51. Alberta West REALTORS® Association
52. Calgary Real Estate Board
53. Central Alberta REALTORS® Association
54. Fort McMurray REALTORS®
55. Grande Prairie & Area Association of REALTORS®
56. Lethbridge & District Association of REALTORS®
57. Medicine Hat Real Estate Board Co-operative Ltd.
58. REALTORS® Association of Edmonton
59. REALTORS® Association of Lloydminster & District
60. REALTORS® Association of South-Central Alberta
61. Association of Interior Realtors
62. BC Northern Real Estate Board
63. Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board
64. Fraser Valley Real Estate Board
65. Kamloops & District Real Estate Association
66. Kootenay Association of REALTORS®
67. Powell River Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board
68. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
69. Vancouver Island Real Estate Board
70. Victoria Real Estate Board
71. Yellowknife Real Estate Board
72. Yukon Real Estate Association

Brokerage defendants

73. CIR Realty
74. eXp Realty
75. MacDonald Real Estate Group Inc.
76. Maxwell Capital Realty
77. Oakwyn Realty Ltd.
78. Real Estate Professionals Inc.
79. Royal Pacific Realty Corp.
80. Team 3000 Realty Ltd.

Franchisor defendants

81. Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership
82. Coldwell Banker Canada
83. Exit Realty Corp. International (Canada)
84. HomeLife Realty Services Inc.
85. Keller Williams Realty Canada
86. MacDonald Real Estate Group Inc.
87. Max Wright Real Estate Corporation (Sotheby’s)
88. RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada, Inc. o/a RE/MAX Integra
89. Residential Income Fund L.P.
90. Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd.

Yesterday, the Realtor Cooperation policy became effective. Created by the Realtor Code’s Duty of Cooperation (Article 30), the policy’s amendment will limit how exclusive listings can be marketed. It’s intended to improve professionalism and collaboration in Canadian real estate.

The changes

For publicly marketed residential properties, the policy obliges realtors to place listings on MLS within the time frame their board or association states — up to three days, unless an exemption applies.

Public marketing in this context means representing a listing to anyone not directly affiliated in a business capacity with the listing brokerage or office. This excludes direct, individual communication with a person or agent.

Realtors are also required to inform seller clients of the benefits of marketing their listing on MLS. If the seller decides against this, it must be confirmed to their agent in writing.

This change received over 80 per cent support by voting delegates from Canada’s boards and associations at the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)’s AGM in April 2023.

The policy exempts new construction listings in developments with multiple property or unit developments, commercial properties and rentals.

Background and reception

An article on CREA’s website states that “efficient and effective cooperation using MLS systems maximizes opportunities for realtors to bring together home buyers and sellers, promote the value of realtors as trusted partners and strengthen the realtor and MLS brands.”

The policy amendment happened after months of consultations with boards and associations across the country. There was quite a bit of industry pushback on the original policy (proposed in fall 2022), and CREA’s board of directors approved the revised policy in March last year.

Some in the industry have been concerned about unintended consequences and limitations to consumer choice, while others, including TRREB, support the change.

Enforcement and penalties for non-compliance

Policy enforcement will be the responsibility of local real estate boards and associations. CREA’s website states “the new ‘Duty of Cooperation’ provides the authority to enforce realtor cooperation under existing Realtor Code enforcement procedures.”

It also states that the association’s bylaws and rules were amended in 2020 to “give CREA the power to directly enforce the Code against realtors” and that the real estate practice “gives CREA broad powers to levy sanctions, where appropriate.”

The sanctions listed include:

• Suspending, restricting or terminating a realtor’s license to use and display CREA’s trademarks (for example, REALTOR® or MLS®)
• Suspending, restricting or terminating a realtor’s access to CREA services including such things as CREA WEBForms®, the REALTOR.ca DDF® and REALTOR.ca
• Imposing any other restrictions that CREA determines is appropriate.

Information Technology Systems Ontario (ITSO) held its second province-wide meeting on November 26 to discuss a few options for increasing access to MLS data. The organization warns that a data divide is hurting Ontario realtors.

ITSO, a not-for-profit corporation, was established in 2020 to provide Ontario realtors with seamless access to complete and accurate MLS listing data and technology. 

Allison McLure, executive director of ITSO, says it was a really great meeting. Co-facilitated by Trevor Koot, CEO of the British Columbia Real Estate Associate and Alan Tennant, CEO of the Calgary Real Estate Board, the meeting began with brokers beginning the session by explaining the problem.

The data issue

“The reason we were there is because they’ve been really frustrated having to manage multiple sets of MLS rules and data input forms and different professional standards processes. Also, they don’t have the data they need all in one system,” she mentions. “And it’s hurting them.”

McLure indicated there was concern expressed about it also affecting the reputation of realtors. “Consumers see all information on realtor.ca and VOWs and they can’t understand why realtors don’t have the data they need. That was the problem. And that’s what we’re trying to solve.”

Proposed solutions

Proposed solutions were made through presentations by Corelogic and PropTx. The meeting was held in Toronto with 23 boards from the province represented.

ITSO operates a regional MLS system for 15 of its member real estate associations in the province. McLure says its members have wanted ITSO and the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board to share data for years now. 

“We have had task forces in the past that negotiated with TRREB but those resulted in concerns about a lack of transparency. ITSO hosted the meeting (on Sunday) so that the conversations had by the leaders of the associations would be out in the open and heard by everyone in attendance.”

She says the Corelogic solution would be to make a shared pool of data and centralized database, and then push all that data back into the various MLS systems. So, no one would have to change MLS systems — they would just have all the data in their native system.

McLure added that the PropTx option was for all the boards in the province to start using its blockchain-enabled MLS platform and adopt its rules.

A divide across boards

“Those are the two solutions on the table. We went around the room and had some very honest and open conversations. TRREB made it very clear that they will not share their MLS data with any of the other boards in the province, as they feel that puts their data at risk,” she explains.

“We didn’t necessarily all agree because we feel our MLS systems have protection as well, but we at least now know TRREB’s stance. I don’t think they’ve ever clearly said that before. So, with the Corelogic solution off the table for TRREB that only leaves one viable option if we really want to solve this problem … and that’s everyone switching to PropTx.”

McLure said some of the boards expressed interest in learning more about PropTx while others raised concerns about the platform’s governance. 

“So, I think there was clearly a divide in the room … Each of those boards now has to go back to their board table and have this discussion and see if they want to move to PropTx or if they want to continue kind of status quo and focus on other problems,” she says.

“I think definitely there will be some more people that will move to PropTx if they feel that’s the way the future is going, and I think there’s going to be others that won’t.”

Impact on consumers

For consumers, McLure indicates the current situation is inefficient as it’s forcing some realtors to put listings in three different systems. This ends up costing the real estate industry time and money, which is passed on to consumers.

“There’s also a sense of people wanting to get past the politics that exist and to solve the problem,” she adds.

There are seven MLS systems in Ontario and different data in all of these systems. McLure says realtors need access to all of this MLS data to fulfill their fiduciary duties to their clients, to do their jobs and to appear professional in the eyes of consumers. 

On November 26, Information Technology Systems Ontario (ITSO) is holding a second Ontario-wide meeting for Ontario real estate association leaders to discuss options for increasing access to MLS data.

The organization believes “realtors should have access to all data (from the province’s seven MLS systems) so that they can do their jobs and appear professional in the eyes of consumers.” Allison McClure, executive director, feels this access will improve professionalism in the industry along with the profession’s public image.

Options for increased data access

A solution for access to province-wide data will be presented by Corelogic. PropTx will also present its MLS services as another solution.

These options include allowing each association to maintain its own corporate identity, local presence and ownership of its data. ITSO believes there’s no need for associations to be forced into or rush into amalgamations simply to gain access to data.

The call to action

The organization is seeking support from the leaders of Ontario’s realtor associations. Its hope, as a result of the meeting, is for the industry to have an action plan that will provide all Ontario realtors with the MLS data access they need.

Representation so far

The meeting will be co-facilitated by Trevor Koot, CEO of the British Columbia Real Estate Association, and Alan Tennant, CEO of the Calgary Real Estate Board. Trevor brings a deep perspective on navigating several amalgamations in B.C. Alan has great insight from the work he has done in moving Alberta towards a mostly province-wide MLS system.

Currently, 100 people will be attending, representing 23 out of the 29 boards and associations in Ontario. As well, several brokers of record and broker-owners from large brokerages will share their perspectives on how multiple MLS systems with different rules, fields and input forms affect their operations.

Last month, more new listings gave Metro Vancouver buyers a broader range of options, though sales levels are nearly 30 per cent below long-term averages.

The region’s October sales were 1,996, a 3.7 per cent increase from the same period last year, reports the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

“With properties coming to market at a rate roughly 5 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average, there seems to be a continuation of the renewed interest on the part of sellers to participate in the market that we’ve been watching this fall,” Andrew Lis, REBGV’s director of economics and data analytics says in a press release.

“Counterbalancing this increase in supply, however, is the fact sales remain almost 30 per cent below their ten-year seasonal average, which tells us demand is not as strong as we might expect this time of year.”

Number of listings

MLS had 4,664 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale in the region last month, a 15.4 per cent jump compared to 4,043 properties in October 2022. This is 4.8 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average for October.

As for the total number of properties on MLS in the area, this was just shy of 11,600, a 12.6 per cent increase from the same time last year and 0.6 per cent higher than the 10-year seasonal average. The sales-to-active listings ratio across all property types in October was 17.9 per cent.

“With more supply in the form of resale inventory, and weaker demand in the form of slower sales, we’ve seen market conditions overall adjust towards more balanced conditions. It’s noteworthy that the multifamily segment remains more active than the detached segment at this time,” Lis notes.

“While the highest borrowing costs we’ve seen in over a decade continue to constrain affordability, a silver lining for buyers is that price increases have abated with these more balanced market conditions, meaning purchasing power is holding steady for the moment.”

Pricing

The MLS composite benchmark price for all Metro Vancouver residential properties is $1,196,500, representing a 4.4 per cent jump from October 2022 and a 0.6 per cent decline from September 2023.

Read more and download the stats package from REBGV here.