Wondering how much that house sold for? Find out online
Real estate board loses final bid to keep sold prices off websites
Some real estate companies began publishing sold prices of properties on their websites within hours of a court decision hailed as a victory for Toronto-area homebuyers, who will be able to obtain sold information directly from an online real estate brokerage. The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday dismissed an appeal application by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), which has spent seven years trying to prevent brokers from publishing sold prices on their password-protected websites, forcing consumers to request it from an agent.
The top court was the last stand in the board’s seven-year fight against the Commissioner of Competition, which successfully argued at the Canadian Competition Tribunal and a federal appeals court that the real estate board was hampering innovation and competition in the real estate industry by restricting its members from publishing the selling prices of property online.
Allowing innovation and competition to flourish in real estate benefits consumers, said Canada’s Interim Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell.
“This is about one of the biggest financial decisions that people will make in their lives. This step certainly provides more transparency for the marketplace and allows more innovative services to the public,” he said.
TREB, the country’s largest real estate board with 50,000 broker and agent members, argued that posting the sold information violated sellers’ privacy and the board’s copyright.
The restrictions on sold data would be lifted in 60 days, as specified in a 2016 Competition Tribunal order, said TREB in a statement. It said it would study the next steps in ensuring the information was released in strict compliance with the tribunal’s order.
That didn’t stop some companies, including Zoocasa, from immediately posting the information on its website where it was accessible Thursday without a password or registration. CEO Lauren Haw said her company decided to give users access to the information immediately. But, she said, “We’re going to wait for instructions from TREB on how to proceed and go forward.”
Selling prices are useful to buyers and sellers in the early phases of their research, but they will continue to need the expertise of real estate agents, said Haw.
Haw said she is among those wondering, however, if posting the selling price of properties before transactions close might be detrimental. If the sale doesn’t complete and the price is public, it might limit what the seller can get if they have to re-list.
That is a “grey area,” and Zoo- casa will be looking for guidance from the real estate board, she said.
It could also encourage breach of contract if another buyer swoops in and offers more money for the same property, said Sotheby’s Canada CEO Brad Henderson. That’s why Manitoba, Quebec and some U.S. brokerages prohibit its publication, he said.
“For the next year or even more, a lot of time, energy and money is going to be spent by TREB to make sure all the players in the marketplace are abiding by the letter of the law and probably take some legal action with some parties who are going to test the limits, exploit the grey area,” said Henderson.
Toronto broker John Pasalis said his firm, Realosophy, expects to publish sold data by Friday, but it will require its site users to register to access the prices. A witness for the competition commissioner, Pasalis said past selling prices are already available online from companies that find or buy the data. The board’s privacy argument doesn’t stand up either, he said.
“If the sold price of a home is truly ‘private,’ realtors break privacy laws every day when they send their clients (and prospective clients) recently sold properties,” Pasalis tweeted Thursday.
Condos.ca is also ready to post solds, said partner Andrew Harrild. The company hasn’t decided when to flick the switch on the data, but it has already prepared an email instructing its website users how to access the information.
Realtors who spoke with the Toronto Star said access to sold data won’t be a game changer at this point.