Rogers to Jump into Real Estate Business with Zoocasa Relaunch

Zoocasa

Could your next real estate decision involve Rogers? It looks that way, as the Toronto Star reported last week the carrier is set to jump into the real estate business. How? It will relaunch its website Zoocasa.com in mid-May as a real estate shopping site for homebuyers. Part of this involved Rogers recently applying to become a licensed real estate brokerage with the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), currently pending approval.

The rebuilt Zoocasa site will have “the most complete list of property information that can be provided to consumers, including neighbourhood and related information,” said real estate maverick Lawrence Dale who quietly folded his Realtysellers private sales online listings site a few months ago and started working with Rogers as Group Head, Real Estate Business.

Rogers looks to launch a new real estate portal to enable home buyers to assess property values from their computers. Zoocasa will have its own directory of pre-screened and approved real estate agents, according to president Carolyn Beatty. Part of the business model will have realtors pay fees when they get leads and transactions are made. Zoocasa will integrate with existing Rogers services ranging from digital devices to home security systems.

Traditional real estate associations have fought to keep home data exclusive within the Multiple Listing Service, such as the Toronto Real Estate Board, which has had the Competition Bureau argue it is unfairly withholding data from competing online services aimed to compete with agents. The Competition Tribunal is deciding on the outcome of the case, which looks to have major implications nationwide.

What do you think about Rogers looking to change the real estate game with Zoocasa?

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