Later this year, Zillow will allow U.S. buyers to search for Canadian homes and, as part of a new partnership with Right At Home Realty, receive a direct listing feed from the Toronto-based indie brokerage, the company announced Thursday.
Right at Home Realty boasts more than 4,000 Realtors and features a variety of apartments and homes in Canada’s largest city. In June, Zillow inked a similar partnership with Century 21 Canada in its efforts to feature a range of listings north of the U.S. border.
“Zillow is proud to partner with Right at Home Realty and offer this widely respected Canadian brand free advertising for their listings on one of the most visited real estate sites in the world,” said Errol Samuelson, Zillow Group’s chief industry development officer, in a statement.
In the U.S., Zillow features property listings from thousands of different brokerages and agents, as well as hundreds of multiple listing services. As part of its foray into Canada, the company is in the process of building similar partnerships with brokerages up north.
While Zillow has not yet announced when Canadian homes will start appearing on its site, it first teased the idea of a Canadian expansion to the Toronto Star in November 2017.
“We have a long history of being leaders in our field, and as the top brokerage by sales volume in the Greater Toronto Area for the past five consecutive years and on behalf of our over 4,000 Realtors, we are looking forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with Zillow,” said John Lusink, president of Right at Home Realty, in a statement.
Zillow receives more than 100 million annual online visits from customers outside the U.S., with Canadians and Brits making up a significant share of these searchers, according to data provided by the company. The Canadian expansion is aimed at Americans seeking property up north, but no plans are currently underway for Zillow to launch a local version of its website for Canadian homebuyers.
Nonetheless, the Canadian listings are big news for Zillow since it’s the portal’s first foray into featuring homes outside of the United States.
“Zillow has proven to be a highly effective marketing tool for real estate professionals in the U.S., and we’re excited to expand our relationships into Canada, increasing exposure to Canadian homes for sale, while offering buyers a more robust home search experience for North America,” Samuelson said.
