A Zillow executive told real estate professionals in Canada about its plans to add Canadian property listings to its popular U.S. website at the Ontario Real Estate Association’s REALiTY 2018 Conference on Wednesday, echoing similar remarks from another Zillow spokesperson last fall. Such listings would presumably allow U.S. buyers and renters the ability to search Zillow.com and the Zillow app for desirable properties north of the border.
Inman did not attend the conference, but Zillow confirmed to us on Wednesday that it was “exploring” adding listings for properties in Canada sometime in 2018.
Conference attendees posted on Twitter about the presentation by Zillow Chief Industry Development Officer Errol Samuelson. “You could hear a pin drop,” Ontario Real Estate Association CEO Tim Hudak wrote. “Room goes silent to hear Zillow plans for Canada.”
Zillow first announced back in October 2017 that it planned to add Canadian listings to its U.S. site. A company spokesperson told the Toronto Star at the time that Zillow had no plans for a separate Zillow Canada. Company filings show it has registered the Zillow Canada name as a subsidiary, but Zillow told Inman that the registration dates back to May 2014 when it acquired the Vancouver-based software company Retsly.
“We know U.S. buyers are interested in purchasing Canadian property,” Zillow spokesperson Kelsey Wickman told Inman after the presentation Wednesday. “We think adding Canadian listings to Zillow would be of interest to U.S. buyers, and would help increase exposure to Canadian homes for sale – benefiting both home sellers and industry professionals.”
Asked about the presentation, Wickman said that Samuelson shared an overview of Zillow brands with the audience. The company declined to share any further details about its Canada plans.
While Zillow hasn’t operated in Canada yet, it already has competitors there. Realtor.ca has the biggest Canadian presence.
Still, Zillow is clearly doing well without international expansion: it posted a record $1 billion in revenue for 2017.
