The Canadian real estate market has experienced robust growth despite the slowdown in economic activity resulting from the pandemic.
With low short-term interest rates influenced by the Bank of Canada and a desire to relocate to suburban areas, Canadian families continue to show strong interest in the real estate market.
As technological leaders and modernizers in the Canadian real estate market, Teranet is proud to have a leadership team that is passionate about innovation, one that is always looking to improve how we deliver solutions to our clients.
In this Teranet Leadership Connect edition, we speak with Paul McGowan, Director of Property Solutions at Teranet, about the innovation and modernization of Teranet’s real estate technology solutions for Ontario real estate professionals.
Paul joined Teranet more than nine years ago. During his tenure at Teranet, Paul has worked closely with the real estate, financial services and government and utility verticals from product development to marketing.
As the Director of Real Estate, Paul ensures that Teranet’s real estate technology solutions align with the needs of customers and the overall real estate market, giving real estate professionals tools and knowledge to streamline the buying and selling process.
Paul says one of the things he enjoys most about his role is that “the environment and the people we serve are forever evolving.” He especially loves how technology, specifically property technology, is evolving and finding new ways of delivering innovative solutions to real estate professionals and consumers.
As for the future of the Canadian real estate industry, Paul mentioned that some of the key trends include the expansion of consumer portal competition and iBuying. Some other trends include:
- Video conferencing, collaboration and other tools that help real estate professionals operate remotely;
- The growth of interactive virtual tour technology to help prospective buyers (i.e., as a pre-sale tool).
Real estate technology solutions have done well at responding to the trends and challenges in the market. Paul mentions that companies have been expanding their footprints to get closer to their consumers and have more control to capture the broader market share.
In addition, the development of new consumer portals and data consolidated reports and tools provide a comprehensive and transparent user experience for consumers.
Speaking specifically of Teranet’s innovation within the Canadian real estate market, Paul discusses that the drivers of real estate technology enhancements boils down to three items:
- Enabling the education of consumers through market insights and intelligence.
- Enabling workplace efficiencies and the development of integrated platforms.
- Keeping REALTORS® at the center of every transaction.
Teranet recognizes the public wants to be educated and informed throughout their home buying or selling journeys. As a result, Teranet provides many tools that help real estate professionals gain the market insights and intelligence they need to serve their clients better.
For example, Teranet provides the GeoWarehouse solution. Real estate professionals have access to property information for evaluations and validating ownership information.
As for the future of Teranet’s real estate technology solutions, Paul is excited about the launch of REALM to our first client, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board later this year.
REALM will help launch Teranet into the Multiple Listing Platform (MLP) space by providing data, connectivity, tracking in an intuitive end-to-end platform.
To stay updated on market trends and Teranet initiatives, connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
