For Immediate Release
August 23rd 2019
Sold Housing Data Now Available to Consumers for the First Time in Calgary
For the first time ever in Calgary and surrounding area, real estate sold data is now being made openly available to the public.
On August 15th the AlbertaRE Real Estate Team with CIR REALTY launched the sold data feed on their website, www.AlbertaRE.com. Up until this point, sold data was not published anywhere that consumers could access on their own – all requests for sold data had to go through a Realtor, who had sole control over releasing it.
Gareth Hughes, one of the AlbertaRE team members says that the reason his team was so passionate about releasing sold data is because their goal is to change the role of Realtors from being sales people to being trusted advisers.
“For the longest time, Realtors were gatekeepers of information, and part of the value we provided was that we had that information and you had to come through us to get it. This just isn’t the way the world works anymore. Consumers want access to information on their own terms. As Realtors, our job is to help our clients understand that data, and make educated decisions with it,” Hughes says.
Releasing sold data to the public has been a contentious issue for many real estate boards aiming to keep that information for Realtor use only. Last year, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) lost their Supreme Court bid to appeal the release of real estate sold figures on the grounds of violating consumer privacy.
Mike Star, also an AlbertaRE team member, says that he worked diligently with the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) to get permission to launch the sold data feed and ensure it was being used in a way that complied with all privacy policies.
Star says that limiting access to sold housing data restricts the consumer’s right to having a comprehensive picture of their local market, and making it available means they are able to see things they otherwise might not with a Realtor alone.
“When a Realtor sits down with a client to do a market analysis, they are in control of which comparable active and sold listings they want to show their client. Often, the Realtor is absolutely choosing the most relevant properties and presenting them in a way that makes the most sense for the client. That being said, some clients may want the ability to look at what every home in their community sold for in the past two years, regardless if it would be a true comparable to their home or not. Access to sold data gives them the opportunity to gather as much information as they want. As Realtors, our job is to help clients understand what that information means and how it pertains to their buying or selling decisions.” says Star.
The AlbertaRE team is comprised of nine experienced Realtors that work collaboratively, and in a non-hierarchical system for the benefit of all of their real estate clients. For more information about the team, or to access the sold data feed, visit www.AlbertaRE.com