TREB Worried What Releasing More Info to Public Will Do to Industry

There is a growing push for more real estate information to be made available to the general public. The Competition Bureau is doing the recommending. The Toronto Real Estate Board, or TREB, is opposing the idea. What would the public do with such information? Why, try and buy and/or sell houses without the services of a realtor. How are realtors supposed to make a living if consumers dealt directly with each other? What would the public do with such information? And there is the possibility that the criminal element will get that information and commit dire acts of mischief and mayhem.

TREB is against the move, noting that if consumers could make all their purchases online, from vacations to car insurance to real estate that cuts out the middle-man on so many fronts. The real estate market would become a shell of what it is now. But, according to some, this alarmist attitude shows that some in the real estate world, in any business really, do not understand how much information is already available online.

It seems that the TREB is most worried about listing contact information for potential sellers, as well as the price the home finally sold for. A recent poll done by Angus Reid apparently backs the board up, noting that quite a few Canadians would rather not have this information “out there.” But most of it already is. Welcome to the 21st century.

If you look out your window and see a for sale sign on a home, it’s easy to find out just about anything you want about it. Realtor.ca is a site that has most homes listed for sale across Canada. You can get the address, home information and then, if you want put the address in a reverse-directory search engine, such as Canada411.ca,you can and find the phone number and the name of the people at that address. Easy as pie, and done in less than 30 seconds.

Also available online are the asking price of the home, how many bedrooms and bathrooms and even a virtual tour of the home. The only thing that is not available online, as of yet, is a way of finding what a home actually sold for. But if you go into a realtor looking for property and are interested in price points, chances are that realtor will show you recent sales sheets for the area to show you what ballpark you are playing in. Or, if you go to the Registry Office for any particular town, that information is readily available. It is considered public domain. All you need to do is look the info up and photocopy it.

Besides a final sale price, everything that TREB is worried about “releasing” to the public is already out there, and has been for some time. The nightmare of home invasion by over-informed web-surfers is unfounded. So is the idea that the real estate industry will be pushed over on its ear. TREB does have the right to protest on behalf of its membership’s livelihoods, but the scenarios of crime and violence are a bit over the top, and unfounded.