Tag Archives: century21
CENTURY 21 Canada Launches Mobile Platform for Property Search
CENTURY 21 Canada has launched a mobile web platform for users of popular hand held devices and smart phones, including Blackberry, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Google Android phones. Additional devices will be added as development continues.
The mobile website offers the following features:
* Mobile-device-optimized property search, real estate agent/office search and agent pages
* Proximity search, enabling users to find homes and offices near their current locations
* ‘Your Account’ functionality for consumers to view and save favourites:
o Ability to add properties and notes on the go
o ‘Favourites’ option to view properties and notes later at Century21.ca
* Full integration with Century21.ca website
o Main website will detect mobile devices and redirect the visitor to the mobile platform
o Visitors can switch between the mobile platform and full website
Users of iPhones currently account for the majority of visits to Century21.ca from mobile devices, with iPods and Blackberry users coming in second and third, respectively. “Most of the approximately 900,000 monthly visits to Century21.ca still come from home computers,” says CENTURY 21 Canada President Don Lawby, “But mobile search optimization is the future of online real estate marketing, in my opinion.”
Alex Blyakhman, President and Chief Product Officer of WhereToLive.com – real estate SEO specialists who developed the platform exclusively for CENTURY 21 Canada – agrees. “Many smart phones today have search functionality equivalent to home computers. Their technology lets potential home buyers tour neighbourhoods, view properties, download pictures or videos and then share their favourites with friends anywhere in the world. As a marketer, your website had better provide a positive and problem-free experience for these users or they’ll go somewhere else.”
All CENTURY 21 real estate professionals in Canada can now market listings and property features using the mobile website. The site is currently available in English, with French and Chinese platforms due for release in the summer of 2010.
About Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership
Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership (Century21.ca) is a real estate franchisor with exclusive rights to the CENTURY 21 Brand in Canada and provides comprehensive training, management, administrative and marketing support for the CENTURY 21 System. With more than 117,000 sales professionals in approximately 7,700 offices worldwide, the CENTURY 21 System is the world’s largest residential real estate sales organization, providing comprehensive training, management, administrative and marketing support for its members. As an exclusive Sponsor in the real estate category of the AIR MILES® Reward Program, only the CENTURY 21 organization in Canada can offer customers reward miles on real estate transactions.
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Century 21 Canada redefines its brand
REM Online
Century 21 Canada has unveiled a new branding direction as part of a multi-year online marketing strategy that it says has seen the number of visits to Century21.ca rise by nearly ten-fold since late 2007.
“The goal behind our new tagline, Connected to More, is to communicate to home buyers how Century 21 has evolved as a brand,” says company president Don Lawby. “It also represents our vision for how we want consumers, potential sales representatives and franchisees to relate to the Century 21 brand in the future.”
It is one of the most recognized real estate brands in the world, largely because of television advertising campaigns that began in the 1970s. The ‘gold jacket’ era still resonates with Canadians who grew up in the ’70s and ’80s, the company says in a news release, “but for young sales representatives working for the Century 21 brand today, the gold jacket is a distant memory.”
Century 21 Logo
The company stopped its television advertising in 2007 and turned its focus to online marketing. Prior to the redesign of Century21.ca in November 2007, the site had 92,000 visits per month – in February 2010, that number surpassed 800,000 and could top one million before the end of 2010, the company says.
The new branding direction began with the 2007 website launch. The franchise organization developed its online marketing strategy with the help of WhereToLive.com – a Minnesota-based web development firm that specializes in search engine optimization for real estate companies. Ed Kohler, WhereToLive’s director of strategic Internet marketing and development, says, “The real estate industry is interesting for online marketing because the web is highly utilized by consumers seeking information about properties for sale, agents and neighbourhood information. However, the vast majority of the business of real estate continues to happen offline through phone calls and face to face meetings. Creating a successful website involves building trust that leads to offline conversations.”
Century 21 Canada continues to stress to its franchisees the importance of a strong web presence. It provides all sales representatives with branded websites loaded with blog capability, Google Street View and video embedment technology to help them take advantage of social networking opportunities and emerging share sites.
“I often hear business leaders question whether there is any ROI from social media,” says Lawby. “I can show you Century 21 sales representatives who will argue that their success has a lot to do with two-way communications online that aren’t always about real estate. It’s an important part of building their brands and reputations.”
The Connected to More campaign was developed in partnership with Faulkner Brand, a Vancouver-based company specializing in brand strategy and design. Century 21 Canada has adapted the tagline for the French and Chinese languages. It launched a Chinese language site earlier this year. Century21.ca is currently the only nationally branded real estate website in Canada that is trilingual.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416−388−1960
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Message from Don Lawby
The Canadian Real Estate Association and the Competition Tribunal
At CENTURY 21 Canada, acting in the best interest of home buyers and sellers is a pillar of our business. We believe that the MLS system protects the standards and integrity of the real estate industry and the safety of Canadian consumers, for whom buying or selling a home is likely the most significant transaction they will make in their lifetimes.
The real estate market in Canada is and will continue to be highly competitive. Canadians selling their homes today can choose from a variety of business models, listing options and compensation/commission structures. CENTURY 21 Canada advocates that consumers should remain protected by real estate industry standards of conduct and ethics, which is at the cornerstone of what the current MLS system offers.
I support the rules amendments accepted by CREA members on Monday, March 22, and believe they satisfy concerns expressed by the Competition Bureau while preserving the integrity of our industry. False or misleading information has found its way onto many well-intended publicly accessible information and advertising sites, with little recourse for consumers.
CENTURY 21 Canada Key Messages
1. Canadian consumers have always been free to choose from different service and advertising options when selling their homes.
CENTURY 21 sales representatives pride themselves on providing full service to clients through the selling process. CENTURY 21 sales representatives are not opposed to posting listing information on MLS on behalf of clients, for a fee, but believe that most clients will continue to want a more comprehensive range of services to assist them in selling their homes.
2. The MLS System is trusted by CENTURY 21 sales representatives as a source for accurate and reliable listing information for clients.
Our biggest concern is the preservation of the integrity of this System. MLS was created for use by Realtors, who are bound by ethical and legal standards set forth by their licensing bodies. The MLS System’s integrity is maintained because sales professionals who upload misleading or false information to the System can lose their livelihoods or, at minimum, their reputations. It is impossible to enforce these standards on non-licensed sales professionals and the public, to protect what is likely the largest financial transaction a person will make in a lifetime.
3. CENTURY 21 Canada supports CREA’s defence that MLS Rules in no way limit consumers’ options or bind them to full-service fee models.
There are many commission and compensation structures in the industry, but CREA has never dictated what Realtors can charge their clients, or for what services. CENTURY 21 sales representatives are free, like all Realtors, to negotiate fees and service options with individual clients. It is also a myth that discount real estate service providers are prohibited access to the MLS System.
Questions and Answers for Consumers
1. What is MLS and why am I not able to access it?
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is an online business tool developed for Realtors, including CENTURY 21 sales representatives, to upload and share listing information on properties and collect market data. There are multitudes of MLS sites across the country, each operated by different Real Estate Boards. Generally, a local Realtor includes the MLS as part of his or her overall service contract. The Canadian Real Estate Association created an advertising website, www.realtor.ca, so that consumers and real estate sales representatives could view all MLS listings in one place and contact agents associated with those listings.
CENTURY 21 Canada also has agreements with Real Estate Boards across Canada to collect MLS data. That data enables us to provide detailed and accurate property information on all our sales representatives’ sites at Century21.ca.
2. With the new CREA rules, can I now post my home on the MLS system without going through a Realtor?
No. The MLS was developed as a member-to-member platform for licensed Realtors. Like all Realtors, CENTURY 21 sales representatives are bound by ethical and legal standards of conduct, which applies to listing information published on the MLS. The MLS has become such a strong brand because of the integrity of its information. While CENTURY 21 Canada isn’t opposed to posting listings to the MLS for a fee, allowing direct public access to the MLS risks undermining industry standards, as well as the security of potential home buyers – virtually every public advertising site runs the risk of exposing its customers to scam artists and unscrupulous sellers.
3. So, when will I be able to pay you just to list my home on the MLS?
You have always had that choice. All real estate service fees are negotiable between Realtors and their clients. As well, a consumer has the option to list their property for sale on a range of websites that don’t require the assistance of a licensed real estate agent. CENTURY 21 sales representatives aren’t going to prevent clients from choosing this option; however, we would discourage individual home owners from publishing their properties online
without a clear plan as to how they are going to manage the sales process, qualify prospective buyers and complete the required documentation for closure.
4. Why do Realtors charge so much commission for providing services that I could just as easily do myself?
Realtors receive extensive training to be licensed to operate in Canada and work hard for the commissions they earn. The vast majority of Realtors are not getting rich on commission fees. According to the National Real Estate Association 2009 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 69% of homeowners who chose to go the ‘for sale by owner’ route indicated that they did so to avoid paying commission fees; and 74% of those reported having difficulty with the selling process. Getting the price right, preparing a home for sale, understanding and completing paperwork and selling within the length of time planned were common difficulties expressed by survey respondents. Buyers are aware of the value of commission fees, and will often offer less than market value on ‘for sale by owner’ listings. There is value in hiring an agent with superior sales skills and knowledge of your market.
5. Why is the Canadian Real Estate Association trying to stop consumers from being able to choose the services they want to sell their homes?
This is a myth that has gained momentum because of the Competition Bureau issue. The MLS was created by CREA for its members to post their listings and share data. Like with any competitive business landscape, there is an array of online advertising choices other than the MLS for independent home sellers, including social media sites, Craigslist and Kijiji. As well, Canadians have always had the option to compare and negotiate real estate service fees offered by different business models.
6. When do the new rules come in? Should I wait until then to list my property for sale?
The new MLS rules voted on by members of the Canadian Real Estate Association on March 22 are now in the process of being ratified by provincially-based real estate boards. The process could take a few months to complete, as some Boards will have to call general meetings to revise their rules. It may take up to a year for a decision to be made by the Competition Tribunal of Canada, and that could be followed by an appeals process. With interest rates anticipated to rise by mid-2010, coupled with the introduction of the HST in BC and Ontario on July 1st, waiting to sell your home – with or without a Realtors – might net you a lower selling price or increase the time it takes to sell your home. In addition, the rules and regulations that are in the process of being amended reflect service options that are already available today.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
————————————————————————————————————
Incoming search terms
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