TIL the public does not have access to real estate data - realtors control it. Bad for consumers and housing policy.
It seems that the Real estate boards in Canada have spent decades arguing that MLS listing data is their intellectual property — created and maintained by their members. They’ve used that argument to lock it down, charge for access, and build a moat around the profession.
CREA (the Canadian Real Estate Association) controls the MLS trademark and has successfully lobbied to keep sold prices and detailed listing data behind board membership walls. In the US, data is far more accessible — sites like Zillow and Redfin have rich public data. Canada deliberately chose a different path.
The actual transaction — the sale price, the date, the address — gets registered at the Ontario land registry (Teranet) which is technically public record. But it’s locked behind GeoWarehouse’s $4k/year paywall. So the data exists in public records, it’s just been commercialized by a private company that won the contract to digitize it.
Compare to other countries:
UK — sold prices are fully public, searchable free on Land Registry
Australia — varies by state but largely public
Sweden — completely public
US - data is far more accessible — sites like Zillow and Redfin have rich public data.
Canada — one of the most locked-down in the developed world