Ross McCredie/contributed

 

While wandering behind the scenes at Sotheby’s auctions around the globe, Vancouver’s Ross McCredie experienced a shift in thinking that would ultimately redefine his approach to real estate, and, years later, shape the next chapter of Sutton Group, where he now serves as CEO.

Watching how the auction house meticulously documented every detail of the history of an artwork or antique car, he realized the power of accredited, verified data in elevating an asset’s value.

“Their role was to help collectors add value and make important, intelligent decisions about how to improve the value of their assets,” he said.

The insight was simple, but a game-changer for the then-CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada: stories and records could materially shift worth.

It’s a mindset McCredie has carried into real estate, where he believes homes deserve the same evaluation and intentional value-building strategy he once saw in the auction world.

 

Showing consumers how to think like investors

 

Fast forward to today, and McCredie is using these principles to guide the latest tech offering from Sutton, a platform with a planned 2026 launch in British Columbia called Sutton Wealth. 

The free tool is designed to give homeowners direct access to the kinds of data institutional real estate investors routinely rely on. Users will be able to pull together all publicly available—but often difficult to find—information about their property, including assessment office records, property registry data, and even census details.

McCredie says the goal is to eliminate the guesswork many Canadians face when making major financial decisions.

“I wanna bring that same level of data and information to Canadian homeowners, the same way that a professional institutional real estate investor would do,” he said. 

He’s says he’s frustrated that consumers still depend on “really, really questionable data,” adding that governments “are not helping them in any way, shape or form.”

After spending 10 years working in California, McCredie saw firsthand how much further ahead the U.S. real estate industry is in technology adoption.

Every time he returned to Canada, he said, he was struck by “how archaic the systems” were and by the reality that Canadians often have to pay to get their own information.

“It’s insane,” he said.

 

Thinking bigger 

 

Sutton is building out its tech offerings as it prepares for a major period of expansion across the country.

Sutton recently brought in former Re/Max executive Jeremy Gulliver to shape the brokerage’s growth strategy in Ontario and Eastern Canada. “Jeremy specifically [is focused on] where he thinks the best place is to grow our business,” McCredie said. 

Sutton currently counts just under 2,000 Realtors in Ontario, a similar number in British Columbia, with the rest distributed across the country, said McCredie, for a total of about 6,000 agents.

Since McCredie acquired Sutton in 2023, the company has undergone an extensive overhaul. 

“We relaunched the brand, reformatted the logo, the branding, the marks, the website,” he said, noting that little had been updated “for about 15 years.”

With that foundation rebuilt, Sutton is now shifting into growth mode.

“We’re going to do two or three more acquisitions on the technology side,” McCredie said. The company recently acquired Ottawa-based real estate technology company Homicity, and appointed its founder, James Blades, as Sutton’s vice president of technology. 

McCredie said Sutton is also pursuing “two very large conversions, one in Ontario, and another one east.” He expects “significant growth in 2026,” potentially including a “fairly large pop” as several major brokerages explore joining the network. 

Sutton currently has about 200 offices across the country, and boasts $35 billion in real estate transactions each year, according to its website. 

 

Business focus ‘has to be the homeowner’

 

When talking about his vision for Sutton, McCredie says he loves it when people ask if the brokerage is becoming a wealth management company. 

“I’m like, ‘Well, I think we should have been our entire existence. I think our industry should have been.’”

He says Sutton’s model, and the focus for its investment, all boils down to benefitting homeowners, a strategy that helps build trust and reputation for the brokerage.

“I believe if we do that really well, then our Realtors will be extremely successful in their business,” he said.