CREA recently hosted 77 developers and programmers for a Realtor.ca “hackathon” to seek ideas that will improve the website.
“Amazing things can happen when talented and passionate people come together with a common goal,” says Barb Sukkau, president of CREA.
“CREA hosted developers from across Canada and beyond over a weekend of designing, building and ‘demoing’ solutions that were focused on facilitating the homebuying and selling journey.”
Attendees had the opportunity to participate in an intense 48-hour hackathon in which teams moved from challenge to idea, to pitching a fully functional demo to a panel of real estate and technology-focused judges. This is the first of several hackathon challenges that CREA plans to host.
The winning proposal was developed by team propGram, composed of Bahar Eghtesadi, Maryam Moafi and Reza Farahani. “We had an amazing experience and we’re so grateful for the opportunity to really dive into Realtor.ca’s data sets,” says Bahar Eghtesadi, propGram team leader. “We’re looking forward to elaborating on our idea and optimizing it.”
Participants were able to meet CREA management and staff, sowing the seeds for potential future business opportunities.
“The real estate industry in Canada is evolving rapidly and technology provides even more opportunities to improve the consumer experience,” says James Mabey, chair of CREA’s Technology Committee. “We’re excited to work with the hackathon teams to help foster innovation that can benefit our members and enhance the consumer journey on Realtor.ca.”
