Rogers Communications has sold the Zoocasa website to a group of real estate and technology investors led by Lauren Haw, a broker at Keller Williams Referred Urban Realty in Toronto.
“Zoocasa.com is an important Canadian asset, backed by unique technology and a brand that’s recognized by millions of Canadians,” says Haw in a news release. “Our mission is to give homebuyers access to the best possible real estate tools and information while providing a premium level of in-house customer service – and that means building a team of professionals who can adapt to changing consumer expectations.”
Haw calls herself a “serial entrepreneur” with 10 years of experience launching, managing and investing in Canadian ventures. She also leads a team of agents at Scholarhood.ca, a lead generation platform she launched in 2013, “which helps families find homes in the most desirable school districts in the GTA by leveraging school rankings and district boundaries,” says the release.
The site will focus on the Greater Toronto Area for the immediate future. Haw told the Globe & Mail that Zoocasa will no longer sell leads to agents who registered on the site and, “The only agents serving clients who visit the site now will be those on our team…”
It will no longer offer rebates for buyers and sellers on the real estate commissions.
“From handling initial inquiries to closing a home and beyond, we are extremely excited about Zoocasa’s potential to advance an industry that’s still resistant to change,” says Haw in the news release.
