Canada's real estate market needs a Single Source of Truth

How much do you know about the properties you deal with? How much do the others involved in those transactions know? Depending on where that property is, you might not even be working from the same data to make decisions.

This has been a problem for everyone involved in the Canadian real estate lifecycle for years. Gathering information on a property can be extremely challenging, especially if it’s rural or remote. Even once you have that information, you can’t be sure anyone else has the same data to start from—imagine two agents trying to negotiate a home sale when they have different information on the property’s value. There’s no Single Source of Truth.

What does Single Source of Truth mean?

Single Source of Truth (SSoT) is the idea that organizations and systems run best when their data is stored once, meaning it’s created and edited at a single location. That way, every person involved knows they’re referencing the same information as everyone else. SSoT is not a new idea, but it got its current meaning from a 2016 post by Lionel Grealou where he distinguishes it from Single Version of Truth (SVoT). Over the years, SSoT has become a guiding principle for most companies and groups who use data.

But can the concept of SSoT expand past the scope of an organization? The real estate industry is poised for a huge shift in the way it operates, and a Single Source of Truth could be the thing that kicks off that change.

If a property has an SSoT, every participant in the real estate lifecycle has a reference they can agree on. Buyers, sellers and lenders can make more informed decisions; lawyers, notaries and appraisers can work faster and more efficiently.

What does it take to achieve SSoT for the real estate industry?

An SSoT across the country means having a database and system that can solve for two things:

• Solve for scope. No two properties are the same, and with every new type of property added to it, the system would need to support greater and greater complexity. Another reason an SSoT would need hundreds of data points on each property is because different users will engage with a property’s data differently. For an appraiser and a realtor to use the same system, it needs to hold data points related to local sales data and other key value indicators for the appraiser, as well as data indicating specific layout and feature details for the realtor. This issue grows with each type of professional that uses the system.
• Solve for scale. One major issue with Canadian property data has been that its providers are often regional. That can cause problems for buyers and professionals moving or transacting across provincial lines. An SSoT would need to be national, providing the same data and experience, no matter the location.

There’s a new real estate data solution that solves for both: FCT Golden Record. Drawing from Data Tree, our multi-sourced property and homeowner database—the largest in Canada—FCT Golden Record puts concise and thorough data at your fingertips. All information is matched to multiple independent sources, letting you make better-informed decisions.

With hundreds of data points on properties across the country, FCT Golden Record’s scope and scale can accommodate users across the real estate lifecycle.

Canada’s real estate industry is ready for a new solution and a Single Source of Truth. FCT Golden Record is here to provide both.

To learn more about FCT Golden Record, email our team at dataproducts@fct.ca.

Services by First Canadian Title Company Limited. The services company does not provide insurance products. Some products/services may vary by province. Prices and products/services offered are subject to change without notice.

®Registered Trademark of First American Financial Corporation.