REALTOR.ca CEO Shares How Platform Puts Consumers First, Continues to Innovate

With more than 600 million visits and roughly 120 million unique visitors each year, REALTOR.ca is Canada’s No.1 real estate platform*. It’s a trusted, professionally-backed marketplace where Canadians can search for homes with confidence. 

For REALTORS®, it’s one of the most powerful tools available to support their businesses, connecting them with motivated home buyers, sellers and renters, and generating valuable leads. 

With REALTOR.ca being the first place many Canadians turn to when looking for a home, REALTOR.ca CEO Scott Neil knows the importance of putting the consumer first to maintain that special relationship, and continue championing REALTORS® in the process.

In his first appearance on the REAL TIME podcast, Neil discusses his vision for REALTOR.ca and what it means for REALTORS® with podcast host Shaun Majumder.

With a career spanning across retail, automotive, technology and digital marketplace industries, his approach to leadership is simple: give people ownership, think long term and build products that create value before focusing on revenue.

That leadership philosophy now guides his work at REALTOR.ca. 

REALTOR.ca operates as a for-profit company but remains wholly owned by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and is ultimately accountable to REALTORS® through that ownership structure. With revenue generated by REALTOR.ca being reinvested into the platform and consumer experience, a win for REALTOR.ca is a win for REALTORS®. 

Generating that value is a responsibility that Neil takes seriously.   

Neil says the long-term goal is to build a self-sustaining business that continues improving the platform while helping reduce member dues over time.

Reflecting on his own recent home buying journeys, Neil discusses the importance of using a REALTOR®. He shares that during the sale of a previous home in Huntsville, Ontario, a last-minute septic issue threatened the closing. “We called our REALTOR®. She calmed us down. She’s like, ‘We’ll deal with this. It’s fine’,” he says. His REALTOR® immediately worked with the lawyers and the buyer’s representative, and the issue was resolved within 24 hours.

Neil says this experience underscores for him the value of having a knowledgeable professional involved when a transaction becomes complicated. It’s a reminder that runs through his vision for REALTOR.ca; technology can support consumers, but it doesn’t replace the expertise and guidance of a REALTOR®.

The intersection of technology and humans is like a core theme for me.”

Scott Neil, CEO, REALTOR.ca

Neil sees REALTOR.ca supporting Canadians throughout the housing journey, not only when they’re actively buying or selling. This includes mortgage education, moving services, renovations, property maintenance and guidance on whether to renovate or move. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and other innovative features could also help REALTOR.ca deliver better leads to REALTORS®. The platform generated six million leads in 2025, but Neil says the next step is improving their quality and usefulness. “It’s not AI for the sake of AI,” he says. The goal is to reduce friction, personalize the experience and create better outcomes for consumers and REALTORS®.

Neil describes development as a test-and-learn process. Try ideas on a small scale, review the results, improve what works—and move on from what doesn’t. Throughout that process, trust, privacy and REALTOR.ca’s responsibility to CREA and REALTORS® remain central.

To hear the full breadth of Neil’s ideas and vision, listen to or watch this episode of REAL TIME, available now wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

*Based on market share. ComScore, 2025