TORONTO, May 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Technology-focused Canadian real estate website Zoocasa.com today added a search function to its platform that allows residential home buyers to search for listings by school boundary. The tool includes elementary and secondary school districts in Ontario for both public and Catholic boards, and is the only real estate school search tool to include current and available five-year historical EQAO and Fraser ratings for every school, as well as average ratings for every school district.
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“When we relaunched Zoocasa last year, we promised Canadians a better real estate platform that will make the home search easier and more tailored to their personal needs. Finding a home in a great school district is a major factor the majority of home searches, but it’s currently cumbersome for the average buyer to try and connect the dots between the school’s ranking, its boundary, and available listings in that particular area to make the best purchase choice. We’ve put that information in one easy-to-use place, integrated directly into our listings map.” said Lauren Haw, CEO of Zoocasa. “Homes across the street from each other may be in different catchment areas. Understanding where your home is within a certain boundary can help with long-term transition planning and reduce unnecessary moves. Not to mention wealth accumulation – school rankings are highly correlated to real estate prices.”
Zoocasa’s new school search function includes 3,825 elementary schools, 912 secondary schools, and 83 school boards across Ontario; current and five-year historical (where available) EQAO and Fraser ranking data for each individual school, and the average ranking for school boards; a “school cap” icon on the real estate map that reveals school boundaries and the schools and property listings within them; individual school information pages that include its contact information, the ranking and ratings information, the number of students and grade range; and an “expand” function to uncover the available listings within that district.
Click here to see an example of a Toronto-based real estate search with school districts selected.
Click here for an example of a school listing page. Hover over EQAO and Fraser ratings to see board average.
Click here for data on the cost of homes in Toronto’s top elementary school boundaries.
According to Zoocasa’s 2017 inaugural Housing Sentiments and Trends Report:
- 39 per cent of Canadians cite schools or school districts as an important factor for a future home purchase
- Schools or school districts was most important among aspiring home buyers with an annual household income of $100,000 and over
- Forty-seven per cent of aspiring buyers who completed a Master’s degree or higher indicated schools and school districts are an important consideration during their next home purchase, compared to 39 per cent of those who completed a Bachelor’s degree and 24 per cent of those with a high school education or lower
The schools data tool is adapted from the technology behind scholarhood.ca, a real estate platform previously launched by Haw in 2013 which was Canada’s first ever platform to offer a home map search function to connect residential buyers to listings searchable by school ranking and boundaries.
About Zoocasa
Zoocasa Realty Inc. is a Canadian real estate brokerage with a comprehensive search portal that ensures seamless service from first click to closing day. Zoocasa is the first online real estate company in Canada to focus on pairing technology with a full-service team. By combining a full-service real estate brokerage with sophisticated online tools and a home listings database, Zoocasa empowers Canadians to buy or sell their home faster, easier and more successfully.