Toronto Realty Blog Data Hub
It’s been a long, arduous journey, folks.
But I do believe we’re finally making some headway.
Do I think TREB is going to make the process of providing sold data, as per the Competition Bureau’s recent ruling, as easy as it should be?
No.
Do I think TREB might put restrictions on the data, or tread into areas that the Competition Bureau didn’t explore?
Maybe.
Do I like asking questions and then answering them?
You’re goddam right I do.
But after many months of development, a ruling from the Supreme Court, and a good decision by TREB, I’m ready to debut my “Data Hub” as it was intended.
Recall that when the current version of Toronto Realty Blog made its debut in July, I was all excited about the Data Hub!
That excitement was short-lived, as the feedback was essentially, “It’s cool, and has some great features, but I still need to go to Mongo house to access the sold data.”
Cue the sad-trombone.
But as of Thursday evening, we “turned on” the sales data.
And I do believe that we have an interface and usability on the Data Hub that will rival anything you’ll find elsewhere on the Internet.
The Data Hub is not nearly as flashy as some of the other sites, but this isn’t a sales tool; we’re not trying to wow the user with high-resolution photos and soft-selling lead captures. This is a tool to help consumers, by providing them with data, and we want that data to be easy to find.
The interface looks simple, but that’s the point. This is data-driven, after all, so it’s the data that matters, not the flash and pizzazz that might accompany real estate information on other sites.
The data can be searched by either “Condos,” whereby you can type the name of a condo, ie. “Candy Factory,” or the address, ie. 993 Queen Street. The field will auto-complete. Or you can search by “Neighbourhoods.”
You can click on the pie charts to include or dismiss different property types, ie. condo/freehold, detached/semi-detached, etc.
And you can look at both “Sold” and “Available,” which right now is “S” and “A,” but as I said, we’re looking for feedback on usability.
Last but not least, there’s a button for “Full Screen Mode,” just like you would click if you were watching Popcorn Time or Amazon Prime on your laptop, and wanted to fill the screen. This makes the tool a lot easier to use, and eliminates the stuff you’re likely not interested in below.
So with that said, I’m going to skip a typical Friday blog, and simply ask you all for feedback on the Data Hub.
Please scroll up to the top of the page, and click “DATA HUB.”
Sign up, sign in, try it out, and let’s use this comments thread as a means for feedback and discussion.
Yes, you have to sign up. Those are TREB’s rules, I’m sorry.
But I’m not going to spam you, I promise! 🙂
I would love to have some hands-on feedback from other real estate aficionados, and if there are features I’m missing, features that are redundant, or preferred layouts, I’ll make changes as quickly as I can.
It’s worth noting – the Data Hub is not meant to be used on an iPhone. It works, but it’s like when Realtors try to use TorontoMLS on their iPhone in a jam, and stretch out the wee screen with their fingers, trying to type characters into tiny boxes on the screen. I figure most people interested in doing deep research on the market are likely on their laptops, probably with an Excel spreadsheet open and ready to go.
Let me leave it at that.
I welcome your feedback, and thanks in advance for trying the new tool.
Francesca
at 8:27 am
Hi David, I just signed up. What’s strange is that when I logged in the first time after receiving your link via email it asked for a password which I had never set up so I had to click on forget password to change a password I never created to begin with! Not sure if I missed something on the initial sign up page.
Otherwise, I really like the way it works and I love how you can go back many more months and years compared to Mongohouse to see sales statistics. I also like the pie chart on the left with the property mixes. The only thing I have to say I prefer on Mongo house is that you are literally able to scroll on the map to your desired area rather than clicking in the drop down menu or typing it in. This comes in handy when you don’t exactly know the name of the area you are looking for. Also I know that your focus is on Toronto proper but I do like that Mongo house gives you the sales statistics of houses across the GTA. Is there anywhere on your data hub that would give you like Mongo house does how many times the house was on the market in the last few years and price changes/drops? Not sure if I didn’t see if this was there. Regardless this is a step in the right direction to allow consumers to view what is being sold and for how much. I wonder if this will have any impact moving forward on the market especially as it pertains to bidding wars.
Andrew
at 9:44 am
Password is the last four digits of your phone number. It’s notes below the sign up but I almost missed it too.
Larry
at 10:05 am
Amazing, its quick, gives tons of history and very easy to use/filter
amazing Job David
Tom Tyman
at 10:24 am
I liked how simple and easy it is to use and I bet other people will feel that way too. Have a nice weekend!
Dave
at 12:41 pm
This is the best consumer facing real estate data product available in Canada right now. Congratulations.
Some (wish list) suggestions for your consideration are below.
1. Separate street number and street name into different fields. This will permit querying by street name.
2. Separate frontage and lot depth into different fields. This will permit discrimination by frontage.
3. Introduce a field for the first three letters of the addresses’ postal codes. This will permit querying by forward sortation areas.
4. Include a box to select multiple properties on an individual basis.
5. Include a button that performs a multivariate regression on only selected properties for key values (i.e., for Beds, Beds+, Baths, Lot and Parking as independent variables, with Sold Price as the dependent variable). Ideally the user could select the independent variables of their choosing, but this may be too complicated for the everyman. This will boutique generation of P values, which can be used for price estimation / valuation of properties that have not sold.
6. More filters at the top, please (e.g., parking, minimum sold price, frontage). In the bed and baths filter, suggest including the variables “at least 1”, “at least 2”, “at least 3”, etc.
budwizest
at 1:06 pm
why only till 2015? why not 10 years ala house sigma?
Looks good, but is clunky to load though.
Kyle
at 2:15 pm
Tried out the Data Hub and inexplicably had the urge to sing Cure songs in my head
….Thursday never looking back
It’s Friday I’m in love….
Great job building this!
Ed
at 2:41 pm
I much prefer searching on a map rather than selecting a neighbourhood name.
Kyle
at 4:09 pm
You have the option to do the map too. Go to the Search Listings map, and in the drop down where it has For Sale, select Sold Listings.
BJA
at 2:48 pm
Not to flog this dead horse (again) but here goes. It should be “it’s the data that matter,” not “matters.” Is this so hard for everyone in the world (talk about a dead horse!) to grasp? Apparently. (Cue the “you are so OCD!” comments)
David Fleming
at 10:57 pm
@ BJA
But what about “an unicorn?” Would you say that’s gramatically correct?
BJA
at 11:13 am
Not the same thing at all. “Data” is the plural of “datum” hence “data matter” is correct and “data matters” is incorrect. But nobody knows (or cares) so I’ll shut up now.
MM
at 8:46 am
Data has been accepted as a mass noun for some time now, so one can use either singular or plural with it. Check out this for more:
https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2014/04/29/data-media-two-tricky-latin-plurals-handle/
Confused
at 3:11 pm
1. Sign in how/where?
2. How do you change the timeline to, say, only 2018? The default “year” timeline is 2015-2018. Clicking on “2017” gives you only 2017, but clicking on “2018” doesn’t give you only 2018. Similarly with (the not-yet-over) Q3 2018.
3. Both Rosedale and Leslieville appear as default neighbourhoods (randomly, it would appear). I live in neither.
All in all, call me in a month or two. As it stands, David, your Data Hub is less than useless (although I have confidence that it will improve rather quickly).
P.S. After reading the other comments, I guess I’m somehow missing out on something. You all seem to love it! Where am I going wrong?
Not Confused
at 5:03 pm
All of the points you have raised are issues with your ability to use the tools in place, rather than faults with the site.
QMJHL
at 10:53 am
This response makes no sense. What the heck does his/her “ability to use the tools” mean? That he/she is stupid?
Confused
at 12:20 pm
My “ability”? What does that mean? After a few more tries (all equally unsuccessful) I’ve come to the conclusion that one needs to sign in (and I repeat, HOW/WHERE?) in order to “use the tools in place.” Okay, I go to TRB.com, click on Data Hub, go to a “Leslieville” page, etc., etc. Sign in? How? Tell me, please.
All I’m saying is that (without signing in, I’m assuming) the Data Hub misbehaves in numerous ways. I don’t want it to. Enlightenment rather than snark, SVP?
Condodweller
at 5:54 am
without re-reading the article I believe David indicated that you need to create and ID to use the hub. I have full confidence you have the ability to find where. I haven’t done it yet so can’t tell you, sorry.
David Fleming
at 10:56 pm
@ Confused
I appreciate the feedback – here’s my two cents:
1) The “sign in” is necessary as per TREB rules. Clicking on “Data Hub” will enable you to enter your name, email, and phone number, and your password will be the last four digits of your phone number.
2) The timeline is the red slider at the top. You can drag it left or right, at both ends.
3) We have default neighbourhoods to demonstrate to users that you can type an area, and the site will auto-complete for you. If the bar was empty, without “Rosedale,” we felt users might not realize they can type something in htere. For condos, you can search by address, ie. 12 York Street, and the auto-complete function is enabled, or you can type “Ice Condos” and once again, it will work with you to complete whatever you’re typing.
In a month or two, we’ll have made updates and changes as per our users’ feedback.
Whaaa?
at 3:35 pm
Loading, loading, loading….. (my desktop is five months old). Whaaa?
QMJHL
at 12:22 pm
Let me hazard a guess: you’re using a MacBook or iMac?
Batalha
at 3:40 pm
Just found out a house up the street from me has sold (we got an “open house” flyer in our mailbox a week or so ago). Got the info on Mongohouse in about ten seconds. TRB (which I tried first)? Not so much.
ED
at 4:55 pm
“No love, no love, for the haters, the haters, mad cause I got floor seats at the Lakers.”
Condodweller
at 5:56 am
Daivd, for those who create accounts is editing comments in the cards?
David Fleming
at 10:53 pm
@ Condodweller
You mean editing your own comments? I could look into that, as I’ve always wanted users to be able to have more tools.
The issue here is – the “account” created to use the Data Hub isn’t really linked to the blog. It’s merely there because TREB says it has to be.
Condodweller
at 11:50 am
Yes, I believe one reason you gave another commenter for not implementing editing our own comments was that it would require user accounts, which I assume, is a deal breaker for some. But now that you require an account for the data hub that sounds like one less reason not to implement editing comments. BTW I’m for editing other’s comments if that’s what you mean :-).
Moonbeam!
at 1:39 pm
I love the TRB Data Hub! Houses in my area are selling like crazy, must be the nice fall weather. It’s great to get the sold data and know what my house and others around me might be worth.