Competition Bureau loses its bid to force TREB to release home sales histories

Canadian homebuyers have long been jealous of the detailed home sales information available on American real estate websites like Zillow—and, unfortunately, they’ll have to remain jealous for now, because the federal Competition Bureau has lost its high-profile bid to force the Toronto Real Estate Board to loosen its grip on the info. The bureau had accused the 35,000-agent board of unfairly keeping sales data from low-cost brokerages (and through them, homebuyers and sellers) for fear of losing out on commissions. (For its part, TREB says it has concerns about homeowner privacy and safety.) After a five-year investigation, two months of hearings and an eight-month wait, a federal tribunal dismissed the case at least in part because it was filed under the wrong section of the Competition Act. The bureau is considering whether it will appeal or re-file. [Globe and Mail]