As we approach the end of 2024, we find ourselves reflecting on a year filled with incredible growth and progress.
Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights from 2024, including product updates and a sneak peek at what’s ahead in 2025. But first, a RealtyNinja tradition… the annual team collage!
View our previous team collages over the years: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.
Holiday Hours
We will be closed from Dec 24, 2024, to Jan 1, 2025, and will re-open on Jan 2, 2025.
We’ll be monitoring our email inboxes over the holiday break in case of emergencies only. If you have urgent requests or website changes you’d like us to assist with before the break, please get in touch as soon as you can.
Major Product Milestones in 2024
2024 was a banner year for product development at RealtyNinja. Here are the most significant updates:
A Brand New Service: Social Media Listing Ads
It’s one thing to have your listings look great on your website, it’s another thing to drive eyeballs to them. One of the ways we want to help agents solve this problem is by offering a simple advertising solution. Earlier this year we introduced Social Media Listing Ads, a brand new way to dramatically increase the reach of your properties to prospective buyers.
Completely Revamped Product: MLS®/IDX Widget
Freshly launched is our completely updated IDX/MLS® solution for agents that are using their own (non-RealtyNinja) website. Check out our recent announcement for all the juicy details.
Yuuki: Our Fully Designed Website Package
This year we addressed one of the biggest challenges of getting a new website launched, and that is creating content and organizing pages. Yuuki is our solution to that problem. It’s a complete website package that’s ready to go, including content. It can be professionally customized to match any brand and launched in days. Best part? Only 15 of these will ever be created.
Improvements Geared Towards Real Estate Agents Outside of Canada
In 2024 we had waves of agents join our platform from outside of Canada, and they had unique needs. We focused a lot on internationalizing our platform with features like new currency options (and expansion), currency converter, currency selection for individual listings, new property types, and revamping the simple (unbranded) mortgage payment calculator.
Search by Address, Postal Code or MLS® Number
One that’s been on our roadmap for a long time and has had many requests. Prospective buyers can now look up a property by searching for its address (even a partial address), postal code or MLS® number. Super handy and long overdue. We hope you’ve enjoyed it!
Additional Updates
In addition to these major launches, we also rolled out several minor but impactful improvements, including:
- New great companies added to our Marketplace Deals (exclusive deals for our customers)
- Improved area and sub-area names on CREA DDF® websites
- Listing Showcase Widget Carousel View
- Ability to set “alt” and “title” tags separately on an image
- Custom disclaimer now available on all form widgets
- New listing auto-imported email notification
- Set email alert frequency on saved MLS® searches
- Auto-import and embed “secondary virtual tour” link in Greater Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton
- Auto-import and embed “secondary virtual tour” link on VIVA
- Create your own account link from the main navigation menu on your website
- Option to turn off auto-embedding of virtual tours on your listings
- New 301 Redirects tool
- Approximately 200 rural sub-areas added to TRREB MLS® search
- TRREB listings can now display “# + #” format for bedrooms
- Updated Mortgage Payment Calculator
- Fixed an issue with some listing photos being shown in smaller format
- VIVA listings can now display “Lot Size Acres”
- Sticky call-to-action on listing pages when in landing page mode
- Improved status updates for listings in GVR, FVREB & CADREB
- Improvements to form widget: “E-mail only” mode and options to hide header
- WebP Image Uploads
- Listing photo load times reduced on Rogers/Fido cellular network
- Featured Listing Import/Removal Issue Fixed
- MLS® listing photo update bug fixed
- and much more!
Looking Ahead to 2025: Exciting Plans in the Works
As we prepare for 2025, we’re excited about what’s on the horizon. Here are just a few things to look forward to:
Forced Registration
Since RealtyNinja’s inception nearly 15 years ago, we’ve received consistent requests for a “forced registration” feature—where buyers can browse a limited number of listings before being required to provide their contact information.
While we’ve historically avoided this approach due to concerns about lead quality, we recognize the demand and are thoughtfully developing a flexible solution that includes three modes of lead capture:
- Passive Lead Capture: Visitors can choose to register or inquire about listings without any prompts. This is the current mode.
- Active Lead Capture: Visitors are prompted to register when viewing MLS® searches or requesting more info about listings but can dismiss the prompt and continue browsing freely.
- Forced Lead Capture: Visitors must register or log in to view MLS® searches or individual listings, with no option to bypass the prompt.
To provide additional customization, you’ll be able to set specific triggers for the registration prompt. These are the ones we’re currently exploring:
- Time spent on an MLS® search or listing page
- Number of listings or searches viewed
- Scroll depth on a page
- Exit intent (when a user is about to leave the website)
This functionality is designed to empower you with maximum flexibility, ensuring your lead capture strategy aligns with your business goals. We’re targeting an early 2025 release and welcome your feedback to refine this exciting new feature.
Front-end Widget Controls
With this update, you’ll be able to directly access widget options and reorder widgets right from the page you’re on. No more navigating through multiple steps like first clicking “Page Layout and Widgets,” and hunting for the right widget in the list. This streamlined approach eliminates the guesswork of matching widgets to their corresponding sections on your site.
We’re really excited about this one! Here’s a sneak preview:
Leads Dashboard
While we currently integrate with CRMs and send leads via email (with the option to BCC), many of you have shared how helpful it would be to have a centralized dashboard for viewing leads without leaving the RealtyNinja platform.
This new feature will provide you with an at-a-glance view of your lead inquiries, making it easier than ever to stay organized. We can’t wait to bring this to you in 2025!
PropTX MLS® Data Integration: Starting with TRREB
We’re collaborating closely with both the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board and PropTX to get their new MLS® data feed operational. Once that’s live, it will power all of the MLS® data for our Toronto customers.
Shortly after, we’ll be expanding our PropTX MLS® integration to other areas in Ontario (including Ottawa). This will replace our existing DDF data feeds in those areas. More details to come early in the new year!
Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Chilliwack & Edmonton MLS® Data Integration with the Bridge Platform
The MLS® data powering our websites that are with Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, Chilliwack & District Real Estate Board, and The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton (RAE) will also get an upgrade. They’re switching over to the Bridge Platform, and we look forward to seamlessly integrating data feeds for our websites. We’ll have more updates regarding those shortly.
A Lot More to Come
Our product roadmap for 2025 is packed with exciting updates and improvements! From new ad types and enhanced AI tools to Zapier integration, and significant improvements in our MLS® search functionality — there’s so much to look forward to.
We’re working hard behind the scenes to bring you features that make your RealtyNinja experience even better. Stay tuned for announcements in the new year — we can’t wait to share what’s in store!
A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Customers
As we close out 2024, we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to you — our incredible customers. Your loyalty and feedback are the driving forces behind everything we do at RealtyNinja. It’s an honour to be a part of your success, and we’re excited to continue supporting you as you grow your business.
Your trust motivates us to keep innovating and refining our platform to provide the best tools for Canadian real estate agents.
From all of us at RealtyNinja, we wish you a joyful holiday season and a prosperous new year. Thank you for choosing RealtyNinja — here’s to an amazing 2025 together!
