Former Yahoo! Manager Launches HomeZilla
October 2, 2008
Former Yahoo! Manager Launches HomeZilla, the Next-Generation Real Estate Website to Help Canadian Homebuyers - “HomeZilla will transform the Canadian homebuyer experience with a one-stop neighbourhood information source.”
TORONTO, CANADA – September 30, 2008 - HomeZilla (www.homezilla.ca), the powerful next-generation Canadian real estate website, launched today with an open invitation to visit their site. Visitors to HomeZilla can easily find specific neighbourhood information such as schools in the area, demographics, distance to parks, restaurants, and much more. During the development of the site, HomeZilla worked closely with home buyers to ensure the site is easyto- use and provides information that home buyers find critical to their purchasing decision. The idea for HomeZilla came to former Yahoo! manager and founder, Sandy Ward, after talking with friends and colleagues about the amount of time they spent trying to find neighbourhood information online. After moving to Toronto from Silicon Valley three years ago to work with Yahoo! Canada, Sandy found it difficult to find the perfect neighbourhood. “We believe home buyers, and real estate agents, deserve a tool that helps them save time when researching the neighbourhood where a house is located,” said Sandy Ward, Founder of HomeZilla. “People are moving more than any other time in history, whether from Cape Breton to Fort McMurray or between different neighbourhoods in Toronto. HomeZilla makes the home buying process faster and easier.” According to the 2007 National (US) Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 84% of all homebuyers used the Internet as an information source in their home search.
“I like HomeZilla because it is designed for Realtors and their customers – homebuyers,” said Al Kroch, President, Royal LePage Partners Realty. “HomeZilla not only provides comprehensive details about local area amenities, giving homebuyers a unique view of prospective neighbourhoods, it’s also the quickest and easiest one-stop resource for researching neighbourhood profiles, saving me lots of time when researching a new listing.” HomeZilla has been in stealth mode since April 2008 but is now having an online open house where anyone can visit and use the site – registration is not required. Homebuyers or real estate agents can simply go to HomeZilla, type in an address, and select the information they want to know. HomeZilla includes unique information such as the location of 99% of all public schools in Canada. And they are committed to continually adding data, providing even more information to home buyers to aid in their purchasing decision. Real estate agents will benefit from using HomeZilla because they can print neighbourhood reports for free. “Location is the most important consideration when it comes to buying a home. The neighbourhood around a Vancouver area condo has a dramatic effect on the price. HomeZilla allows me and my buyers to quickly learn about the area, find out locations of surrounding businesses and neighbourhood demographics. As a real estate agent, it is an invaluable tool for both my clients and my business.” Kert Fu, Sutton Group - West Coast Realty.
About HomeZilla
HomeZilla is a next-generation real estate website that provides homebuyers with efficient access to information about neighbourhoods. HomeZilla is a private company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. For more information visit www.homezilla.ca. About the founder
Sandy Ward, 34, previously worked at Yahoo! as a Senior Engineering Manager where he ran the Front Pages for Canada, Quebec, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. Sandy was part of the hyper-growth of Yahoo! Canada in 2006 and 2007 where he served on the Senior Management Team. Sandy moved to Yahoo! Canada in 2004 after working with Yahoo! at their headquarters in Silicon Valley. Prior to Yahoo!, he rode the dot com wave in Silicon Valley starting in 1999 working with several startups including HotLinks, AudioBasket, and PhiWare. Sandy began his career with Nortel while pursuing his Bachelor of Computer Science at Dalhousie University. His education continues at MIT where he is working on an Executive Certificate in Product Strategy and Innovation.
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