Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announced that it has “acquired OJO Canada — the Canadian operations of U.S.-based real estate technology company, OJO Holdings Corp.”
The acquisition further “enables RBC’s commitment to supporting Canadians at every stage in their home buying journey by offering intuitive, digitally-enabled and insights-driven experiences and resources to help them make one of the most important decisions of their lives.”
OJO Canada guides consumers “through the home journey by providing a customized home search experience, on-demand access to a network of industry experts, and the support of financial resources. OJO Canada aims to make the homeownership process more accessible to more Canadians.”
Sid Paquette, Head, RBCx, says:
“OJO Canada offers a powerful real estate platform that serves as a comprehensive one-stop hub for Canadian home buyers who are looking for a simpler, integrated experience in this fragmented market. We’re excited to bring OJO Canada into the broader RBCx portfolio of ventures and look forward to building upon the platform’s unique capabilities. In doing so, we remain focused on deepening our relationship with Canadian home buyers and real estate industry professionals, and delivering value-added experiences that eliminate pain points across their complete home buying journey.”
The Canadian housing market “continues to be impacted by rising interest rates and evolving economic conditions that are creating new opportunities and challenges for Canadian home buyers.”
In this environment, the comprehensive resources and experience that OJO Canada provides is more relevant than ever “as home buyers make one of the biggest decisions of their lives.”
Karen Starns, CEO, OJO Canada, said:
“Canadians have aspirations to fulfill their home ownership ambitions, yet they are up against an incredibly challenging housing market. Now more than ever, consumers need a trusted ally to guide them through the home buying and selling journey. We see ourselves as that ally. Over the past few years, OJO Canada has grown to become a valuable resource for Canadian home buyers and sellers. We’re thrilled to join RBC and accelerate our efforts to help more Canadians realize their home ownership goals.”
RBCx entered into a partnership with OJO Holdings Corp. in 2018 “to test product innovations in the Canadian market and expanded its partnership in 2021 to pilot launch OJO Canada, a Canadian real estate platform.”
Less than two years since launching, the platform “has seen consistent growth and overall performance in the Canadian market, reaching millions of home buyers.”
While the financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed, OJO Canada will be an RBC-owned company.”
It will “complement a comprehensive portfolio of existing ventures within RBCx to support Canadians as they find, rent, buy, move into, and maintain a home.”
These ventures “include MoveSnap, Smart Reno and GarbageDay.”