Markham, Ont.-based real estate companies Bay Street Group Inc. and RIFO Realty Group Inc. have announced a merger to form a technology-focused real estate platform.

The combination folds in Bay Street Group’s corporate culture with RIFO's AI-driven platform and access to the capital market, Bay Street Group president and CEO Vicky Huang said in the announcement Tuesday afternoon.

"This merger is not only about growth — it's about transformation in the volatile market." she said.

Bay Street Group is a brokerage and home marketplace with over 1,200 agents, according to its website. More than 7,000 properties have been sold on its platform, mainly residential transactions. Its listings are concentrated on Ontario, and also include a handful of commercial properties.

Proptech company RIFO is the developer of an AI-powered app that supports real estate transactions and trading, marketing tools and lead generation. It offers a range of services for buying, selling and renting housing.

The combination, which was effective Aug. 31, has resulted in Huang being appointed CEO of RIFO Realty Group. She will oversee RIFO’s network of over 5,000 real estate agents who are supported by financial advisors specialized in a variety of fields such as mortgages, funds and insurance.

The platform will operate across Canada, but the focus will be on Ontario and British Columbia, according to the release.

RENX Homes has reached out to Bay Street Group and RIFO for comment. We will update this article with any additional information as it becomes available.

About Huang and Ji

Huang is an experienced hand in real estate and finance, having co-founded Paramount Global Mortgage Investment Corporation and real estate marketplaces Lending Real Technologies Inc. and Ubene Technologies Inc.

Johnson Ji, CEO and founder of RIFO Holding Group Inc., is another entrepreneur who founded and led Canada Eastide Realty Group and Eastide Realty Inc., Brokerage, plus technology company RealJaJa Group Inc.

AI and the capital markets will play key roles in the future of real estate, he said in the release.

“By combining RIFO's AI-driven and business discipline with Bay Street Group's culture of innovation,” Ji said, “we are creating a data-powered ecosystem that will help agents work smarter, clients make better decisions, and our network scale with unprecedented speed.”

Similar to other industries, AI has been promoted as a technology that can enhance the efficiency of real estate professionals.

Since the explosion of interest in AI, there have been a bevy of AI-powered solutions such as coaching real estate agents; comparing properties, predicting home prices and answering questions; assisting agents with closing sales; and shortening the time required to close a transaction.

“As AI applications continue to develop and improve, they should be regarded as a technology that enhances human expertise and capabilities, rather than a replacement for them,” Benjy Katchen, the CEO of Wahi Realty Inc., said in a column for RENX Homes.