As Sutton Group Realty continues onboarding and opening offices in Western Canada, its CEO Ross McCredie said the company is also working to deepen relationships with its existing franchise partners.

In an interview with RENX Homes, McCredie said today's housing market slowdown offers Sutton Group a chance to invest in itself, viewing the moment as an opportunity to grow across Canada.

Based in Vancouver, Sutton has been both acquiring offices and forging franchise partnerships this year. In February, it announced franchise partners in Surrey and New Westminster, and a dedicated hub for British Columbia. In October, Sutton opened new offices in Calgary and Kelowna.

While it may appear from its most recent activity that Sutton Group is concentrating on British Columbia, and more broadly Western Canada, McCredie said it is only part of a multi-faceted plan.

“It looks that way just right now because we’re opening a number (of offices) right here, but I can tell you we’re very focused on Ontario,” he said in an interview with RENX Homes.

Sutton was acquired by McCredie Investments in 2023, a Vancouver-based company led by McCredie, who serves as its principal.

Sutton's plan to make its partners 'stronger and bigger'

Today Sutton Group is approaching two milestones, sitting at just under 200 offices and close to 100 franchise partners. Its largest markets are Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia, he said. With the addition of the offices in Kelowna and Calgary, McCredie said Sutton is folding in over 130 agents.

Sutton's two newest offices are:

• Sutton Beeline Calgary, which will be led by managing broker Zaeena Gul; and
• Sutton Centre Kelowna, which will be co-led by managing brokers Emily Coates and John Skender.

Its franchise partners announced in February are: 

• Sutton Dream Home in Surrey; and
• Sutton Supreme in New Westminster.

The company is in discussions with franchise partners in Ontario to make them “stronger and bigger,” he said. For example, Sutton plans to leverage the relationship it has with a partner in London to expand in the southwestern Ontario market.

Instead of defining Sutton’s goals by the number of partnerships it formed or new offices opened, however, McCredie opted to define the brokerage’s goals by its search for professionals who are aligned with its vision.

In line with its emphasis on giving Canadians more access to real estate data, a goal of the acquisitions, Sutton plans to launch a technology platform in 2026 to be known as Sutton Wealth. It will advance his mission to rebuild the company as a tech-driven business, McCredie said.

Sutton will work alongside other financial institutions to develop the offering.

While he did not offer any details, McCredie said to expect Sutton to grow in other new markets, and that some of those locations might come as a surprise.

Opportunity in a slow market for Sutton

Sutton is actively expanding and investing despite a sluggish housing market, with homes sales in the doldrums in many major cities. Hanging over all Canadian housing markets today is the trade friction between Canada and the U.S., McCredie said.

While interest rates are going down — Canada's prime rate is at 2.25 per cent after another quarter-point cut this week by the Bank of Canada — it has mostly helped existing homeowners who can refinance existing mortgages at lower rates, he said. 

So far the interest rate cuts have not spurred a major resurgence in home sales. Thus, he expects transaction volumes to remain low for a period of time.

Even as he anticipates a continued slowdown in market activity, McCredie said Sutton is counterintuitively expanding because the situation also presents an opening.

“When you’ve got a slow market, then people are open to change and they might be looking for a new brand or opportunity,” he explained. This makes it easier for Sutton to acquire or merge with companies “at a valuation that’s reasonable.”

To make its mark on Canada’s housing landscape outside of brokering, McCredie said he wants to use Sutton’s platform to increase awareness of taxes and development charges he contends are suppressing the build-out of supply. It maintains his emphasis on giving Canadians more transparency about the sector, he said.

“A big role of what we want to do within Sutton is to tell Canadians what is actually happening for every dollar,” he said, noting that a significant portion of a purchase price includes government taxes and charges — especially for new homes.