B.C.-based companies Sutton Group and Ace Project Marketing Group have partnered to combine Sutton’s national real estate network with Ace’s market intelligence and project marketing expertise to sell new condos. 

The companies say the team-up will help to clear unsold condos around the country with special attention paid to projects with fewer units, in smaller cities and communities.

Ross McCredie, CEO of Sutton Group, told RENX that the home-selling process in B.C. and around the country has lost sight of the types of homes that buyers want. He said over the past 10 to 15 years, most of the product that was designed and built doesn't fit the needs of the current buyers.

"We had a lot of smaller, tiny, little micro-units that were set up for investors," he said.

The tide on the market has gone out. "Everybody's kind of naked," McCredie said. "Developers need help, so that's where we think the opportunity is to have that true expertise," he said. "If you're looking to launch a project in two to three years, you have got to start that process now."

As part of the partnership, Ace is launching Ace Everywhere, a project marketing program designed exclusively for Sutton agents. They expect the program to combine Ace’s centralized strategy, marketing and production capabilities with local agents’ market knowledge, relationships and sales abilities.

It gives participating Sutton teams the support to pursue and deliver residential development projects in their own communities, bringing Ace’s program to new markets across Canada.

'A lot of standing inventory'

"There's obviously a lot of standing inventory (with) 5,000 (new) condos in B.C. that are sitting empty," McCredie said. "I think there's a unique opportunity." 

A similar inventory backlog exists in Ontario, where roughly 5,000 new units sit unsold across Toronto and Hamilton. 

McCredie said the Ace team will help identify assets today that must be sold to reduce inventory. They will also work with developers — ideally well-established ones — to identify specific types of homes and projects that will sell well in a particular neighbourhood or community. 

Kelowna-based Ace Project Marketing hopes to expand its services to more corners of the national market using Sutton's large network of sales people. 

Sylvia McNamee, vice-president, communications with Ace, said the partnership will unite developers in communities around Canada with Ace's market data and Sutton's salespeople to help market and sell pre-sale condos and townhomes. "(This will) put that power in the hands of smaller realtor teams or brokerages," McNamee told RENX Homes.

Ace emerged during pandemic housing boom 

Ace is a small team that emerged in 2020 during the pandemic when the housing market was super-charged by low interest rates and huge numbers of people eager to move. The firm initially focused on marketing projects in the Okanagan and the Kootenays, and then Vancouver Island. This partnership will expand its scope nationally, McNamee said. 

While other marketing firms have disappeared from the market in the last 24 months, Ace has survived by remaining small without large overhead costs. "We haven't had to see major layoffs or huge restructuring," she said.

Working with Sutton will help Ace build up its portfolio, especially in secondary or tertiary markets, McNamee said, adding that the firm expects to be involved in many smaller, boutique projects. 

According to its online portfolio, Ace is currently marketing and selling condo projects around B.C. in Rossland, West Kelowna, Kelowna, Vancouver, Surrey and Coquitlam among other communities.

For developers, the partnership will involve building databases of registrants in target markets for projects using Ace's insights into purchaser expectations. That data would also equip local Sutton agents with the data they need to make sales.

Sutton has also been growing its network of real estate offices.

Sutton Group, initially launched in the early 1980s, has added the following offices over the last year: Sutton Sarbat, Surrey; Sutton West Vancouver; Sutton Centre, Kelowna; Sutton GO, Gatineau-Ottawa; Sutton Quebec City; and Sutton Group First Choice, Stratford, Ont. 

The company now has roughly 6,000 agents in Canada. Vancouver-based McCredie Investments acquired Sutton Group in 2023.