How a Toronto Real Estate Team Killed 30+ Minutes of Daily Grunt Work

How a Toronto Real Estate Team Killed 30+ Minutes of Daily Grunt Work

The Daily Drain

Agents wasted 30-60 minutes every day copying MLS data by hand—156 hours per agent per year lost to busywork.

• Manual entry caused wrong prices in client decks, damaging trust.
• Weekly market reports meant missing same-day price drops and new listings.
• Team leads made decisions 24-48 hours behind real inventory shifts.
• Repetitive tasks fueled burnout. Data-driven selling felt broken.

The Solution: “MLS Sync Engine”

A live Google Sheets dashboard powered by Google Apps Script. Pulls delta updates hourly from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREB) API via Retsly. No browser. No copy-paste. Just real-time data.

How It Works

Build It Yourself

Required Scopes (appsscript.json)

{
  "oauthScopes": [
    "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets",
    "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.external_request",
    "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.scriptapp"
  ]
}

Setup

1. Get API Key: Register with Retsly or your MLS provider.
2. Create Sheet: Add tabs: NewListings, PriceChanges, Inventory, Trends. Set headers in row 1.
3. Open Apps Script: Extensions > Apps Script. Paste code into Code.gs.
4. Store Key: Project Settings > Script Properties → MLS_API_KEY = your_key_here.
5. Add Trigger: Triggers > Add Trigger → syncNewListings, time-driven, every hour.
6. Authorize: Run once manually. Approve Sheets and external request access.
7. Test: Check logs and data in Executions tab.

Core Script: Sync New Listings

// Pseudo code for the application 
FUNCTION syncNewListings
  START Timer
  GET API Key
  GET Sheet 'NewListings'
  
  DEFINE URL (Active listings, Updated last 24h)
  
  TRY
    FETCH URL (GET)
    IF Response Error THEN RETURN
    
    PARSE JSON Response
    IF No Data THEN RETURN
    
    CLEAR Old Data in Sheet
    
    FOR EACH Listing IN Data:
      EXTRACT [MLS, Address, Price, Beds, Baths, DaysOnMarket, Agent]
      ADD to Rows List
      
    WRITE Rows to Sheet (Batch)
    LOG "Synced {Count} listings"
    RETURN Count
    
  CATCH Error
    LOG "Sync Failed"
    RETURN 0
END FUNCTION

Fix Common Issues Fast

• 401 Error? Verify API key in Script Properties—never hardcode. Test with curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY".
• Script times out? Add pagination. Process 100 records per run. Store offset in PropertiesService and chain triggers.
• Hit quota? Check daily URL fetch count in Apps Script Dashboard. At 20,000/day, reduce to every 2 hours—or upgrade to Google Workspace Enterprise (100,000/day).

To address the scenario of how a Toronto real estate team eliminated daily administrative burdens, here are three specific use cases based on regional automation success stories:

Use Case 1: Automated MLS and OREA Form Completion

The team implements AI-powered tools to extract property data from unstructured documents and auto-populate complex forms like the 1,200-field MLS Data Information Form and OREA agreements. ROI: Reduces processing time from 40 minutes to under 2 minutes per form.

Use Case 2: Automated FINTRAC and Compliance Verification

By using automated field mapping and identity verification workflows, the team instantly generates mandatory FINTRAC Form 630 and other regulatory documents for every transaction. ROI: Saves 40+ hours per month on manual paperwork and ensures 97% first-pass accuracy.

Use Case 3: Instant Lead Nurturing and Follow-Up

The team utilizes automated triggers to send instant WhatsApp alerts and pre-scheduled follow-up sequences the moment a lead interacts with a listing or completes a site visit. ROI: Increases lead engagement by 90% and eliminates the "manual grunt work" of daily lead status updates.

Build It or Skip the Line

Spend a weekend and deploy this yourself—the code works.
Or get a production-ready version in under a week: error alerts, pagination, multi-board support.

Need this for your team? Book a 30-minute call. 30-day code warranty.