Breaking into Toronto’s busy property market is not for the faint-hearted, but Nathan Dautovich seemingly doesn’t mind taking the harder route to success.
From the outset, he welcomed the challenge.
As he says: “If you’ve got an amazing product, you’ll be able to sell it no matter where you are. I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of working in a big market and it feels great that most people I talk to now recognize our brand and our signs. It’s definitely competitive here, but this also means there’s more room for profit when using our products compared to the traditional real estate model.”
That early conviction – that brand, product and differentiation could outweigh the sheer scale of competition – went on to shape his long-term approach. Toronto’s market is competitive enough to test even the most determined operators, and Dautovich leaned into that reality rather than shying away from it.
Balancing dual roles to expand opportunity
When he first entered the system, Dautovich wasn’t just a franchisee; he was also working as a licensed real estate agent. Rather than creating tension, the two roles pushed each other forward.
“This has been amazing! Since I joined, PropertyGuys.com has evolved to not only help Sellers, but we have an amazing Buyer program. My revenue has tripled by being able to offer more products to our existing client base, and it’s an even better business opportunity than when I first joined PropertyGuys.com in 2009.”
That growth curve proved foundational. With more tools to offer, he wasn’t simply carving out a niche, he was growing it.
Brand recognition
It’s no secret that Toronto is one of the most saturated real estate environments in the country. In the early days, standing out meant tackling the biggest obstacle head-on.
Dautovich remembers it clearly: “At the start the biggest challenge was brand recognition, it’s easy to get lost in such a busy market. Luckily this is one of the strengths of PropertyGuys.com, our round signs are iconic and quickly communicate that we are different.”
In a world where most for-sale signs look identical, those bright circular boards became his loudest megaphone. The signs didn’t just draw attention, they spoke of a different way every time a potential seller drove past one.
Staying focused amid constant noise
Competing with tens of thousands of agents means distractions are everywhere. Dautovich learned early on that survival depends on filtering out most of them.
“I’ve learned to focus on what I can control and to ignore the outside noise. We have an amazing product and our listings sell. Focusing on that and making sure to follow the franchise system where incremental steps are made every day helps me to stay focused.”
It’s the standard franchise playbook, based around routine, consistency, and doing the small things so reliably that the big things start to move.
Hybrid options expand market reach
One of the pivotal shifts came with the introduction of PG Direct Realty, which changed not just operations but the types of customers the franchise could attract.
“Originally we were more targeted at the do-it-yourself type consumer, which represents about 5-10% of the market. We didn’t have options for the majority of the market who wanted a full service option. That has completely changed, and now we have a perfect solution for ALL sellers, including full service just like any other traditional real estate company. Did I mention my revenue tripled with these new services? It’s been amazing.”
What had once been a niche offering suddenly became a whole-market proposition. Full-service customers, flat-fee customers, hybrid customers — every seller now had a door to walk through.
A model that works in hot and cold conditions
Like the housing market anywhere, Toronto’s property market can see on fire in one quarter and frozen the next. For Dautovich, the structure of the PropertyGuys system matters more than external conditions.
“Our model makes sense in any market. In a hot market where houses are flying off the shelves, it makes no sense to pay a $50,000 commission for a house that is guaranteed to sell within a few days. Think of the hourly wage for those agents! In a slow market, the reality is that having to inflate your price to cover the 5% commission is stopping many people from selling. This is the market we’re in right now, and we’re getting lots of clients who failed to sell with a traditional company, then they list with us, drop their price while keeping their profit the exact same, and they’re sold in no time.”
It’s an argument sellers increasingly understand, that flexibility beats rigidity, particularly when markets change quickly.
Misconceptions from traditional brokerages
In an industry built on legacy models, not everyone welcomed the flat-fee approach at first.
Dautovich has heard plenty of doubts about the PropertyGuys method: “The biggest misconception is that we don’t know what we’re doing, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Our people average 20-30 deals per year, we are market experts and are always among the top volume performers in every city. The good news is it’s very easy to move past this misconception, I’ve had many comments from other agents about how working with us was seamless and professional.”
Experience, he says, has been key to reversing those assumptions.
Consumer expectations that never change
For all the talk of shifting real estate dynamics, Dautovich believes some fundamentals are stable.
“These are constants that consumers want in any industry. I love how we excel at every one of these qualities while they are weaknesses for our competition.”
Control, transparency and choice aren’t trends. They’re the baseline modern buyers and sellers expect, and competitors overlook at their own risk.
Visibility in a forest of 70,000 agents
In a city where more than 70,000 agents compete for attention, visibility is not merely helpful, it’s key for survival.
Dautovich says the franchise system gives owners the flexibility to lean into what actually works.
“That’s one of the great parts of our franchise system – we have a long list of marketing activities and you get to focus on the ones that work best in your territory. For me, getting as many of our round signs out as possible has been the best form of marketing, and I also do extensive digital advertising, social media, and have a great centre of influence.”
Effective modern marketing is often most effective when it’s a blend of the hyper-local and the hyper-digital.
Looking ahead to a changing workforce
Dautovich believes the wider real estate industry is heading toward a shakeout, and that PropertyGuys is nicely positioned to benefit.
“Right now there’s an excess of realtors, mortgage brokers, and insurance agents, all offering the exact same products. Everyone wanted to capitalize on a hot housing market and probably underestimated the amount of work it would take to stand out in a large crowd of people all doing the same thing. PropertyGuys.com is a unique model, and our high volumes prove that our system works.
“I see a lot of people who have experience in real estate and sales migrating to PropertyGuys.com in the coming years – people in Canada will always want to be involved in real estate, and as selling houses becomes more challenging, innovative solutions will become more popular.”
That crowd, he believes, is thinning, and the ones who remain will gravitate toward models that give them something different to sell.
