We’re ready to share even more important changes coming to Douglas Cost Guides (DCG) that will help you bring more value and integrity to your client valuations.
Our commitment to evolving with the industry’s needs remains our driving force and we once again invite you to be part of this journey as we continue to unveil groundbreaking updates and enhancements. Let’s explore what’s new and what’s coming up in the realm of technology upgrades and beyond!
COMMITMENT TO INTEGRITY
ROBUST DATA EFFORTS – EVEN BETTER OUTPUT
In our ever-evolving industry, change is not just necessary—it is vital. Data is the cornerstone of the valuation industry and getting the right data sources, more data sources and utilizing that information to its fullest is what sets a valuation apart. The importance of data driven valuations isn’t necessarily the day a valuation is delivered but is of utmost importance down the road, when an insurance claim happens, when someone needs a mortgage or other type of loan. The valuations play a role in the bigger picture of a client’s life. With that in mind, let’s see what insights Petrus Burger, our VP of IT, has about the new platform. Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store:
- New Onboarding Flow: Streamlined for ease and efficiency, ensuring you get the most out of our platform right from the start.
- Dynamic Data Updates: Our data set will refresh more frequently, providing you with the most current information influenced by both domestic and international market trends to assist you in making more informed replacement cost decisions.
- Diverse Data Sources: We’re expanding our data sources to include vendors, brands and regional insights, focused of course on the Canadian market.
- Regional Costing: Recognizing that market trends vary, we’re introducing even more localized, area-specific costing to better reflect local conditions. We know the cost of building something in a remote area will vary significantly from a city centre.
- More Frequent Building Code Updates: Building code updates affect valuations and as we drill down to even deeper accuracy, timely updates are crucial. Our team of experts have reviewed and built into the new DCG costing all building code requirements across Canada.
We are committed to working on changes on multiple fronts, including how we price outbuildings and update those pricing models and platform functionality while maintaining a pleasant user experience. We are also forging relationships with suppliers of buildings, building materials, feeding equipment, systems and components, ensuring our guides remain comprehensive and current.
AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION
DCG RESIDENTIAL VALUATION UPDATE
As you know, we are on a strategic journey to bring the best in valuations to our subscribers. In dedicating our time and effort to agriculture valuations we have made the difficult decision to no longer offer residential valuations, effective December 31, 2025.
The reason for this decision is that our expertise is heavily weighed on the agriculture industry as well as nearly 100% of our client base. We want to ensure we are serving our customers to the highest standards, which means parting with residential valuations and focusing on agriculture valuations.
What’s Next:
- As of December 31, 2025, you will no longer be able to create new residential valuations within the Douglas Cost Guides platform
- You will have access to your current valuations until December 31, 2025, after which point they will only be available as a pdf and will no longer automatically update
- Finally, we want to ensure all your questions are answered so please do not hesitate to reach out to our customer service team with any additional questions. [email protected]
COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY
WHY THESE CHANGES MATTER
Our dedication to transparency is at the core of every change we make. We understand the importance of keeping you informed and involved and we’re committed to ensuring you have all the information you need to make the most of our platform’s enhancements.
UP NEXT
COMPONENTS AND FEATURES
Next month, we’ll be exploring some of the core components and features you will start to take advantage of on the new platform.
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