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How many bedrooms are most Canadians looking for in a home? And whereabouts? Is every would-be home buyer searching for the same thing as you?
You can leave the guessing behind, thanks to REALTOR.ca’s Local Insights tool. From keywords and search filters, to demographic information and more, this tool allows you to search by city or country-wide to discover how visitors are using the site and what they’re looking for.
When you pair insights from the tool with resources and listings on REALTOR.ca, you paint a clearer picture of the housing market and the opportunities available where you want to live.
The top used filters in 2023
When it comes to home type, house (as opposed to condo, townhome, apartment, duplex, etc.) is the most common filter applied to searches on REALTOR.ca in 2023.
Listings with 2+ and 3+ bedrooms are also commonly applied to REALTOR.ca searches. This is the case across Canada, and when narrowing the insights to larger urban centres like Toronto and Calgary—the two most popular cities searched during that same time period.
In the third quarter of 2023, 65.3% of REALTOR.ca users in Canada were aged 25–54, while the top buyer persona was classified as a repeat buyer (49.8%).
Dig a little deeper, and you notice waterfront as being the top searched feature filter. Now, knowing detached homes with multiple bedrooms are most often searched, we can draw a few conclusions as to what all this means:
- visitors are likely in the market to move up from their current residence;
- buyers are in need of more space (to accommodate a growing family or working remotely); and
- privacy and connection to nature remains desirable to home buyers in the wake of COVID-19.
It also means if you’re on the hunt for a single family home with waterfront—while also being close to the city—you can expect a lot of competition. But this information can also be used to help you decide where not to look—or encourage you to broaden your criteria.
Perhaps a pool in lieu of the waterfront? Or maybe a smaller city instead of the Greater Toronto Area?
Here a few resources to help get you started if you’re in the market for a waterfront property:
Places to live
- Halifax, Nova Scotia: Discover the Heart of Canada’s Ocean Playground
- Vancouver, British Columbia: One of Canada’s Most Loveable Cities
- The Colourful and Contemporary City: St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
- Tofino, British Columbia: Surf’s Up in Vancouver Island’s Vacation Destination
- 5 Canadian Cities for People Who Love the Beach
- Gananoque, Ontario: Waterfront Community Living
Things to consider
- Speed Date Your Next Neighbourhood: Identifying Your Priorities
- On the Water: What to Know About Living in a Floating Home
- Moving Interprovincially to Atlantic Canada
If a pool will do
- Pool Party: Choosing the Right Pool for Your Space and Lifestyle
- A Deep Dive into Saltwater Pools: What are They and Should You Get One?
Most common demographics
Repeat buyers and first-time home buyers were the two most common buyer personas using REALTOR.ca in 2023.
Repeat buyers represented 49.8% of visitors in the third quarter and can be classified as move-up buyers and downsizers. Knowing detached homes with 2 to3+ bedrooms were often searched, it’s likely the move-up category out numbers downsizers.
Why do people decide to move up? Each buyer has their own reasons, but as mentioned earlier, the need for more space is common—whether it’s to accommodate a growing family and multigenerational living or the ability to work from home. Downsizers are at the other end of the spectrum, being less concerned with having more space and more interested in having the right amount of space.
First-time buyers’ needs are often similar to repeat buyers’, but their searches can differ. They are more flexible with factors like home types, number of bedrooms, and location, while the primary driver is price—it’s a question of what kind of home can they afford and where can they afford it? This is shown by the most commonly used price filters, with the minimum and maximum price both being set to $500,000.
So how does this information help you in your search for a new home? It gives you a baseline for how different types of buyers are using REALTOR.ca, and it offers direction on where you may need to educate yourself, from budget, to home design, to what sellers are looking for from prospective buyers.
On the REALTOR.ca Living Room blog, you have access to resources on all these topics and more. Here are a few to consider:
For downsizers
- How a Team of REALTORS® Helped Karen and Jim Achieve Their Downsizing Dreams
- The Low Down on Downsizing
For first-time buyers
- 6 Things First-Time Buyers Learned on Their Home Buying Journey
- First Time Home Buyer Budgeting: What You Need to Know
- What Sellers Look for in an Offer Other than Money
- Buying a Home: Tips for Home Buyers
For multigenerational living
- The More the Merrier: What You Need to Know About Multigenerational Living
- Understanding Canada’s Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit
- The Ins and Outs of In-Law Suites
- Converting Your Basement Into an Apartment
The modern visitor: a digital-first researcher
It’s not surprising to see mobile devices as the most used method of searching for homes on REALTOR.ca, accounting for 70.7% of visitors in the third quarter of 2023. Nor should it come as a shock to see mobile as the top device for sharing listings, resources, and blog articles—83.9% of visitors used mobile for sharing during that same time.
Interestingly, listings and non-listing content is most commonly shared on Facebook, but non-listing content is also shared on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) to a lesser extent. Knowing how users of those platforms differ, it can be assumed the content shared is tailored accordingly (professional versus trendy, for example).
What this means is users of REALTOR.ca are as tech-savvy as ever and embrace digital conveniences to simplify their home buying journey. If you’re a seller, this highlights the importance of working with a REALTOR® who understands the behaviours of home buyers and has the ability to create mobile-friendly assets to help sell your home. This includes virtual tours and open houses, videos and image galleries for social media, and other resources.
A helpful tool for both sellers and buyers is the REALTOR.ca app (Apple / Android). Access real-time data on listings, filter your searches, and connect with a REALTOR® with the press of a button.
For more resources on leveraging digital tools to sell your home, check out the following:
- The Age of Online: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Canadian Real Estate
- How to Get your Home Ready for a Virtual Open House
- Why REALTORS® Are Needed in the Age of AI
- How REALTOR.ca Can Improve Your Home Buying Journey
- How REALTOR.ca is Making Home Buying More Transparent for You
Other factors to consider
With sales in Canada’s housing market continuing to slow as a result of high interest rates, per the Canadian Real Estate Association, there’s evidence of a shift from buying to renting. Searches for rentals on REALTOR.ca were up 38% in 2023 compared to 2022. Another interesting statistic is that international users of the site increased 24% year-over-year in 2023, while the domestic user base experienced a modest 5% boost.
For international buyers and sellers
- Buying a Home in Canada: Navigating the Process as an International Buyer
- Understanding Cultural Differences in Real Estate Transactions
For those exploring different housing types and options
- Understanding the Difference Between Condos, Apartments and Freehold
- Buying a Home or Choosing to Rent: Looking at the Options
- The Benefits of Using a REALTOR® When Looking to Rent
- The Ultimate Guide to Renting: Your Questions Answered
All that to say, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to buying and renting, selling, and moving altogether. REALTOR.ca, our Living Room blog, and tools like the REALTOR.ca app and Local Insights are all designed to make the journey easier.
Here are some additional resources compiled for different buyers, sellers, browsers, and everyone in between
For those curious about the current market
- Canada’s Interest Rate Holds at 5%: What it Means for Real Estate Markets
- What Does a Buyer’s Market Mean for Sellers?
- Canadian Housing Market Continues to Cool—Home Sales Down Again
For those saving for a down payment
For those who love a list
- Your Complete House Hunting Checklist to Find Your Dream Home
- Is Your Home Ready to Sell? A Comprehensive Checklist
- Your Address Change Checklist: Who You Should Notify and When
- Moving Essentials Every Home Buyer Should Pack in ‘Open-First’ Boxes
For those wanting to make the most of their sale
- 6 Things Stagers will Definitely Want to Change in Your House Before You List It
- Home Renovations that Could be Worth Doing Before Selling
- Staging Techniques to Attract Better Buyers
For those looking for tips from the pros
- Real Estate Tips for Buyers from REALTORS®
- 8 Questions REALTORS® Are Asked All the Time
- 11 Pieces of Advice for First-Time Home Buyers
- Tips For a Great Real Estate Visit: What to Keep in Mind
- REALTORS® Answer the Most Googled Real Estate Questions
- 9 More Real Estate Misconceptions Debunked by REALTORS®
- 7 Real Estate Misconceptions Debunked by REALTORS®
