Zoocasa and MoneySense partnered together for the second year running to find the best places for prospective home buyers to purchase a home in Canada. As the official data provider, we ranked neighbourhoods and municipalities across Canada using methodology that takes into account the average home prices, price growth over time, and the characteristics and economics of each neighbourhood.
Using a methodical approach, we set out to find the most affordable municipalities that offer a great quality of life. But our methodology does not take into account subjective Canadian opinion. Which cities do Canadians prefer, or which do they have the highest hopes for?
To find out, we asked our readers which city they would personally rate as the best place to buy real estate in Canada. In a five-round knockout tournament on our Instagram story, cities were pitted against each other for readers to vote on. Let’s take a look at the results!
Toronto earned the number one spot when we ran this poll in 2021, and it managed to retain the crown this year, just beating out Kawartha Lakes with 52% of the vote. Montreal finished third, with Collingwood/The Lakelands rounding out the top four.
Toronto’s win does demonstrate the affinity Zoocasa readers have for larger cities, and is also likely in part due to its general popularity, culture, multiple thriving industries, and the fact that Torontonians make up the large part of Zoocasa’s following. The performance of other areas like Kawartha and Collingwood/Lakelands does showcase, however, that there is definite value to be found in smaller areas of the country with quieter lifestyles.
Read: Four Tips for Buying a Home Following Bank of Canada’s Interest Rate Increase
Moncton, North Bay and Quinte West & Hastings County ranked as the top three places in Canada to buy real estate in our official feature, but only Hastings County managed to break into the top eight in the community vote.
Moncton was ranked first in our feature, but lost out to Hastings County in the second round, having knocked out North Bay in the first. While Moncton may not be viewed as the most likely place for a Canadian to want to move to, it does follow the trend of the past two years of Canadians taking the opportunity to move further from city centres with the rise of remote work and virtual schooling.
North Bay, which finished second in our official ranking, was knocked out immediately by Moncton in the opening round. Its performance in the community tournament is not a surprise considering its location. However, average house prices are still more affordable than they are in the major cities, and with multiple high-speed networks and growing remote-work opportunities, North Bay is labelling itself as one of the best places to do “work from anywhere”.
Kawartha Lakes is the biggest overachiever in the vote. Ranking just 11th in the official rankings but finishing second in the community vote, Kawartha pushed Toronto right to the wire, with an extremely close vote. Toronto’s popularity may well have given it the edge, but Kawartha has seen strong growth in the last three years, with the benchmark price 88% higher at the end of 2021 than it was in 2018, indicating an increase in popularity amongst buyers.
You can read the official “Where to Buy Real Estate in Canada 2022” ranking here, or follow us on Instagram to take part in future community polls.
