A new report from RE/MAX Canada finds that “small” Canadian real estate markets are attracting new residents and homebuyers primarily for the liveability factors that they offer, such as green spaces and neighbourhood dynamism, to name a few*, ahead of affordability by a slim margin. The 2022 Small Markets Report analyzed home sales and price trends in the fastest-growing small Canadian housing markets, which are defined as those with the highest population growth rates in 2021, and having a population of less than 440,000, with secondary markets below 100,000**.

Residential prices in these communities have continued to rise as a result of low inventory and growing demand. RE/MAX Canada brokers and agents anticipate residential price growth across all small markets analyzed in the report, with expected price increases ranging from three per cent up to 20 per cent in some regions through the remainder of 2022. Unsurprisingly, some of these markets have already experienced significant year-over-year price appreciation in the range of 17 to 46 per cent.

Activity in these communities has been fuelled in part by the financial support that many Canadians have received from family, with 25 per cent of Canadians using financial support from family in order to purchase a home, according to a Leger survey commissioned by RE/MAX Canada. RE/MAX Canada brokers and agents in 83 per cent of regions surveyed have also witnessed this trend locally, specifically among first-time homebuyers.

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