Where do people want to move in the GTA? Survey says Oakville

Oakville continues to be one of the most searched-for communities by prospective homebuyers.

According to online real estate company Zoocasa, Oakville was third among GTA municipalities during searches in 2023, trailing only Mississauga and Hamilton, but ahead of Oshawa and Brampton.

“The economic conditions of a market largely determine real estate trends, and due to the Bank of Canada’s three interest rate hikes in 2023, the Canadian real estate market was in a state of uncertainty for much of the year,” said Mackenzie Scibetta, a content marketing specialist at Zoocasa.

“But high borrowing costs didn’t stop homebuyers and sellers from entering the market. Rather, they redirected where homebuyers were looking.”

Overall, the top 5 most-searched cities were Toronto, London, Guelph, Barrie and St. Catharines, indicating buyers were looking to get out of the GTA, but not too far.

Outside of Ontario, Zoocasa users were most interested in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Halifax and Moncton.

Zoocasa also looked at the top trends of 2023:

• Interest rate increases were top of mind for buyers and sellers
• Condo interest spiked, thanks to their relative affordability
• Housing market pressure increased as Canada’s population surpasssed 40 million
• Inventory levels lagged behind demand
• Pre-construction projects were scaled back to due rising costs

For the full report, visit here.