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Summary

Canadians Want To Buy Homes Abroad & These Are Some Of The Most In-Demand Countries

How about a move to Mexico?

Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Right: Tamarindo in Costa Rica.

Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Right: Tamarindo in Costa Rica.

Creator

It looks like Canadians wanting to purchase a second home are getting "bolder" with their choices.

That's according to an analysis by Point2Homes, which surveyed how Canadians are using search engines to look up second vacation home locations all over the Western Hemisphere.

The company analyzed more than 2,000 real-estate keywords in islands, countries and cities across the Americas and found Canadians are getting "clearer with the locations they want."

And while looking doesn't mean buying, it does indicate that homeowners in Canada might be looking to expand outside the country.

According to the study, the most searched-for place for home listings was none other than Mexico.

Over the last 12 months, there have been "nearly 40,000 monthly searches for real-estate-related keywords" for the third largest country in North America, which boils down to a 28% increase over the last year.

Places like Tulum, Peurto Vallarta and Playa del Carmen are all major hits for those looking for that vacation bungalow.

Next up was the United States. It's not surprising that Canadians are curious about home prices in their neighbour to the south.

Some of the top spots that people are interested in are Hawaii, Las Vegas and New York, with their access to entertainment and (in the case of the first two) amazing tropical weather being the biggest draws.

Next on the list is Costa Rica. The towns of Tamarindo and Jaco scored big in terms of searches, with lots of Canadians likely being interested in the sunny weather and proximity to natural parks and beaches.

A whole bunch of countries in the Caribbean and Central America are also listed. That includes Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Belize, the Bahamas, Panama, U.S. Virgin Islands, and finally Honduras.

All of them, obviously, score high when it comes to natural beauty and climate.

The average Canadian might be reading this and wondering how the heck others can possibly be thinking about buying homes in Canada, let alone in other parts of the world.

While, according to experts, housing prices in Canada are expected to slow down a bit this year, it's still quite clear that buying a home can be an unaffordable venture for many people.

And with the rising interest rates, even though the market might be favourable, getting a mortgage is much more expensive right now than it has been in the past.

Good luck, house hunters!

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

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    • Creator

      Tristan Wheeler (he/him) was a Toronto-based Creator for Narcity Media. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2020 where he was the Blog & Opinion Editor at the campus publication, The Ubyssey, for two years. Since then, his work has appeared in publications such as Curiocity, Maclean's, POV Magazine, and The Capital Daily, delving into topics such as film, media criticism, food & drink, podcasting, and more.

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