Canadians' thirst for vacation homes remains strong: survey
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Mexico, the U.S. and Costa Rica remain the favoured locations of Canadians in search of a vacation home
The economy may be slowing down, but that is not stopping Canadians from taking the plunge and buying a second home somewhere in the Americas, results of a new study from Point2 Homes indicate.
FIndings revealed that Mexico, a destination already getting the most attention from buyers, “took off in the past 12 months: The number of monthly searches for real estate-related keywords increased by 28 per cent.
Other key findings showed that:
• Mexico, the U.S. and Costa Rica remained the favoured locations of Canadians in search of a vacation home.
• With a 34 per cent jump, the Dominican Republic saw the most significant increase in the number of monthly searches of all of the countries in the top 10 most desirable homebuying locations.
• Despite an 87 per cent increase in monthly searches — the biggest jump among the 30 countries analyzed — El Salvador only came in 27th place.
According to Andra Hopulele, author of the study, “the last 12 months proved that Canadians are getting bolder about buying a vacation home. Compared to our previous analysis, searches for keywords like ‘homes for sale in Hawaii, ‘real estate in Tulum’ and ‘condos for sale in Punta Cana’ have increased.
“Canadian homebuyers are also getting clearer on the locations that they want: While certain spots fell from grace, others gained in popularity and rose in the top 30 best homebuying destinations.”
The top 10 home buying destinations in the Americas are as follows: Mexico, U.S., Costa Rica, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Belize, Bahamas, Panama, U.S. Virgin Islands and Honduras.
Hopulele wrote that like their neighbours to the south, Canadian homebuyers are determined to get their own slice of paradise in the vacation oasis that is Mexico.
“In the past 12 months, there were nearly 40,000 monthly searches for real estate-related keywords associated with the country, which is a 28 per cent year-over-year increase — and no wonder: In locations like Puerto Vallarta, Tulum or Cabo San Lucas, home seekers aren’t just looking for their next vacation home, but also a more laid-back lifestyle and their very own piece of heaven.”
Meanwhile, south of the border, Hopulele notes that the U.S. retained its appeal for Canadian homebuyers. “Whether they’re looking for a vacation home, a second home or a forever home south of the border, one thing remains obvious: Canadians’ interest in U.S. real estate is only going up.”
With a 20 per cent year-over-year increase, the number of monthly searches currently hovers around 18,000 and the three “locations that were top of mind were Maui, New York and Las Vegas. The search patterns also showed that, while some Canadians are interested in the more notorious or legendary American cities, others move south for the amazing weather in Texas and Arizona, or the beaches in Florida.”
As for Costa Rica, Hopulele writes that for “Canadians, it seems as though Costa Rica has become synonymous with laid-back lifestyle, relaxation and a joyous love for life.
To that end, the three most popular locations for Canadians looking to buy a vacation home were Tamarindo, Jaco and Nosara.
Point2 said information in the report was obtained through an analysis of more than 2,000 keywords related to related to real estate in combination with all of the countries and territories from the Americas.
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