This is our Ultimate Guide to finding homes for sale online! We’re going to rank home sale websites in terms of the reliability of the listings, and amount of listings.
Best house search websites in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington
There are only three websites you should concern yourself with when looking for websites that feature homes for sale: Realtor.ca, Collaborate and OnRegional. Realtor.ca is owned and run by The Canadian Real Estate Association, and features reliable and up-to-date listings. Realtor.ca is paid for and run by realtors, so they have the consumer’s best interest at heart. Although, the best websites to find homes for sale and rent are Collaborate, and OnRegional. Collaborate features homes on the Toronto Real Estate Board(TREB). OnRegional features homes for sale in Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Kitchener, Waterloo, Hamilton, and a couple other regional boards. Both Collaborate and OnRegional will allow you to view all listings for sale in your area, while Realtor.ca limits the amount of listings available. Listings on Realtor.ca, might also show as available when in fact they are sold conditionally.
Realtor.ca (or MLS.ca) is #3
Realtor.ca, previously MLS.ca, is the most trusted and reliable source of listings across Canada. You don’t need an account to view homes. Although, some clients choose to set up their own profiles and receive email notifications when homes matching their criteria hit the market. This is a great platform for local and international clients whoa re looking for houses for sale in Canada. Realtor.ca also has a wealth of information on buying and selling real estate in Canada. This site is paid for by Realtors, and it doesn’t sell any adverting space, or personal information. Realtor.ca is updated 1-2 days after listings go live on TorontoMLS or RegionalMLS (the Realtor-exclusive websites). That’s as quick as you can expect it if you’re not working with a real estate agent. There are two downsides with Realtor.ca. Not all homes are advertised on it, and some homes advertised as available are sold.
Collaborate is #1
Collaborate receives all available listings, and it filters out all sold properties. However, they only feature homes listed on the Toronto Real Estate Board. This is the best search engine if you’re looking for houses for sale in Toronto, or Mississsauga. They also update every hour, not daily.
Just like Realtor.ca, clients set up profiles and get notifications when new homes hit the market. Collaborate also allows you to set up multiple searches for yourself, so you can really target specific neighbourhoods and price ranges. Thats fantastic if you have a fair budget and would like look at homes for sale in a couple different neighbourhoods and price ranges. To use this website, you must ask a real estate agent to set you up. If you’d like access to Collaborate, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Onregional is #2
OnRegional is the Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Kitchener, and Waterloo equivalent to Collaborate. It features all available homes for sale in Oakville, Burlington etc, and filters out all sold or unavailable properties. OnRegional also updates hourly, and features multiple searches. To use OnRegional, you must ask a real estate agent to set you up. If you would like access to OnRegional, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Best websites to find international properties or vacation homes
If you’re looking for a vacation home, or an investment home overseas, we recommend purchasing through our Sotheby’s office. Sotheby’s is strategically located in most established or emerging real estate markets worldwide Our middle name is International. Sotheby’s International Realty Canada can act as your local realtor, who can advise you and protect your interests, while a Sotheby’s brokerage overseas can facilitate the sale. Using the local Sotheby’s International Realty Canada to help facilitate your overseas purchase costs no additional fees to you. It’s also safer to purchase with an international real estate company like Sotheby’s, because we would have jurisdiction in both the market you purchase in, and locally.
SIR.com features every listing in the Sotheby’s International Realty network. That’s every listing from 20,000 of the world’s most productive agents. At SIR.com you can search by location, or lifestyle.
Sothebysrealty.ca If you’re looking for a specific type of property in Canada, Sothebysrealty.ca categorizes their homes based on lifestyle and amenities. Clients can search from Condos with a view, to equestrian farms, and everything in between.
World Properties features listings from around the world, and from all brokerages.
3rd party websites that feature homes for sale
These sites are 3rd party providers that aggregate data to sell advertising space to companies and Realtors. These sites will have outdated data, and will try sell you something. If you find a home on one of the websites below, which not on Realtor.ca, Collaborate or OnRegional, it’s sold.
Snap Up Real Estate is a better looking Homefinder.ca, but it uses its limited housing stock to sell advertising space to real estate agents and mortgage brokers.
The Real Estate Book features listings and agents, although the agents are from out of town, and the homes are not properly displayed by area.
Listnet.ca has a funky look, but what it makes up for in looks, it lacks in valuable listings and content.
Point2homes is similar to Homefinder, however it features how many days the house has been on the market.
CommNet is targeted at clients who are looking to buy commercial properties.
Cottage Marketer is a Canada-wide aggregator of cottages and farms for sale.
Homezilla was a neighbourhood guide that was replaced by Zoocasa.com. Zoocasa is a real estate brokerage, that forces clients to sign up to view listings.
Homiscity.com has a search feature, and displays listings in a very neat and organized fashion.
Housing Block Inc. is the most archaic website in the list.
Average Move In Date
Timing is everything when it comes to Real Estate. The industry average for move-in dates is usually around 60-90 days from purchase date. In a market like ours, where prices increase or drop weekly, it’s very important to sell and buy within a short time. For example, if you buy a house on June 30, we would advise selling your home ASAP so you sell in the same “Market”. You don’t want to purchase at the peak of the summer market, and sell in the cooler fall market. Before our above average yearly inflation, real estate in Toronto used to be more seasonal. Home prices would reflect the lack of supply and high demand in spring, and by fall prices levelled out.
Buying a home
In 2017, the Toronto and GTA real estate market has more investment opportunities than ever, but there is also a significant risk related to some of these purchases. Whether you are an experienced investor or a first-time buyer, the purchase of your new home poses a new opportunity to learn. The right realtor will help you learn the latest market trends, the basics of purchasing a home, and the closing process. Download our Buyer’s Guide below, to get the information you need to get from arranging financing to closing the deal.
Tips and Tricks when buying a home
If you find properties that you’re interested in, view them in Google Street View. The street view will help you get a feel for the community. It also helps you avoid busy intersections, industry, highways or railways. Google Earth is especially beneficial when purchasing land or homes with a lot of acreage, like those found in Caledonia, Flamborough, Niagra On The Lake, and Grimsby. For more tips and tricks on what you can do with Google Maps check out this blog post.
Keep In Mind That
“The Market” is constantly changing and a good price in May might not be a good price in June. Every neighbourhood is different, and you need a Realtor to show you the exact stats in your neighbourhood. It’s impossible to keep up-to-date with the statistics published by news agencies. For example, May 2017 saw prices drop around 4% across the GTA, but Oakville only saw a drop of 2.33%. The Toronto Star published an article that cited prices across the GTA as dropping more than 4%. But, that is not the case everywhere, because in some neighbourhoods, where international purchases drove the market, the price drop has been significant. While in the core of Toronto, condo prices actually appreciated month over month. Only a realtor can tell you fair market value, and give you insight into the specific market you’re looking to invest in.
What do realtors do when buying a home?
A Buyer’s Real Estate Agent wears many hats. They might not be an expert in every aspect of the purchase, but they know enough about construction, real estate law, zoning, taxes, and the market, that they can foresee issues and hire the appropriate professional to evaluate the risk.
A buyer’s agent will find out things like whether or not you can install a pool in your backyard, or if your condominium corporation is operating properly. They make sure the home inspector you hire has the appropriate insurance and that the there are no concerns with the title prior to closing. To say it frankly, a good buyer’s agent knows what you don’t know, that you don’t know yet. They make the process of buying significantly easier, and safer (sometimes without your knowledge). The best thing about a Buyer’s Agent, is that the Seller pays them for you.
If you’re looking to purchase a home, please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask for some information on the communities you want to live in. Alternatively, you can follow our newsletter at the bottom of this page.
