Quebec Real Estate Google Searches Reveal The Harsh Effects COVID-19 Has On Renters
Plus insights on what the pandemic has been like for homebuyers and homeowners.
COVID-19 has changed our lives in all kinds of ways. The pandemic has even changed what we search for when it comes to Quebec real estate.
Point2 collected Google Trends data from 2019 to 2021 in order to do a three-year analysis on the shift in Canadians' housing preferences.
According to Quebec-specific data that was shared with MTL Blog, in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019, there was an immense rise in certain home-related search terms in our province, including "realtors near me," "cheap homes for sale," "mortgage refinancing," "rent assistance" and "eviction moratorium."
So, in a nutshell, it looks like homebuyers were looking for cheap real estate and realtors around them to help them buy, homeowners were trying to figure out how to refinance their mortgage, and renters were looking for assistance and learning about their rental rights when it comes to eviction rules during COVID-19.
As for Canadians' housing preferences at large, here were the main findings:
- Homebuyers' common searches in 2021 saw a rise in terms such as "houses for sale near me," "realtors near me" and "movers near me." Other common searches like "cheap homes for sale" and "how to save money for a house" doubled during the period between 2019 and 2021.
- For renters, 2020 and 2021 saw increased popularity in search terms like "rent relief" and "eviction moratorium." Other renters' searches that went up over the last two years were "renting with pets," "apartments for rent near me," and "apartment with balcony."
- Homeowners were also looking to upgrade their living space, according to Point2's report. During the pandemic, there was an increase in search terms like "home office design," "how to paint kitchen cabinets," "flip house" and "house renovation."
Clearly, Google Trends provides good insight into what people want to know during a certain period of time. Wonder what the new search trends will be in 2022...
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.