By Chris Chopik
RBC recently announced the results of the 2014 Home Location Study by RBC-Pembina and the trend is clear. Researcher Cherise Burda says “location efficient homes” are becoming more important to Canadian home owners. “This Toronto-based study reflects trends that we see in report after report from all major Canadian cities,” she says. The study says that 81 per cent of respondents would give up a larger yard for a more walkable, less car-intensive location.
A location-efficient neighbourhood is one where amenities and transit are more easily accessible and where a car is not a necessity. Only 19 per cent of survey respondents would choose a large home and yard where the car is required and commuting takes more than 30 minutes. The study examines home buyer values relating to home size and type preferences compared with location preferences. While demand for detached homes is still a top priority for consumers, more buyers are considering location-efficiency as a top priority when purchasing.
As Realtors we see this trend reflected in the commonplace use of WalkScore in listings. The RBC-Pembina study hopes to go beyond the simple WalkScore to discover the underlying motivations and to measure the priority impact on buying behaviour. Burda says, “The real estate industry has real opportunity to make location-efficient information and costs more apparent.”
Of course Realtors are experts in selling location, it’s what we do. I would not use a poor WalkScore to market a home in the suburbs, or in a rural location. There are different priorities to marketing properties outside of urban centres. What this research really shows is that consumer demand is growing, and the way we tell the story of location can become more impactful with purchasers, bringing more value to both our buyers and sellers in Canadian cities.
Consider the information in this study as a clue for targeting your marketing to specific buyers. For example, the study notes that the “zoomers, boomers and elders (60+)” prefer walkable areas, as do millennials (under 35), though Burda says that “there may be a supply problem. The availability of affordable family-suitable housing in cities may be a contributor to why families are choosing more car commuter-oriented locations.”
This means we have a real opportunity to get behind the value proposition for urban living and to match it to market segments. The system I use to describe this is Recapturing Time and Money Through Real Estate.
The bigger picture reflected in this study is that lifestyle preferences are changing in Canada. As cities become more congested and the cost of car ownership increases, we see millennials preferring car sharing, bicycles and transit. As the aging population encounters mobility issues while optimizing lifestyle dollars, we see similar location-efficient demand shifting for different reasons.
This shift is a fascinating opportunity to help clients re-vision their lives while they reduce their time behind the wheel and improve their quality of life. It is really what we have always done as Realtors, with a different awareness of the changing landscape of real estate in Canadian cities.
Chris Chopik is a Realtor with Sage Real Estate in Toronto. He teaches the NAR Green Designation in Canada. 416-993-4870 Twitter – @evolutiongreen
