In today’s data-rich environment, professional guidance remains an essential part of the homebuying and selling process.

Technology delivers powerful insights, putting more control in buyers’ hands, while Realtors provide the interpretation, negotiation skills and local expertise to turn information into confident decisions.

Mobile apps, smarter search tools, integrated data and digitized transactions are no longer novelties; they’re the foundation of the modern homebuying experience. Buyers can compare properties, book viewings and explore financing from their phones. This digital-first approach is making every stakeholder ー including Realtors ー more effective.

The digital-first homebuying experience

Twenty years ago, buying a home meant scanning newspaper listings, driving between open houses and relying on an agent to find new options. Prices were tough to compare, neighbourhood data wasn’t widely available and buyers leaned heavily on Realtors for basic context.

Even today, the journey can feel fragmented, with multiple platforms for listings, mortgages and legal requirements, often with little integration.

These gaps, however, have fuelled innovation. Digital tools have democratized real estate information and reshaped expectations. Buyers want clarity, speed and confidence, and Realtors are playing an increasingly strategic role in delivering it.

Today’s buyers begin online, filtering listings, reviewing neighbourhood metrics, tracking price changes and even touring homes virtually. They can chat instantly with Realtors or mortgage specialists and collaborate with co-buyers in real time.

What once required juggling websites, emails and spreadsheets now happens within a connected ecosystem.

Market insights, comparable sales, mortgage rates and listing histories are brought together in one place. Scheduling becomes seamless, paperwork is automated and the entire journey becomes more coordinated between buyers, agents, lenders and lawyers.

A faster, smarter, more informed process

Many buyers now do substantial research before their first conversation with a Realtor. They arrive at that meeting knowing far more than past generations, armed with home value estimates, virtual tour impressions, school and neighbourhood data, and affordability calculations.

Mortgage pre-approvals, e-signatures and digital closings have reduced weeks-long processes down to days.

But speed isn’t the benefit; buyers are more prepared. With more information at their fingertips, they can ask better questions, evaluate choices more effectively and collaborate more productively with their Realtors.

Tech-savvy buyers lead the charge

According to Wahi’s 2025 Homebuyer Intentions Survey, Millennials and Gen Z are the most likely to purchase homes in 2025. They have come to expect convenience, personalization and transparency as standard.

These buyers want to understand the market before diving in.

They expect an intuitive digital experience with real-time updates, accurate data and tools that help them feel confident before they ever walk into a showing. Realtors who combine technology with human expertise and guidance will stay competitive in an evolving market. 

Information at your fingertips

The biggest shift in modern homebuying is the accessibility of information. Insights that once lived exclusively with Realtors are now widely available.

Advanced platforms show buyers days on market, comparable sales, AI-powered property analysis, and local price trends indicating whether conditions favour buyers, sellers, or a balanced market.

The 2025 CMHC Mortgage Consumer Survey found 77 per cent of mortgage consumers researched online, 85 per cent used online tools to compare rates, 73 per cent used calculators, 52 per cent did financial self-assessments, and 47 per cent applied for mortgages online.

But even with this data, most buyers don’t want to go it alone. They want an expert who can contextualize what the numbers mean and who will answer their questions.

Transparency is the new normal 

Homebuying used to feel opaque; consumers had to rely on their Realtor as the middleman to share basic information such as a listing’s sales history and local market data.  

Today, transparency helps elevate those conversations between a homebuyer or seller and their Realtor. Digital platforms show cost breakdowns, neighbourhood insights, sold data, local market analysis, real-time price notifications and more.

Buyers can easily see whether a home is appropriately priced or how long it’s been on the market.

Armed with this information, consumers can ask their Realtors more sophisticated questions and agents can spend less time explaining basics and more time providing value; whether it’s helping to devise a bidding or pricing strategy, providing market interpretation, discussing neighbourhood nuances or assessing risk.

Co-buying and collaboration

Rising prices and affordability challenges have made co-buying more common.

Wahi’s 2024 survey found 77 per cent of Canadian homeowners purchased with a partner. Digital platforms now allow co-buyers to share searches, flag favourites, compare notes and communicate with their Realtor in a centralized space, making collaboration seamless. 

The future of homebuying

Artificial intelligence is already transforming early stages of the buying process, from estimating property values to flagging potential issues to suggesting homes that match lifestyle criteria. Digital mortgages can pre-qualify borrowers in minutes and tools continue to streamline steps that once required multiple appointments.

The biggest benefit of this digital approach is empowerment. Buyers can explore, compare and understand more than ever before. And because they’re coming into the process informed, Realtors can deliver higher-value guidance where it matters most.

Buying a home has always been one of life’s biggest decisions.

Today, it’s also one of the most transparent, collaborative and efficient. As real estate catches up to the digital experiences Canadians expect in every other part of their lives, the partnership between empowered buyers and expert Realtors has never been stronger.