In brief
Beyond our expert listings, Payotte publishes practical guides — verify a licence, choose a broker, estimate your closing costs, understand first-time buyer programs — and studies on the Canadian real-estate market. Everything is free, ad-free, and backed by official sources, to help you decide with confidence. Here is the full library.
Buying and selling
29 articles- Glossary: 45 terms without the jargon Stress test, benchmark price, latent defect, discharge… real-estate vocabulary in plain language, each term linked to the dossier that goes deeper.
- Choosing a real-estate broker The criteria that separate a good broker from an average one — beyond the licence and the commission.
- Choosing a mortgage broker Broker or bank, posted rate or real rate: how to assess who builds your financing.
- Real estate commission: the real numbers Average commission by province (2026 study on verified transactions), who pays, why everything is negotiable — by a commission-free directory.
- Sell with an agent or sell yourself? The commission in dollars in your city, what the solo path really demands, and the third way: negotiating — by a directory with no side.
- How long does it take to sell? Average days on market and months of inventory in ~42 cities — with the buyer's / balanced / seller's verdict, dated per city.
- Land transfer tax, city by city The real dollar amount on each city's reference price — from ~$0 in Alberta to double in Toronto, first-time buyer rebates included.
- Quebec notary fees What to budget for the notary when buying: sourced ranges, who pays what, what moves the bill.
- Closing costs by province Welcome tax, notary, inspection, mortgage insurance: what a purchase really costs, by province.
- First-time buyer programs FHSA, HBP, incentives: the federal and provincial programs for a first purchase, explained.
- Welcome tax (Quebec) The exact bracket math, the municipal surcharge up to 3%, and the bill that arrives after closing — with a calculator.
- Cancelling an accepted offer: the deadlinesNew Only one province lets you rescind a resale (BC: 3 days, 0.25%); new builds give 7 to 10 days depending on the province; everywhere else the offer is firm — statutes cited.
- New home warranty, province by provinceNew Tarion, GCR, 1-2-5-10, 2-5-10: mandatory in only four provinces, with protected deposits quantified — and Quebec's condo-tower trap.
- Foreign buyers: the ban and the taxesNew The federal ban until 2027 and its exceptions, then the layer cake: 35% combined in Toronto, 20% in BC, and the annual vacancy taxes — rates verified at source.
- Who owns that property?New Land registries are public: $1.50 in Quebec, ≈ $36.50 in Ontario, ≈ $11 in BC, ≈ $10 in Alberta — owner, mortgages and easements for the price of a coffee.
- Surveys and the certificat de localisationNew ≈ $1,580 paid by the seller in Quebec, RPR with municipal compliance in Alberta, nearly extinct elsewhere in favour of title insurance — which compensates but shows nothing.
- GST/HST on a new homeNew Resales are exempt, new homes are taxed: the rate by province, and Bill C-4's first-time buyer rebate (up to $50,000) — with a calculator on your price.
- Title insurance: cost and coverageNew A one-time premium in the $200–$500 range, no legal obligation — who actually requires it, what it covers (fraud, title, encroachments), and where to get your exact price.
- Condo status certificate, province by provinceNew Status, estoppel, Form B, syndicate attestation: three provinces cap the price ($100 in Ontario, $200 in Alberta, $35 in BC), the deadlines are set by law — caps verified at source.
- Pre-purchase inspection Price, real scope, and the verified licence map — including Quebec's mandatory RBQ certificate in 2027 — with a calculator.
- The lawyer at closing Titles, discharges, adjustments: the three checks that prevent disasters — with an adjustments calculator.
- Notary or lawyer? Province by provinceNew Notary mandatory in Quebec (civil law), lawyer everywhere else, both in BC — and the word "notary" meaning three different jobs in Canada.
- Lawyer and notary fees, by provinceNew Roughly $1,000–$2,500 depending on the province (dated reading), no mandatory tariff in Canada — and the three lines an honest quote separates: fees, disbursements, tax.
- Inspection vs appraisal: the differenceNew The inspector works for you (condition); the appraiser, for the lender (value) — even though you pay. The full face-off, sourced costs.
- Who pays what: buyer vs sellerNew Every cost assigned to its payer, line by line — and the two traps: the appraisal paid by the buyer for the lender, the commission paid by the seller but funded by the price — with an official-schedule calculator.
- Assessment vs market value Why the municipal roll is not a price, the comparative factor that corrects it, and when to hire an appraiser — with a calculator.
- Latent defects: your remediesNew The four conditions of a latent defect, the clocks that run, what actually protects you at purchase and the order of operations once one appears — Quebec and common law.
- Property tax, city by cityNew Each city's real residential rate, taken from its official source and converted to a common unit — with the bill on an identical assessment.
- Selling: your net proceeds Commission and taxes, discharge, survey: everything that comes out of the sale proceeds — with a net calculator.
Mortgage and financing
14 articles- Mortgage pre-approval, without the mythsNew What it guarantees (rate held 60–130 days — CMHC), what it does not (the house), and the stress test computed at today's rate.
- Affordability: how much can you borrow? GDS, TDS, stress test — the math explained, and the quantified effect of every debt — with a calculator.
- 25- or 30-year amortization Lower payment, lower qualifying income, more interest: the 30-year's real effect, city by city — and who qualifies since December 2024.
- Renewal: avoiding the 2026 shock The 2020-2021 term wall, your right to shop without a new test, and five levers — with a shock calculator.
- Fixed or variable rate The real difference is in the exit penalty and the trigger rate, not the rate — with a comparison calculator.
- Mortgage penalty: 3 months or IRD Both formulas, the posted-rate trap that inflates the IRD, and five ways to avoid it — with a calculator.
- Mortgage discharge feesNew The three-layer bill — lender (≈ $200–$400, capped at $75 in BC), land registry, lawyer — and who pays it on a sale, at renewal, on the final payment.
- How much does a home appraisal cost?New Dated ranges by assignment, who pays, the AACI / CRA / chartered-appraiser difference — and the registries where you verify the title yourself.
- Down payment: 5% or 20%? The real cost of the insurance premium once financed, the tax due in cash, and when 5% is still the right call — with a calculator.
- HBP + FHSA: stacking both Up to $100,000 of tax shelter per person for the same purchase: the rules, the optimal order, the deadlines — with a calculator.
- Self-employed mortgage Qualifying without a T4: the two-year averaged net, the effect of deducted expenses and the admissible add-backs — with a calculator.
- Refinancing & HELOC Unlocking up to 80% of your home's value: refi vs HELOC, worked debt consolidation — with an equity calculator.
- Alternative (B) lenders When the bank says no: what a B lender's "yes" really costs, and the exit back to an A rate — with a calculator.
- Bridge loan: buy before selling How interim financing works, the firm-sale condition and the alternatives — with a cost calculator.
Market prices and rates
11 articles- Canada policy rate Policy, prime and reference mortgage rates — dated Bank of Canada figures, decision history and upcoming announcements.
- Quebec real estate prices The median in 20 Quebec cities, with year-over-year change and the exact period of every figure — QPAREB/Centris and CREA, never an in-house estimate.
- Ontario real estate prices The reference price in 16 cities (Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton…), year-over-year change and exact period of every figure — TRREB, OREB and CREA.
- Alberta real estate prices The reference price in 8 cities (Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer…), year-over-year change and exact period — CREB, RAE and CREA.
- British Columbia real estate prices The reference price in 7 cities (Vancouver, Surrey, Kelowna…), year-over-year change and exact period — GVR, FVREB and CREA.
- Saskatchewan real estate prices The reference price in 5 cities (Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw…), year-over-year change and exact period — SRA and CREA.
- What income do you need to buy? The household income required in ~65 cities, computed at the current stress-test rate — published assumptions, recomputed on every update.
- 2026-2027 forecasts: will prices drop? The published forecasts (CREA, CMHC), compiled, dated and quoted as-is — Payotte predicts nothing.
- Rent or buy? The monthly gap by city Renting vs buying in 16 major metros — CMHC rents, board prices, Bank of Canada rates; two readings, cash outlay and economic cost.
- Average rent by city (CMHC) Average rent in 18 major metros, by unit size — official CMHC tables, October 2025.
- Real-estate market statistics Median prices, volumes and trends by market — up-to-date, sourced figures.
Find and verify a professional
4 articles- Verify a real-estate professional The regulator and official register to verify a broker, notary, inspector or appraiser — all 5 professions, province by province.
- Experts by language Find a professional who serves you in your language, across Canada.
- Expert columns In-depth columns signed by verified professionals — financing, market, buying. Sponsored content, clearly labelled.
- For professionals — the AI shift A listed professional? Everything aimed at you sits there: the AI shift profession by profession, the AI-readiness study, the MCP server and the sponsored column.
Payotte data and studies
8 articles- The "Recommended" professionalsNew The homepage figure, demonstrated: every professional who confirmed their profile, name by name, with licence number and official register link.
- Payotte Index 2026 The data portrait of verified real-estate experts in Canada — the original data behind the directory.
- Payotte Barometer 2026 The quarterly tracking of expert quality and coverage, by profession and province.
- Study: the Google reviews blind spot Why Google reviews alone mislead — and how Payotte weighs them against the rest.
- Study: unverifiable credentials Two credentials out of three cannot be verified by the consumer — measured, profession by profession.
- Study: local presence A professional's real presence in their area: a signal the big directories ignore.
- Coverage and blind spots Where Payotte covers, where seats are vacant — the honest map of what's left to do.
- Data & press Payotte's open data and the essentials for journalists.