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Your Guide to Home Buying Q&A with Taniya Nayak Mediaplanet sat down with Taniya Nayak to discuss how homebuyers can blend style and function. From panel-ready kitchen appliances to seamless indoor-outdoor spaces, smart design choices make all the difference. What are the top design features home buyers should prioritize to ensure their new space feels both stylish and functional? For style and function, I immediately go to the kitchen. Panel-ready appliances make the kitchen feel more like a part of the home, particularly with open floorplans and eat-in oversized countertops. Consider a microwave drawer that is out of plain sight. If you're a coffee snob like me, a built-in and plumbed coffee maker such as the Miele is a great addition. Utilize the cabinetry for pullout pantry and trash/ recycle. If the space allows, an appliance garage is a must!
For buyers seeking a truly unique home, what trends or customizations are you seeing that make properties stand out in today's market? 1. Usable Indoor/Outdoor space became a huge trend in 2020, and the trend continues to sell homes. Complete an outdoor space with landscaping and furnishings to paint the picture of how useful this additional exterior livable square footage can be.
2. Built-in garage storage also has a strong appeal with potential homebuyers. 3. Luxury vinyl-plank flooring is still making its mark with buyers.
What are some innovative ways to add personality and character to a new home without waiting for years of renovations? 1. Painting kitchen cabinets is one of my biggest “bang for your buck” tips. If that's too daunting, try changing the hardware as well as some lighting and plumbing fixtures and other hardware such as doorknobs and hinges. 2. I love a good wallcovering — these days they are much easier to remove then the wallpaper at grandma’s house. 3. If you have some minimal skills with tools, add applied molding to the walls and paint over the entire wall and molding with one colour. This adds tons of character and sophistication for a gorgeous custom look that won’t break the bank.
To read the entire interview with Taniya visit innovating canada.ca.
How Proptech is Transforming Every Step of Homeownership Proptech is not just a buzzword — it’s a revolution in the real estate space. From more personalized home searches to seamless financing and even smarter maintenance, technology is making homeownership more accessible and efficient.
Rachel Yuen Community Manager, Proptech Collective
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f you’ve been keeping an eye on the real estate market, you know things are changing fast. From how homes are built to the way we search, finance, and manage properties, technology — better known as proptech — is reshaping the home-buying experience in ways that seemed unimaginable a decade ago. Every year, Proptech Collective, Canada’s largest proptech community, surveys the industry for its Proptech in Canada report. The 2024 edition highlights more than 530 active proptech startups across the country, with 40 per cent focused on residential real estate. These companies are tackling inefficiencies across the homeownership journey — from the first home search to closing the deal and long-term maintenance. It all starts with finding the right home. Real estate portals are integrating advanced technology to refine search results, surfacing listings that match buyers’ preferences — sometimes even before they hit the market. Platforms like Local Logic provide deeper insights and a more data-driven search experience, helping improve every real estate decision, from consumers seeking a neighborhood that aligns with their lifestyle to investors aiming to pinpoint the best locations for development. At the same time, on the brokerage side, AI platforms like Mave are equipping real estate agents with real-time
Proptech Collective
data and marketing tools at their fingertips These platforms also consolidate warranties, to ensure they can focus on what matters maintenance records, and even insurance most — their clients. policies, making it simpler to stay on top of Financing is a critical step in the coverage. Digital insurance providers like home -buy ing proce s s, a nd Duuo by the Co-operators and Apollo proptech is making it more are streamlining the process of accessible and efficient. obtaining and managing home Digital mortgage platinsurance, offering flexible forms like Nesto, Perch, coverage tailored to homeowners' needs. and Homewise analyze credit histories Meanwhile, affordFinancing is a critical abilit y rema ins a quickly, recommend step in the home-buying process, and proptech pressing issue, making the best financing is making it more homeownership more options, and streamaccessible challenging for many line what was once and efficient. a complex, manual Canadians. The good news? process. Closing a home Alternative financing models purchase has also seen major are gaining traction. Rent-to-own improvements. Traditionally a platforms like Requity Homes help paperwork-heavy process, startups like buyers build equity before committing to Ownright are simplifying it with technola purchase, while companies like Ourboro ogy-driven legal services, offering buyers, offer down payment assistance, bridging financial gaps for those otherwise locked sellers, and industry professionals a seamless, transparent experience — all accessible out of the market. These innovations aren’t just about confrom anywhere. venience; they’re fundamentally reshaping Even after the keys are handed over, there are ways technology can support expectations. Buyers now have more data, homeownership. AI-powered management better financial options, and smarter tools platforms are making maintenance easier, to navigate homeownership from start to using predictive tools to flag potential issues finish. As the way Canadians buy and own — like an aging roof or inefficient insulahomes continues to evolve, proptech’s role in tion — before they become costly problems. shaping that future is only growing.
Stephanie Wood Vice President, Alate Partners
For more insights from the Proptech in Canada report, visit proptech collective.com.
Publisher: Ali Qaiser Business Development Manager: Sarah Ferreira Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Production & Delivery Manager: Michael Taylor Creative Director: Kylie Armishaw Digital Designer: Miranda Robinson Digital Media Manager: Karm Rathod All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The National Post or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.