Buying a home in Canada right now means sorting through a lot of information at once. Prices, interest rates, listing histories, neighbourhood details, school ratings, and mortgage math all compete for your attention before you even step inside a property.
The good news is that every app on this list is free to download from Google Play. The less obvious news is that they are not all built the same way. Some go deep on sold data going back 2 decades. Others refresh listings every couple of minutes. A few offer co-buyer tools or cashback programs. And coverage varies depending on where in Canada you are looking.
This guide breaks down 8 Android apps worth considering, what each one does well, and how they compare side by side, so you can pick the right combination for your search.
| App | Home Valuation Tool | Listing Refresh Rate | Provincial Coverage | Co-Buyer Features |
| Wahi | Yes, 90% accuracy | Ongoing | ON, AB, BC, SK, NS, NB | Yes |
| REALTOR.ca | Mortgage calculator | Constantly updated | All provinces and territories | No |
| HouseSigma | AI-powered estimate | Ongoing | ON, BC, AB (expanding) | No |
| Zoocasa | Zoopraisal tool | Multiple times daily | All provinces | No |
| Zolo | No | Every 15 minutes | All provinces except QC | No |
| Redfin | No | Every 2 minutes | Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and nearby areas | No |
| Zillow | Zestimate (daily) | Varies | Limited Canadian inventory | Yes |
| REW | No | Ongoing | BC and AB | No |
Wahi: Built for Buyers Who Want to Act Fast
Wahi pairs MLS listings with agent-level property insights that most apps keep behind a paywall or a phone call. Every listing comes loaded with up to 21 years of sold history, school scores, and an instant home value estimate that the company says hits 90% accuracy. Those are the kinds of details that help you figure out if a home is priced fairly before you even book a showing.
The co-buyer feature is where Wahi pulls ahead for couples or partners searching together. You can invite someone as a co-buyer inside the app, and from there you both like, share, and chat about listings in one place. When you agree on a property, you can book a showing directly through the app. Wahi covers Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. It won the Canadian Business Awards for Best Real Estate Innovator in both 2023 and 2024. Buyers who work with a Wahi in-network agent and close a purchase can receive a cashback payment of up to 1% of the closing price.
REALTOR.ca: Canada’s Official MLS Hub
REALTOR.ca is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association, which represents more than 160,000 Realtors across 61 real estate boards. That backing makes it the most comprehensive source of MLS listings in the country, covering every province and territory. If a property is listed on MLS, it will show up here.
The app supports filters for price, bedrooms, bathrooms, property type, open houses, and rental listings. You can browse single family homes, condos, townhomes, duplexes, cottages, tiny homes, and more. Virtual walkthroughs, video tours, and livestreams let you preview properties remotely. Neighbourhood insights cover local demographics, commute times, schools, parks, and nearby amenities. A built-in mortgage calculator helps estimate payments, and saved searches with push notifications make sure new listings matching your preferences reach you quickly. REALTOR.ca also connects users directly with any Realtor in Canada.
HouseSigma: Deep Sold Data Going Back Decades
HouseSigma has built its reputation on historical data. In the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver, sold records go back to 2003. Ottawa and other parts of Ontario reach back to 2018, and Alberta has data from 2020 onward. That depth gives buyers a way to study pricing trends on a specific property or street over many years, which is hard to find in most other apps.
The platform has close to 2 million monthly active users and roughly 700,000 installs on Google Play with over 10,000 ratings. On Trustpilot, its brokerage arm holds 5 stars from more than 1,252 reviews. Features include community watch alerts, school scores, AI-powered home valuations, sold comparables, and market insights. HouseSigma also operates as a full-service brokerage, so users who want to move forward with a purchase can do so directly through the platform. Coverage is concentrated in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, with expansion continuing into other provinces.
Zoocasa: Cross-Border Search With Canadian Roots
Zoocasa is a Toronto-based brokerage that covers all Canadian provinces and extends into more than 30 American states. That cross-border reach makes it a practical choice for anyone comparing Canadian and American markets or considering properties on both sides of the border.
The Zoopraisal tool uses algorithms and local market data to estimate a property’s value and how quickly it might sell. Listings update multiple times a day, and users can access over 100,000 listings nationwide. Filters cover home type, price, bedrooms, bathrooms, and condo-specific details like maintenance fees and building information. Sold data lets you review how a property has changed hands over time. The app also includes a mortgage calculator and an open house schedule for arranging in-person visits. Zoocasa is free on Google Play.
Zolo: Listings Refreshed Every 15 Minutes
Zolo’s main selling point is speed. Its property listings pull from MLS data and refresh every 15 minutes, which means new homes, price changes, and status updates show up on your phone with very little delay. The app covers over 150,000 properties for sale across Canada, though it is currently not available in Quebec.
You can filter by property type, price range, beds, baths, or size, and toggle between photo view and map view while sorting by newest listings or price. Real-time market trends display housing stats like average price, growth rates, days on market, inventory levels, and recent sales. Neighbourhood information draws from Statistics Canada census data, including demographics, median age, schools, and income. A mortgage calculator rounds out the toolset. Zolo has been downloaded roughly 510,000 times on Google Play.
Redfin: The Fastest Refresh on This List
Redfin updates 50% of its MLS listing data within 2 minutes of receiving it, making it the fastest refresh rate among the apps listed here. On Google Play, it holds a 4.7 rating from over 152,000 reviews. That pace matters when you are watching a competitive market where homes can go conditional within hours of being posted.
The app lets you draw a custom search radius on the map to zero in on a specific neighbourhood. You can search by school, browse upcoming open houses, schedule tours with a local Redfin agent, and calculate mortgage payments along with property tax and insurance estimates. A “hot home” rating flags listings that are likely to sell soon based on Redfin’s own data. 3D walkthroughs and video tours are available for many properties. Redfin supports Canadian cities including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. It is now part of Rocket Companies, which brings integration with Rocket Mortgage for users interested in that option.
Zillow: Familiar Interface With Room to Grow in Canada
Zillow expanded into Canada in 2019 and brings a familiar interface that millions of users already know from searching American listings. The Zestimate tool calculates a home value estimate daily, giving you a quick reference point for any property you are looking at.
Co-shopping features let you tag favourite home details and share picks with a partner. Push notifications cover new listings, pending sales, and price drops. Sky Tours provide 3D views from various angles and heights on select Showcase listings, and standard 3D Home Tours help narrow down which properties are worth visiting in person. The BuyAbility tool estimates your budget based on current mortgage rates. Neighbourhood details include nearby restaurants and school districts. That said, Zillow’s Canadian listing inventory can be limited or occasionally outdated compared to apps pulling directly from Canadian MLS Systems. It works best for early-stage browsing or for buyers who are also looking at properties in the United States.
REW: Focused Coverage for Western Canada
REW concentrates on British Columbia and Alberta, making it a strong pick for buyers focused on those 2 provinces. The app pulls from MLS listings and provides property details, photos, and neighbourhood information for homes across both regions.
Search filters cover the standard options you would expect: price, property type, bedrooms, and bathrooms. REW also offers area guides and community profiles that help you get a read on a neighbourhood before scheduling a visit. While it lacks some of the advanced tools found in other apps on this list, like AI valuations or co-buyer features, its focused coverage means the data for British Columbia and Alberta tends to be thorough and well maintained. The app is free to download on Google Play.
Which App Should You Actually Download?
The honest answer is more than 1. Since all of these apps are free, the cost of trying several is nothing more than a few minutes of setup time. Each app pulls from MLS data to some degree, so the listings themselves overlap quite a bit. The differences come down to how that data is presented, what extra tools sit on top of it, and how much of Canada the app actually covers well.
If you are buying in Ontario, Alberta, or British Columbia, Wahi’s combination of co-buyer tools, sold history, home valuations, and cashback makes it a strong starting point. REALTOR.ca gives you the broadest coverage across all provinces and territories. HouseSigma is hard to beat for historical sold data in the GTA and Greater Vancouver. Zolo and Redfin compete on listing freshness, with Redfin pulling ahead on speed and Zolo offering better nationwide reach. Zoocasa is worth downloading if you want cross-border search capabilities. Zillow works well for casual browsing, and REW is a focused option for anyone looking in Western Canada.
Download 2 or 3 that match your province and priorities, spend a week using them, and you will quickly find which interface and feature set fits the way you like to search.
Published by HOLR Magazine.
