Since the advent of legal pot in Canada one year ago, things have changed – but not in the ways many people might have expected. Most of us don’t have to “swim” through clouds of smoke on the way to work, and contrary to some pre-conceived fears by existing homeowners and new homebuyers, property values haven’t plummeted, home sales haven’t suffered, and the housing market hasn’t all gone to pot, so to speak.

In fact, a post-legalization study by Pollara Strategic Insights found that Canadians reported a small increase in pot usage and a significant increase in acceptance. Changing attitudes were also a running theme in the new RE/MAX Cannabis Reflection Report, which found that legal pot shops aren’t on homebuyers’ radar. This is in stark contrast to a RE/MAX poll conducted in late 2018, which revealed that 65 per cent of Canadians would not like to live near a retail cannabis store.

However, a more recent survey of RE/MAX brokers finds that 21 per cent of Canadians already live in close proximity to a legal pot shop, and 72 per cent of them said it would not be a factor in their decision to move.

It appears that there were a lot of anticipated reservations surrounding cannabis retail and the negative impacts on local property values that did not come to pass. We have not seen a decrease in home sales or prices that can be attributed to legal pot. In fact, the opposite may be true. As the retail footprint grows and diversifies into edibles and other formats, buyers and sellers may start to feel less resigned.

Here’s what RE/MAX experts are reporting in Canada’s biggest housing markets:

The presence of more stores may influence how homebuyers approach certain neighbourhoods. Even with changed attitudes, however, the idea of NIMBYism still looms in the background. But for the time being, acceptance and adoption seems to have been pretty positive.

With the next round of legal pot coming in the form of edibles and topicals as early as this December, only time will tell how the public adopts, accepts and reacts to the new normal in their communities, and the long-term impact on their property values and the liveability of their neighbourhoods.

More to Explore

Haunted Houses in Canada: Famous Properties with a Spooky Past

Haunted Houses in Canada: Famous Properties with a Spooky Past

October 22, 2025

10 Places Where You Can Get a Home for Under $200,000

10 Places Where You Can Get a Home for Under $200,000

October 20, 2025

Tasks to Do Now if You Plan to Buy a Home in 2026 

10 Tasks to Do Now if You Plan to Buy a Home in 2026 

October 17, 2025

Canada Launches Build Canada Homes to Tackle the Housing Affordability Crisis

Canada Launches Build Canada Homes to Tackle the Housing Affordability Crisis

October 16, 2025

Canada’s Hottest Real Estate Markets Right Now

Canada’s Hottest Real Estate Markets Right Now

October 14, 2025

Couple and mortgage advisor discussing Does Your Credit Score Impact Your Mortgage Rate?

Does Your Credit Score Impact Your Mortgage Rate?

October 13, 2025

Are First Time Home Buyers in BC Struggling to Buy a Home?

October 10, 2025

7 Waxwing Place Luxury Toronto Home

$5.8M Luxury Toronto Home for Sale with Secret Features You’ve Got to See

October 8, 2025

Should I Buy a House First or Sell First

Should I Buy a House First or Sell First?

October 6, 2025

Find the
Right Agent

Sign up
For Our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
This field is hidden when viewing the form

Next Steps: Sync an Email Add-On

To get the most out of your form, we suggest that you sync this form with an email add-on. To learn more about your email add-on options, visit the following page (https://www.gravityforms.com/the-8-best-email-plugins-for-wordpress-in-2020/). Important: Delete this tip before you publish the form.
Untitled(Required)

*RE/MAX, LLC, 5075 S. Syracuse St., Denver CO, 80237; RE/MAX Western Canada and RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic, 639 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 2B7, 905-542-2400