According to a new study issued by the National Association of Realtors and Google, 90% of homebuyers have been searching online for their new home. While we knew that the Internet was playing a large role in house hunting, this is a trend that's growing like wildfire and is both intriguing and surprising. The stats show the importance of the Internet when it comes to real estate and just how much the average buyer is using his computer or mobile device to find a property.

Here are some of the other interesting statistics gleaned from these surveys that were conducted from 2011 through 2012.

• Home shoppers will perform 11 searches on average on a real estate website before taking any type of action.
• Of the new shoppers, 68% are using mobile

There’s a new report out from TD showing that the Canadian regions that deal more with commodities like gas and oil are doing much better economically than other regions in the nation. Winnipeg, Calgary, Saskatoon and Edmonton continued to remain strong when it came to population growth, housing sales and prices and lower unemployment rates. On average, western cities were outperforming eastern Canadian and the central cities in all of these departments.

There was one standalone city in the eastern part of Canada that was also doing well and standing above the other eastern and central cities in the survey. St. John's, Newfoundland has been experiencing a good housing market, better demographics and an improving unemployment rate.

St. John's is

It's often discussed, but how real is it that most Canadian Baby Boomers will be planning on downsizing in the immediate future? According to a recent Leger Marketing poll that was done on behalf of Royal LePage, almost half of the baby boomers that are planning to purchase a new home don't have plans set in place to downsize.

Baby Boomers have been one of the luckiest and wealthiest generations ever to be seen in Canadian history. They were born in better economic times than their parents and even though the economy in Canada has seen its share of ups and downs throughout the years, the boomers for the most part have lived through some extremely prosperous times.

Baby Boomers are people that were born between the years 1947 - 1966. After World War

According to a new survey released by RE/MAX, housing prices in the Calgary area have risen 108% over the last 10 years. This is great news for people that have been counting on their home as a nest egg for retirement and fantastic news for people that are considering jumping into the Calgary real estate market for investment purposes.

In 2002 the average home price for a residential property in Calgary was $198,350 while in 2012 the prices were at $412,315.  Across Canada, during the same time period, the average prices for homes went up 93%. The average cost for a home nationally in 2002 was $188,164 while in 2012 the figure had risen to $363,740.

When compared to other cities listed in the report, Calgary's appreciation in average home prices was

It's been a busy year here in Calgary for students as some continue to walk through their school doors every morning while others wake up and turn on their computers in their homes to start their studies. There were 11,000 students taking online courses in 2012 and it is expected that these numbers will go up this year.

ECampusAlberta offers programs that can be taken online to students across Alberta. It is a consortia that provides top class Internet education on behalf of 16 various post-secondary schools in the province. Tricia Donovan is the head of this online campus and says that most of the students enrolled choose to take their studies online in order to meet schedule demands as most of them are working a full-time job.

When compared to 2

Both housing prices and sales went up during January this year with the average selling price rising by 12.74 percent over last January's figures. The average sales price for a Calgary single-family home was $496,579.

In the single-family Calgary real estate market, this was the fifth highest price ever seen in any month. In July 2007 the peak was hit with a price tag for single-family homes sitting at $506,670.

There was moderate growth in pricing here in Calgary last year as Alberta as a whole proved that it's the province that’s rich in commodities that can hold its own in the real estate market. It's important to keep in mind, however, that in the luxury market a record number of homes were sold last year that were selling for $1 million or

If you're looking to find the doctors that receive the highest-pay here in the nation you won't have to look past your doorstep. Alberta's doctors are receiving the highest compensation for the second year in a row according to a new study from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Second in line according to the report were Ontario doctors. Physicians in Ontario received an average compensation of $340,000 per year while Alberta doctors were bringing in gross payments of approximately $350,000 during 2010-11. These numbers represent the most recent statistics available for doctor’s payments in Canada.

The national average for compensation was $307,000. Information regarding compensation and billing was compiled from all the provinces in

Vacancy rates are rising here in Calgary for real estate in the industrial market. The market ended in 2012 with a 5.05% vacancy rate. Overall, this was only slightly up from the fall rate of 4.71%. This small increase indicates that the industrial market remains generally balanced and healthy. As long as the trend continues, this market is expected to stay balanced in 2013.

Collier's International released a report recently showing that the 2012 total absorption for industrial Calgary real estate went up to 3,718,800 ft.² in 2012 from the 2,545,817 ft.² that was reported in 2011. Most absorption took place in the early part of 2012 with the numbers peaking during the third quarter when Balzac's Target Distribution Center opened with 1.3 million ft.²

Nose Hill Park is one of the hidden treasures in Calgary. It's only about 15 minutes away from downtown and within the city limits. It is one of the only places in Calgary that you can visit to get away from it all without having to leave the city.

When you're ready to leave the hustle and bustle of city life for a while you can enjoy approximately 1,200 acres of pristine wilderness here overlooking Calgary with amazing views. Be sure to bring your camera since once you're on top of the hill you'll want to get some great shots. Discover the best view of downtown at the top or turn your head to the east to see the airport. You'll literally be able to see the planes taking off and landing!

This is the perfect place for everyone and their dog. It's an

There are some small towns around the outskirts of Calgary that have seen incredible sales last year and the trend seems likely to continue. The Calgary Real Estate Board has reported a spike of sales in the area during 2012 up to November 30th. There were 4,878 properties sold in communities around Calgary during this time period, which was a rise of 39.05% when compared to the same period of time in 2011. Sales in Calgary proper were up 15.21% with 20,128 properties changing hands.

The inventory has been lower overall last year in the city of Calgary and if buyers can't find the home they want here in the city they'll start looking on the outskirts. Once they see that the surrounding towns offer more house for the money, the offer is put on the