In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election, a number of Americans who favored Hillary Clinton — or perhaps Bernie Sanders — are now experiencing a flight-or-fight reaction. And for many, it would appear that flight is looking increasingly attractive.
Not only did this population manage to crash Canada’s immigration website on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Google Trends has also reported spikes in search traffic for “Canada immigration,” “Canada,” and “move to Canada” in the U.S. And now, Seattle-based Zillow Group has reported that some folks are apparently considering a permanent relocation by looking into real estate.
The digital real estate database shared information on Thursday reflecting a massive desire for a northern migration (despite the fact that Zillow does not, in fact, have a Canadian product). The company noted that it saw thousands of visits on Election Day from users in search of Canadian real estate, which peaked around 7 p.m. (because apparently, people were anticipating a Trump victory).
Moreover, the site saw around 12 times more traffic on Election Day from users looking for Canadian real estate, and around 24 times more traffic per hour for such a search. Zillow also saw a 1,200 percent spike in Google searches for “Zillow Canada” after Trump was officially declared America’s next president, and the search term “Canada homes for sale” surged 1,011 percent.
“People have had a really emotional reaction to this election, and that includes thinking about whether they want to stay,” Zillow chief marketing officer Jeremy Wacksman told GeekWire. “Only time will tell if people will actually go through with moving or if this is more of a coping mechanism.”
Of course, Trump will not officially take office until 2017, so for those who were opposed to his candidacy, you still have a couple months to look for new housing. Or at the very least, to take a very long, very well-deserved vacation.
