The Short Answer
What does Markham's volunteer culture tell home buyers? The Markham Fair is run by more than 700 volunteers across 70+ committees — making it the largest community-based volunteer organization in Canada. That extraordinary level of volunteerism is a signal of something buyers genuinely value: a community with deep social ties, civic pride, and real neighbourliness. Strong community bonds are part of what makes a place desirable to live — and stable to invest in.
There's a statistic about Markham that says more about the community than almost any market figure: the Markham Fair is powered by over 700 volunteers. Behind that number is a story about the kind of community Markham is — and it's exactly the kind of thing thoughtful home buyers should pay attention to. Michael John Lau, a top real estate agent in Markham, explains why.
The Largest Volunteer Organization of Its Kind in Canada
The Markham Fair, running since 1844, is organized and run by more than 700 volunteers working on over 70 committees — which makes it the largest community-based volunteer organization in Canada. Think about what that requires: hundreds of people, year after year, giving their time to put on an event for their community, purely out of dedication and pride. That's not an accident — it reflects something real about the fabric of Markham.
Why Volunteerism Is a Signal Worth Reading
When you're choosing where to live, you're not just buying a house — you're joining a community. And a community's strength is one of the most important, and most overlooked, factors in quality of life. Volunteerism is one of the clearest signals of a strong community, because it reveals things you can't see in a listing:
Deep social ties
High volunteerism means people are connected to one another — they know their neighbours, they show up for shared causes, and they invest in the place they live. Those connections are the foundation of a community that feels like home.
Civic pride
People volunteer for things they're proud of. A community that turns out hundreds of volunteers for its fair is a community that cares deeply about its identity and traditions — a place people are genuinely glad to be part of.
Neighbourliness and belonging
The kind of place where people volunteer together is the kind of place where newcomers get welcomed, where families put down roots, and where there's a genuine sense of belonging. For anyone moving to a new community, that matters enormously.
Stability and continuity
A tradition sustained by volunteers for over 180 years speaks to a community with staying power and continuity — the kind of stable, enduring community fabric that makes a place desirable decade after decade.
Neeraj Moolchandani on Measuring Community Before You Buy
Neeraj Moolchandani, REALTOR® at Kaizen Real Estate, agrees that volunteerism signals something real, and pushes clients to test it at street level rather than city level. A city-wide statistic does not tell you whether your particular street has neighbours who know each other. Walking the block on a weekend evening and seeing whether anyone is outside tells you more about the next ten years than any civic figure.
For newcomers specifically, Neeraj points out that volunteering is the fastest route into a genuine network in a new city. Families who move to Markham and join something, the Fair, a sports club, a community organization, settle in noticeably faster than families who wait to be welcomed. That is not a real estate observation exactly, but it shapes whether a good purchase becomes a good decision.
What This Means for Buyers
Here's the connection to real estate: strong communities are desirable communities, and desirable communities support enduring property value. The social fabric that produces 700 fair volunteers is the same fabric that makes Markham a place people want to live and stay — and sustained demand to live somewhere is, ultimately, what underpins its long-term real estate strength.
Beyond the investment angle, there's the simple human reality: a strong community is a better place to live. The neighbourliness, the shared traditions, the civic pride — these are the things that make daily life richer and turn a house into a home within a community you're glad to belong to. For families especially, that community strength is part of what they're really looking for.
Test the Community at Street Level
City statistics are a start. Your block is the answer. Book a private consultation with the Kaizen Real Estate Team.
Markham's Broader Community Spirit
The fair's volunteers are one vivid example, but they reflect a wider truth about Markham: this is a city with genuine community spirit, rich cultural diversity, active community organizations, and strong local traditions. From cultural festivals to community centres to neighbourhood events, Markham consistently shows the kind of civic engagement and connection that makes it more than just a collection of houses — it's a real community, or rather, many strong communities woven together.
Michael John Lau, one of Markham's leading REALTORS®, helps buyers understand not just the homes and the market, but the communities behind them — because the strength of a community is a genuine part of what you're buying. Markham's remarkable volunteer culture is one of many signs that this is a place worth calling home. Let's talk about finding your place in it.