sturti via Getty Images a young couple unpack their belongings as they settle into their new loft apartment . They are hugging and looking to camera smiling holding their keys aloft .

Many couples no longer see marriage as a requirement for cohabitation, but the results of this new study are still surprising.

Wayfair Canada surveyed nearly 900 Canadians and more than 1,000 Americans and found that on average, more than half of the Canadians moved in with their partners after less than a year together.

A surprising number also said they moved in together after half that time.

Almost a third of Canadian millennial respondents, a third of Generation Xers and nearly a quarter of baby boomers took the big step six months or sooner into their relationships.

But those baby boomers were also more cautious than the other age groups, with 10 per cent of them waiting more than five years.

Canadians were also most likely to rent or buy a new home together instead of moving into their partner's previous residence or staying in their own.

While it's unclear how many of the respondents were married, more unmarried people live together in Canada than ever — nearly 17 per cent of families in the 2011 census were common-law couples.

But the eagerness to move in together that Wayfair noted may be due to more than just love. The average Canadian home was worth nearly $520,000 in February, and rents are pricey in many cities, so couples may choose to live together for practical purposes — to split the rent.

But interestingly, Canadians blew more money than Americans on furnishings for their shared pads — couples who had been together from anywhere from six months to two years spent a reported average of between $1,000 and $3,000 on home decor, compared to U.S. couples, who forked over between $300 and $700.