Real estate can be a strange and finicky industry. The ups and downs in price that seem connected to certain regions or cities or even neighborhoods means you must stay tuned in constantly or you’ll miss out. Real estate trends are a reality, and it’s important to get a handle on what’s happening in your city before you start looking.
Here’s a new way to help yourself out.
What’s Your Limit?
Before you get into the trends and that kind of information, you should make a few decisions about what you want and what your limits are. Do you want a brand new home that no one has ever lived in before, or do you want an older home with some character? Do you want to live in a specific part of town, or is it all wide open for you?
You’ll also want to know what kind of budget you have to work with, so you know which trends are worth following, and which ones you should ignore. That’s why it makes sense to get pre-approved for a mortgage before you start the process. Knowing your limit adds a level of efficiency you wouldn’t have otherwise. Once you have a handle on what you want and what you can spend, you can get to the price trends.
A New Tool
Previously, it may have been complicated to find real estate price trends in your city, but now you have the advantage of a new online tool called Market Snapshot. This tool enables you to make market reports for different cities and the neighborhoods within those cities, all across the country.
The tool is free to use, and the reports will tell you all the pertinent news and information about specific housing markets in Canada. The website where you’ll find the Market Snapshot tool is called BuzzBuzzHome, which is a listing site of new homes.
You can find out things like average prices per square foot, median list prices, number of homes or units currently under construction and other information. This tool is presently available for every neighborhood in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, but more are sure to follow if it is well received.
Tools like these certainly help when you want to follow the trends, but don’t despair if your town or city is not on the list. Call a local mortgage or real estate specialist and get the process started that way. It may not be as convenient as an online tool, but the information you get is just as valuable.
