Interest rates are crazy low. Who would have ever thought you could get a 5 year fixed for 3.29%! With that being said, there are so many people who want to get into Real Estate but are still nervous about doing it.
The reason is simple. There are so many news headlines that will drive you crazy with all the information they throw at you what are you suppose to believe?
We are in a housing bubble, house prices are going to drop, interest rates are going to rise, recession continues, unemployment drops again, currency wars rage on… the list goes on?? If you listen and believe everything you read, you’ll continue to sit on the sidelines watching the game go by. The key to keeping your sanity with all this mixed information is to select the right information and looking at the fundamental facts. So how do you do it?
Now I’m no expert and I sure don’t have a crystal ball. What I do know is no matter how bad the economy gets, people will always need somewhere to live. The GTA is currently leading the charge with one of the highest immigration levels in the world. As a result, this continues to drive a huge demand for rental properties and vacancy rates in Ontario remain very low. Below are a few of the key elements we pay attention to when deciding to purchasing a property for ourselves and our investors.
Vacancy Rates: When deciding to invest into Real Estate, this is one of the first things to look at. You don’t want to be the investor that has that property that can’t get filled. So how do you protect yourself from this? Buy buying beautiful homes in beautiful neighbourhoods. It’s as simple as that.
Fact: The Durham region has some of the lowest vacancy rates when you compare it to other regions in Ontario. CMHC Greater Toronto Rental Market Reported that Pickering and Ajax at only 0.6% and in Whitby the vacancy rate was 1.5%.
Infrastructure: Pay attention to things that are being done in the community. Will it attract new families to the area? Are they expanding or extending the Highways? Are they improving public transportation to make it more convenient.
Fact: There are many different transportation improvements that are going on in Durham. Go Transit continues to expand, Highway 407 is extending out into the region, improvements to the 401 and continual talk about the expansion of the Pickering Airport.
Household Income: Another important factor to consider is the household income. If you decide to purchase a higher end rental property and need to rent it out at the higher end of the scale, will there be a demand for it? Our secret is purchasing nice starter homes under the 10 year mark. The demand is huge for these types of properties. There is always going to be a family that is just starting out, so why not have a home waiting for them.
Fact: Housing in the Pickering and Ajax area that is going to be built in the future is higher density housing in order to keep up with the growth of the area. Instead of larger detached homes, you are going to see townhouses and condominiums to keep up with the demands. Whitby has a little more room to grow, but the area closest to the 401 and the Whitby Shores area are going to see some new housing.
There are always opportunities in any market, up, down or sideways. Stayed focused on good communities that have employment diversity, growing population and low vacancy rates. Once you’ve done your homework stick to buying beautiful homes… it works.
History has proven that massive amounts of wealth have been created in times of uncertainty. The best advice I ever got was to stop listening to my co-workers on how to make money or why not to invest in Real Estate. Once I did that, I haven’t looked back. Find yourself a good team that is willing to help you achieve your goals.