New or Used ~ New, of course!
By Brian Madigan LL.B.
The TD Canada Trust Home Buyers Report recently indicated the following:
“What kind of home do Canadians want?
If two homes were at the same price point, three-quarters of first time home buyers would prefer a newer home over an older home, but they are evenly split on location. Fifty-five per cent would prefer a smaller home closer to work and 45% would prefer a larger home with a longer commute. While the majority prefer detached homes, 21% chose a condo, 12% prefer town homes and 10% seek a semi-detached home.
Not surprisingly, price is the most important factor when considering what kind of home to buy and where (99%). The second and third most popular were features of the home (96%) and layout of the home (95%).”
This certainly makes some sense. Generally, buyers will take new, given the “same price”. Old is a compromise.
Trade-off the size of the home somewhat and get closer to work. Basically, that means a slight trend to downtown Toronto, and a re-enforcement of the existing price structure.
In some cases, that also means one car. And, the one car might be all that fits in the garage, now that you have a downtown property.
By the way, the car payments on the second car? Just throw them into mortgage payments on the house. You’re really not getting a chance to keep the savings yourself.
Just go from 1,600 sf, two storey, one bathroom three bedrooms to 3,500 sf, two storey, three bathrooms, five bedrooms, family room and a den. Sorry, I forgot about the two car garage and the big lot.
The price virtually stays about the same at $850,000. However, that’s the difference between Toronto and Mississauga/Oakville.
The Toronto property offers a 35 minute to 55 minute commute by TTC (subway), and the Mississauga/Oakville properties are a little closer to 60 minutes by car and Go Transit (rail).
Given the choice, consumers will select Toronto 55% of the time and Mississauga/Oakville 45% of the time.
Naturally, in any particular case, the choice is often 100% one way or the other. Very few home buyers continue to search in both areas at the same time. It depends what is important to them.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker is an author and commentator on real estate matters, if you are interested in residential or commercial properties in Mississauga, Toronto or the GTA, you may contact him through Royal LePage Innovators Realty, Brokerage 905-796-8888
www.OntarioRealEstateSource.com
We are not the FHA, VA, USDA, HUD or any other government organization. The content on this blog is intended for information purposes only. 
