The choice of neighborhood is an important factor in the home buying process.

To keep your search focused it is good to narrow your home search by identifying neighbourhoods that are right for you.

When evaluating a neighbourhood, investigate local conditions. Depending on your own particular needs and tastes, some of the following factors may be important:

• property values
• traffic
• crime rate
• future development
• quality of schools
• proximity to family and friends
• proximity to schools, employment, hospitals, shops, restaurants, transportation, parks, stadiums and cultural centers such as museums and theatres

Whether you’re a first time or a seasoned buyer, it's wise to find a home that meets your current primary needs in the best neighbourhood that fits within your price range. You may be able maximize your home purchase location by incorporating some of the following strategies into your neighbourhood search:

• Upcoming neighbourhoods: Look for communities that are likely to become "hot neighbourhoods" in the coming years. They can often be discovered on the periphery of the most continuously desirable areas.
  Check for planned future development such as additional transit, new community services such as medical centres, theatres, shopping malls, community centres and religious centres.
  Look for a home in a good neighbourhood that is a bit farther out of the city. If commuting is a concern, purchase a home that is close to public transportation.
   
• Neighbourhood demand: Initially, you may want to drive around neighbourhoods you are considering to see how many “for sale" and/or "sold" signs there are. Look into whether there is active community involvement – pick up local newpapers. Once you’ve narrowed your search, ask Marnie, your real estate agent, for recent sales activity information from the Toronto MLS database.

Once you find a house or apartment in your chosen neighbourhood that you want to buy, be sure to ask Marnie for recent comparable sold listings and offer activity so that you are informed of the value of the home and the purchasing process.

For more information regarding Toronto housing, or if you have questions relating to specific neighborhoods, I am here to help. 

If you found the above helpful you might want to ask Marnie for copies of her other real estate information sheets. they are not all presented here in order to keep this site useful and uncluttered.