What Are the Top 4 Questions You Must Ask Before Buying Your Next Property?

By Don R. Campbell and Russell Westcott

Special Video download available...

Recently REIN™'s Vice President, Russell Westcott, made a TV appearance on Breakfast Television.  During this interview they discussed the opportunities in the Canadian Real Estate Market place.  Below you will be able to see the entire TV interview...



The road to good decisions is via research, followed up with careful analysis. The twelve questions listed below will help you decide if your local area and personal property is poised to go up, stay flat or collapse. Each of these factors can affect real estate prices in any direction, and each is an important component in determining which way real estate values will be going. Overall, to dramatically reduce your risk, ask and analyze these key questions for your target town or neighbouhood. The more “yes” answers you get, the better the market will perform.

1. Is the area’s average income increasing faster than the provincial average?
2. Is the area’s population growing faster than the provincial average?
3. Is the area creating jobs faster than the provincial average?
4. Does the area have more than one major employer?
5. Is real estate booming in the surrounding region more than where you’re looking?
6. Will the property values benefit from a major new development nearby?
7. Has the local and provincial political leadership created a “growth atmosphere”?
8. Is the region’s economic development office helpful and pro-active?
9. Is the neighbourhood located in an area of renewal or gentrification?
10. Is there a major transportation improvement occurring nearby?
11. Is the area attractive to “baby boomers”?
12. Is there a short-term perceived problem (negative stories, short-term layoffs) that will disappear?


Each of these questions, and where to get the answers for your region, is discussed in great detail in the book Real Estate Investing in Canada (version 2).

It is important to remember that current real estate market conditions don’t tell us what the market will look like in the future, it is a direct reflection of what has occurred in the past. Only by addressing the above economic fundamentals can help in making projections of long-term values.