If you’re looking to invest in real estate, a new report says, putting your dollars into Waterloo Region is a better idea than putting them into Toronto or Hamilton.
The Real Estate Investment Network has ranked the region as the second-best community for real estate investment in Ontario, behind only Ottawa.
No other local communities finished in the REIN’s top 10, or among the report’s six honourable mentions.
The report expects 2018 to be a year of “choppy waters and changing winds” across Ontario, but forecasts several communities as being able to outperform the provincial trend, including Ottawa, Waterloo Region, Hamilton, Barrie and Brampton.
Looking specifically at the local picture, REIN says it expects economic growth and median household income to remain above provincial averages, while
REIN points to fast-increasing rental prices and decreasing vacancy rates as a sign of high demand for local living space – something it sees as a key indicator of real estate activity being likely to stay hot.
Other factors the report points to as signs of a booming market include low real estate inventory, homes spending little time on the market before selling, a big increase in housing starts, and average home prices still being lower than they are in places like Toronto or Hamilton – low enough to attract homebuyers priced out of those markets.
REIN says its report is based on dozens of economic and demographic factors, and has identified markets like Surrey, B.C. and Hamilton as ripe for investment before those areas saw major real estate booms.
