Canadian property owners intent on following real estate price fluctuations using mainstream media reports from centres across Canada may be searching too far afield for the information they need. Local details should be more significant than national patterns. Local news and your realtors experience are excellent resources regarding real estate prices on specific streets, in particular condominium complexes or in certain subdivisions.
By now most people are familiar with the "location, location, location" mantra of real estate value, but too often this triple-whammy criterion receives a dismissive giggle rather than the serious consideration it deserves. Paying attention to local changes, improvements and patterns is crucial when determining real estate value for many reasons:
Many factors affect local real estate prices, but there are also elements within each individual transaction that reflect positively or negatively on the final sale price. Learn the context for a sale price before using it as a benchmark for pricing your real estate. A property owner may accept a lower sale price and still consider they've received full compensation when there is perceived monetary value in other aspects of the sale, or the seller may demand a higher price when asked to make concessions to a buyer's needs:
Continue to track Canadian and North American real estate news, since buyers and sellers can take their cue from media hype, but search for local relevance. The insight and knowledge contributed by your experienced local realtor may prove invaluable in keeping abreast of shifts in pricing climate.
Just as an average increase in area or regional prices does not add equal value to every property in the area concerned, an average decrease in prices does not forecast doom for every property owner. Facts matter when markets shift. Solid, reliable, intelligently-presented local real estate information is essential to owners and buyers intent on keeping a "pricing" finger on the real estate pulse -- locally, that is.
