There has been fervent discussion about the impact of US recession on Mexico Real Estate and its future prospects. When talking about Mexican Property market, it may seem that it is closely related to the US real estate. Some may very well paint a gloomy picture for Mexico Real Estate market. But an in depth study of Mexico Real Estate will reveal a bright future for Mexican Real Estate in the coming year.

The real estate in Mexico has witnessed steady appreciation in the last 5 years. Both, homes and condos in Mexico, new and resale have contributed to this growth. The real estate market in Mexico is usually popular with American citizens who look for a second home or vacation home in Mexico. The reasons for this popularity have been its close proximity to USA, low cost of living, better value for money and a warm sunny climate. Recent years have seen thousands of American expatriates buying retirement homes in Mexico. Moreover, infrastructure in Mexico has improved to international standards. This has made Mexico a much sought after destination.

You may very well ask why Mexican Real Estate industry won’t suffer as a consequence of the recent fall of US economy.

Destination like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta , Baja California region are very popular with real estate investors in Mexico. These areas are continually seeing new and grand real estate projects conceived and completed to meet the demands of the buyers eager to buy real estate in Mexico. With the introduction of Mortgage financing for foreign real estate investors in Mexico, the increase of foreign investment has strengthened the growth of real estate market in Mexico. Since, the lending process and criterion for foreign real estate investors has been simplified, it has served in increasing enthusiasm for Mexico real estate.

Mexico real estate market is much more stable than US real estate market. The residential mortgage backed securities, popular in the US property market, are not common in Mexico, so have a much less effect of the sub prime crisis afflicting US economy.

Another factor is that the buying market who are looking for the second vacation home is not really experiencing too much of the current recessionary effects in America.

One very interesting development seen in Mexican real estate market is the increase in real estate investors from Canada. Canada has experienced a very strong dollar in recent times. Strong economy and increased property markets, especially in the main areas of Toronto and Vancouver , have led to a large number of Canadian home owners able to spend money on a second or Vacation Homes in Mexico.

Mexican real estate market seems to be a promising and steady destination for investors throughout the coming years. Recessionary influences of the US have not shown any medium to long term negative impact so far on Mexico Property Market. Foreign investors from Canada and Europe are flocking to Mexico compensating for any dwindling of investment from USA. So go ahead and buy your dream vacation home in Mexico and secure your investment for the future.

Author: Insight Advisors

A good number of well-intentioned families have put off the thoughts of purchasing a home. They are waiting for a time in the distant future when house prices are stable and job security is no longer a joke. Unfortunately, they are missing out on a great time to buy.

Why is it such a great time to buy? The truth of the matter is that there have never been better deals on real estate in Toronto. Supply is unlimited and demand is at an all time low which means that there are a lot of great deals out there. But just because there are good deals doesn’t mean that YOU should be buying. The following will help you determine whether or not now is a good time for you to buy:

How secure is your job? Are you employed in a field where there are massive layoffs or has your profession weathered the economy quite well? If there are any doubts as to the security of your employment, you should avoid financing a home. You may be able to offset the risk of losing your job, however, if you have a large down payment or if you can afford to purchase insurance that will cover your mortgage payments if you lose your job. Have you planned for the purchase of a home? Don’t purchase a house just because it is a good time to buy. Buying a home takes preplanning and saving. Make sure that you have a solid plan and a down payment before you start looking. Are you planning to relocate soon? In this economy, you will probably not be able to sell your home quickly if you have to move. You may not even be able to sell it at all. So, if you are planning a major move in the near future, it might be wise to postpone your home purchase. Homeownership takes a lot of hard work and regular investments for maintenance and repairs. If a house payment would stretch your budget to the limit, you should look for cheaper homes that do not come with a high price tag. Always make sure that you make enough money to cover your house payment, home insurance, utilities and personal bills with plenty left over to pay for repairs. Are you ready for the responsibility? How much responsibility do you have now? If you live in an apartment, you might want to think about how much work is involved with taking care of the grounds and exterior of a house.

Remember; buying real estate in Toronto is not a decision that should be taken lightly. Being a homeowner is rewarding but there is also a great deal of responsibility involved. If you are ready for the challenge, now is the perfect time for you to buy. If you are not ready, no amount of cheap deals will make it right.

Yes, there is a large group of people who have great opportunities in front of them right now. Some of them just don’t know it yet. Move up Buyers, First time buyers, Investors and Builders with cash for inventory are all in a good position to take advantage of this downturn market.

We are now seeing the best opportunities to purchase in several years. Competition for properties is low, interest rates are a bargain (3.99% for a 5 year fixed) and Canada looks like it will have the quickest economic recovery. Now is the time to make a move and create some wealth for your future.

If you look you can find a situation where you have a strong Toronto Real Estate Agent representing you and an eager seller or a property that has been on the market for a long time. Just make sure your agent is capable of negotiating and can prove that they have done so in the past.

The move up buyer is the person who currently owns their own home but is looking to buy a larger lot, a nicer home, something that is completely renovated or maybe leaving a condo for a house. It is true that you will lose money selling your existing home in the current market, but that is fine because you will be buying something at a higher price which will allow you to make back every penny of the loss and create new gains.

The real estate buyer who is in the best position is the one who was on the fence 6 months ago about whether or not they should buy a better home or someone who received a promotion or raise but has been too busy with the new job to execute a move. As long as you have some job security, now is the best time to make the jump.

If you bought your current home for $600K in 2007 and now you can maybe sell it for $500K. You have taken $100K loss. That is okay if you buy a more expensive home in the same market because the home that was bought for $1.2M in 2007 is only selling for $1M today. Therefore you make back the $100K you lost on the sale of your existing home plus you saved an additional $100K by buying in today’s market. The above mentioned situation will vary depending on your specific situation so be sure to work with your real estate agent to work out the exact figures to ensure it is a profitable move for you.

In central and downtown Toronto it does not seem like things are going to slow down much more, we are starting to see the surplus inventory dry up and there is a lag in new listings.

First time buyers are also in an amazing position to jump into the real estate market feet first. The official description of a first time buyer is someone who has never owned property before or has not had an interest in owning a property for at least 4 years.

There are a lot of government programs available to assist the first time purchaser. There are rebates for land transfer tax, both municipal and provincial, there is a tax credit to help with closing costs, and you can access $20,000 of your RRSP, tax free, for your down payment. And most importantly, at the introductory level there is a surplus of properties to choose from and negotiate for. The key is to have an agent who is not afraid to go in and fight for the best price for you.

Investment Buyers are also in buying heaven. Right now there are many homes that are available to buy that have multiple units in them. The rental market has stayed strong in Toronto proper and there are still a number of potential tenants filling the appointment books. This is the time to buy because you can lock in a low interest rate with a nominal down payment, which will allow all of the operating costs to be carried by the rental income.

The other segment of the investor buyers are builders. If a builder has sold off their finished products and are now sitting with cash in the bank they can buy up inventory at a good price for future projects and sit on them until the higher markets return.

In every market there are opportunities to be had, you just need to know where to look and be in the right position to take advantage of them.

There are many ways for Toronto real estate agents to develop the right price for a property and we use them all depending on the situation. There are many variables that need consideration because one variable could drastically alter the amount that you want to list your property at.

Why is it important to list at the right price? The best price to list your property at is the price that will be the closest to what it will actually sell for. I know that sounds obvious but we run in to a lot of clients who feel that their property is worth a lot more then it is and they want to “try” their higher price first.

Some Realtors are tempted to let their clients do this because they have a fear that they won’t get the listing and some other agent will. Some clients might say that the real estate agent just wants to sell it at low price so it will be quick and they can move on. If that is the Realtors attitude you will sense it in all of their work with you, not just the price.

A good Realtor will actually stick to their pricing and not suggest that they can get more for you just so that they can get the listing.

First impression is the most important thing when selling a home. People search for real estate in select areas and tight price brackets. $325-$375K Loft Downtown, $400-$450K in Leslieville, $800-$900K in Summerhill, $1.3M- $1.5M in Lytton Park, $2.5M-$3M in South Rosedale, etc… They will typically look at houses that are listed for lower than the ceiling of their budget but serious buyers will never look at properties beyond their budget.

Your best market exposure is the first 21 days after you first expose the property to the open market. This is when you will get the most amount of money for your home and hopefully not leave anything on the table. The market experts will get their first glimpse of what you have to sell. The experts are all of the active Realtors in the market and their buyer clients. These people know everything about your market and what is going on in it.

The Experts will see it in their daily updates and will be calling their specific clients who want to buy a property like yours. Neighbours will be calling their friends who have always talked about wanting to move into the area, and people who are looking in the papers, or online resources will be seeing it for the first time and will be contacting their Realtor.

Trying an unrealistic list price will result in you you will not reaching the right group of experts and they will simply be unimpressed with what you are offering at the inflated price. They are looking in their price bracket and they will not want to buy something that is not comparable to what else they are seeing in their price category. This will actually just help the other listed homes look like a better value.

If you waste that opportunity to make your first impression you will never get it back. As soon as you have stopped getting showings and everyone realizes that the property is overpriced it will take at least a 10% price reduction to stir up some new interest.

Someone with a budget of $1.6M looking to buy a house on Alexandra in Lytton Park will not want to purchase a 25 foot wide property, un-renovated that the owner thinks is worth $1,595K when it really shouldn’t be higher than $1,400K. This will annoy the experts and they will talk poorly about wasting their time, which will give you further negative exposure, it will sit on the market becoming stale, it will get a stigma of something being wrong with it and most importantly it will miss reaching the realistic market of active clients looking to buy a house in Lytton Park for $1.3M-$1.450K.

One of the key things a good Realtor does each week is go and visit every new listing in our select market place. This helps us build an automatic sense of what the right price is, what is too high, or what is great value. That is a really good reason to hire an agent that works specifically in the area that you want to live in.