Buying a home is a major decision, and there are many things to consider when you’re looking for the right fit. Here are some tips to get you planning for your next move.

Figuring out how to finance a home purchase can be a serious hurdle – especially in an expensive housing market. Thinking about financials sets the parameters for your search, so it’s crucial to consider your budget early in the process.

However, while factors like finances, square footage and mortgage rates are important, considering where you want to live is arguably one of the biggest steps in shopping for a home.

To get started on location, you have to think about lifestyle. Where and how do you want to live? What type of home best fits your life and your plans for the future? What trade-offs are you ready and willing to make? For instance, would you sacrifice rural fresh air for a more walkable neighbourhood for your kids or parents?

If you love your current neighbourhood and you want to stay in the area, know that you’re one step ahead. To narrow your search for a home, you can determine the landmarks you want to be close to such as schools, parks or work and sort out what you want in a property versus what you need.

If you’re up for a more significant change, there are many options for where to put down roots – especially with the rise of remote work and ever-expanding opportunities. Do some soul searching, ask family and friends for input and make use of free research tools like census data to get the goods on new-to-you places. Census data is a useful resource for discovering information on the makeup of any given place in Canada, including the demographic profile of an area, income levels, population density, types of dwellings, types of families and more.

Find more information on this free resource or get looking at statcan.gc.ca/census

credit – newscanada