With spring in full bloom, many Canadians are planning to enter the market to buy a home this season. In fact, a recent survey from Royal LePage found that more than a quarter of homebuyers who paused their home purchase plans last year are gearing up to resume their search over the spring buying season.

In this light, we look at some ways you can prepare if you’re planning to buy a home this spring.

1. Make sure you’re ready for the financial responsibilities of homeownership.

Buying a home is a big financial decision, so it’s important to ensure that you have enough funds saved up for a down payment, that you have a stable stream of income and that you will be comfortable managing the responsibilities of servicing a mortgage before entering the housing market.

You can learn about some other signs that you might be ready to buy a house this spring in this blog.

2. Decide what kind of dwelling could best fit your lifestyle.

From detached houses to condominium apartments, Canada has a wide range of house types – and the type of home can significantly impact its cost and your financing options. It’s a good idea to research the different types of homes available to you to determine how your choice will affect your lifestyle and finances.

To help you form a clearer idea of what your new home could look like, we examined Canada’s most common house types in this blog.

3. Do some research on the housing market in your area.

The price of your home will also depend on where it’s located, so it pays to have a good grasp of what the market where you want to buy a home looks like. You can start by going to realtor associations, which normally track useful data such as average or median prices of different house types and neighbourhoods.

Here are the realtor associations across Canada’s most popular housing markets:

• Greater Toronto Area: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
• Greater Vancouver Area: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
• Montreal Metropolitan Area: Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers
• Calgary Metropolitan Region: Calgary Real Estate Board
• Winnipeg Metropolitan Region: Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board
• Halifax Metropolitan Area: Nova Scotia Association of Realtors

4. Understand the home buying process.

When you feel that you’re ready for the financial responsibilities of homeownership, have a good grasp of what kind of home fits your lifestyle and have done your homework on the housing market you want to enter, the next step is to have a reasonable understanding what you might expect on your home buying journey.

This blog gives a brief outline of the process to help you experience a stress-free home buying journey.

5. Speak to a mortgage broker

One of the most important components of the home buying process is establishing your financing options – and this is where a mortgage broker can come in. Mortgage brokers are licensed professionals who have relationships with different lenders, allowing them to offer the best mortgage solution for your unique story. Good brokers are also familiar with the housing market and can act as trusted advisors when you have questions about buying your home.

This blog breaks down the key benefits of working with a mortgage broker as you prepare for your homeownership journey.

With careful preparation, your home buying journey this spring does not have to be stressful. And when you’re ready to buy your home, Home Trust has a range of financing options available. Learn more by visiting hometrust.ca/mortgages.

The information, materials and opinions contained in this Blog are provided for our information only. This Blog does not constitute legal, financial or other professional advice and you should not rely on it as an alternative to specific advice based on your particular circumstance. This Blog contains links to third party websites. These links are provided for information and convenience; Home Trust does not endorse the content of any third party website, and it makes no representation or warranty as to the information on such third party sites. By clicking on any link to a third party site, you leave Home Trust’s website and do so at your own risk. Home Trust disclaims all liability for any damage or loss that results from your access to or reliance on information contained in this Blog or any third party site.