With so many headlines about the crazy hot real estate markets happening in Vancouver and Toronto, It’s easy to get caught up in the momentum of the conflicting theories that deluge us on an almost daily basis.

For starters, let’s look at the Vancouver conversation and how it’s becoming incredibly impossible for locals to own real estate there. Vancouverites, speak to natives of Hawaii – you have a lot in common. It’s also worth noting that many other communities across Canada (both big market and small) are doing okay when compared to their historic norms.

Now let’s look at Toronto, where there seems to be confusion and uncertainty. Just ask any knowledgeable Realtor about unaffordability in the market place – they could probably chew your ear off on how many of their buyers are maybe hitting 50% of what their expected wants or wish list had when they started their search.

There is even a joke floating around about the Barenaked Ladies hit song, and what it would sound like if it were released today: “If I had a million dollars, I would put me a down payment on a detached house in Toronto…”

The unaffordability signs are everywhere, yet the demand – and trust me, the demand is very high for both houses and condos in Toronto – is nowhere near letting up anytime soon.

I do think we are seeing some buyer fatigue in the market, where fewer buyers are recklessly placing offers on properties, but the viewings are not down. Earlier this week in the Toronto Danforth area, I had a house listing that had 10 fewer showings on it all compared to all of the combined sales year to date!

No one can predict when the market will actually cool (sorry TD Bank with your inconsistent attempts). As always, the key is to pay attention to what’s happening overall in the local economy across a variety of key indicators.

The reason people want to know when it will cool down is mostly due to their own agenda – mainly, when can we expect or be able to move and or to buy something? This conversation is truly an individually-based one. Good Realtors are becoming more advisory/consultants to buyers on aligning when the right time is to buy or move. There are so many things to contemplate than simply, I want to own my own home.

For now, the frenzy will continue in Toronto, so reach out to your trusted Realtor as to what this could mean to you. And I say trusted because today, you need an advisor/consultant, not a traditional salesperson who is going to just ‘sell you a house’. You need to fully understand: when is the right or wrong time for me to buy or make a move?