Brantford, Ontario, is a beautiful town with a lot to offer a commercial real estate investor. About an hour and a half away from Toronto, this city has a far lower cost of living than the nearby metropolis, making it incredibly popular for businesses hoping to make some serious money. With all these entrepreneurs flocking to the town, it’s no wonder that those looking to purchase commercial properties are also in luck when it comes to a great return on investment.
Today, we’ll explore some of the latest trends in Brantford real estate, then discuss how to get a great deal on a commercial property in this beautiful Ontario town.
The Brantford market has recovered splendidly from the recent real estate slump
Last year, markets across the world took a dive as fears of a recession took hold of nearly every aspect of the economy, and some locales are still experiencing depressed real estate prices – but not Brantford, Ontario. After a dip in late 2022, buying prices have boomed again; the average cost of real estate is up by 12.2% over the past year, and it’s only going to get better.
Recently, there’s been a lot of buzz around Brantford, especially with a recent multi-million dollar acquisition right outside of town. In February 2023, real estate developer Orlando purchased 350 acres of property near Brantford for an eye-popping $190 million. This land will be separated into two separate areas, one of which will be commercial and the other industrial; the company states that they’re already seeing high interest in tenancy, and that they expect the project to be finished by late 2024 or early 2025.
With such an audacious acquisition by a major developer, many more real estate investors will turn their sights on Brantford, which is why it’s an excellent time to consider purchasing commercial property in this blossoming suburb. The market is already strong, but it will likely continue jumping as Orlando’s major acquisition encourages confidence in the area: these might be the lowest prices that you’ll see in quite a long time.
Get started exploring Brantford real estate with online marketplaces
Seeing how hot the Brantford commercial real estate market is at the moment, you’ll likely want to start investing as soon as possible. It might seem daunting to comb through dozens of listings, especially if you believe you need to speak to a realtor in person and allow them to give you a paper list of possibilities. Indeed, many believe that the only way to find commercial real estate is to go through an in-person broker, as most think that only residential real estate is listed online.
However, you can rest assured that it’s nowhere near as difficult as you think to start exploring the Brantford market. You can utilize online real estate marketplaces – the same type as homeowners use to look at potential houses – to gather a variety of different listings, then begin analyzing each one to see if it suits your needs. This allows you to narrow down your selection online before you ever even look at a single property, saving you an enormous amount of time and energy.
You’ll want to consider the different features of the property and decide which are essential – and therefore worth more money – and those which you can live without. Gather up your candidates and list every element of the property, whether that’s square footage, acreage, number of rooms, or specialized equipment that’s already in place. Make a spreadsheet of all the different elements, then tick off those which have the most of what you need. If you’re using Excel or Google docs to perform this analysis, you can even weight different categories to develop a “satisfaction percentage,” which you can then use to decide whether a given asking price is a good bargain for you specifically. Remember that while a property may look pricier at first glance, it may actually be a better deal if you don’t have to perform extensive renovation or upgrades before moving in tenants.
Once you’ve found a few properties that catch your eye, it’s time to perform due diligence on each one; it’s best to do this before you schedule viewings, as you don’t want to get attached to a property only to realize that it’s a dud. Check the price in comparison to properties in the same locality, especially those directly adjacent or with the same square footage, and also ask to learn about maintenance costs and average rental prices to better understand the potential income.
Once you’ve selected your winning property, you can begin the negotiation process. It’s best to get a lawyer involved at this step to ensure that everything is done to the letter and you’re not being cheated. But at last, you’ll have your very own property in beautiful Brantford – a place that’s only going to get hotter as the years pass. Choosing any property in this town is sure to get you a great return!
