- Every month of waiting is a rent that leaves and never comes back.
- Nobody predicts rates: the perfect moment is only recognized once it has passed.
- Waiting is a good strategy on one condition: that the wait works for you.
The cost of waiting
The average rent in Gatineau was $1,420 a month according to CMHC's latest rental market report. A year spent waiting for the perfect rate: more than $17,000 spent, and nothing that belongs to you at the end.
And the truth is that nobody can predict rates. Not me, not the banks, nobody. The "perfect moment" is only recognized once it has passed.
Preparing, or hoping
Waiting can still be a good strategy, on one condition: that the wait works for you. An FHSA filling up tax-free, a pre-approval protecting your rate for a certain time, a budget getting sharper, debts going down. That is preparing. Waiting for the perfect market is hoping.
If your finances are not ready, step 1 and step 2 tell you what to do this week. If they are, step 3 is next.
Waiting costs about $1,420 a month in Gatineau. It is worth it only if it serves to prepare: FHSA, pre-approval, reduced debts.
- Calculate what you paid in rent over the last twelve months.
- Do step 1: your real budget and your borrowing capacity.
- If you are waiting, open or fill the FHSA now.
Sources : CMHC, Rental market report, Gatineau CMA
Get the guide, the budget worksheet and the checklists
The nine chapters as a PDF, a fill-in budget worksheet and the checklists for every step, in your inbox. Three questions, thirty seconds.