In certain real estate markets, finding properties has become increasingly difficult for real estate developers and private lenders.
Larger cities, particularly Toronto and Vancouver, do not have as many available properties and competition for the ones that do hit the market is high.
However, finding properties and land opportunities is what keeps developers and private investors in business — so what is the solution when there are not as many offerings on the market?
Create your own opportunities.
Today’s developers and private lenders need to get creative when looking for land.
You might consider:
Looking beyond raw land
While raw land may be more difficult to come by in urban areas, it is still possible to find existing properties before they hit the market using property data.
By looking at data, you can quickly uncover many relevant property details, including:
- The legal homeowner.
- Estimated property value.
- Comparable sales.
- Neighbourhood demographics.
- Registered encumbrances or liens.
- And more.
You can use this information to take a targeted approach and find properties that are not on the market, but whose owners may be willing to sell. By having this information in your back pocket, you can go into negotiations knowing what your bottom line is to make a profit and with a best/worst scenario laid out.
This is also of benefit if you do acquire raw land but need more of it and want to make deals with the surrounding property owners.
Looking beyond your area
Another option beyond looking for properties that are not yet on the market is to expand your horizons to other parts of the country.
Depending on your development or investment, you might not need it to be in a certain city or location and are more flexible with regards to region – but you will still need to perform research.
Property tools can help you do this initial research without having to travel. You can investigate raw land or properties already on the market using your property data tools to see if it is a good fit for you before ever making an offer.
Alternatively, you can use the same methods outlined above to find raw land that is not on the market but may be available for negotiation.
The advantage of using online property data as your first research step is that you’ll be able to narrow your search field and find land opportunities with high potential even if you have never been to the region before.
While a competitive landscape can make a real estate developer or private lender’s task harder, property data eases the burden.
GeoWarehouse has property reports that developers and investors can access almost instantly online. Become a subscriber today. Call 1-866-237-5937 or visit www.geowarehouse.ca.
