How do you know if it is the right time to buy a new home? The truth is that the right time to buy will change according to a number of different factors. There is your life situation, your level of satisfaction with your current living arrangements, and of course real estate prices in the place where you are looking. A comparison of the Burbank and Mississauga listings will show that there are some places where the average family just can't afford to own their own home.

For many, Burbank is one of these places. Buyers in the city have a few different things working against them. First of all is the fact that Burbank is an entertainment town. Not only do you have the reality of competing against entertainment dollars, there are honest to goodness mansions driving up prices here. People import the hottest Toronto architect to build their dream home, someone else copies the idea, and before you know it the average home looks like a hovel in comparison.

You also have the disadvantage of trying to buy in a market where even people who aren't making big bucks in the entertainment industry want to look like they do. The weirdest thing about our new millennium is just how many people have bought -literally - into the idea that perception is reality. If you look like you own your own construction business, and it is doing well, then people will believe it. It doesn't matter if you are actually broke, as long as you look like you're rich. We have Donald Trump to thank for this mindset.

The result of all this is that it becomes very hard to find an affordable house in a Burbank zip, and we are going to say plainly that your ability to afford a house should be your number one criteria in deciding whether or not it is time to buy. Don't make the mistake that many did five years ago, purchasing well beyond your means. The thousands who purchased luxury homes such as those offered by Square One condominiums lost it all because they just couldn't afford the high mortgage payments.

So, the first thing to look at is your bank account. Don't just buy because you feel like you have to, buy because you know you can.

Next, measure your satisfaction with your lifestyle. Sure, getting a foot in the door of the housing market is a good move if everything goes well. But a mortgage is something which can really tie you down. If you are used to Burbank or Condos for Rent Toronto, you are used to being able to walk away from a house if your circumstances change. Not so with home ownership, which also comes with its share of additional expenses.