Whitby

When it comes to size, the city of Whitby is relatively small compared to many of the other urban areas within the Golden Horseshoe district. Those interested in moving to Whitby should think of this as limiting only in terms of the types of real estate you can look to buy. Toronto condo style buildings, with their ultra modern facades and the latest amenities, can't be found in Whitby. However, the community has plenty to offer in the way of other real estate, as well as employment opportunities.

To start out with, Whitby is known as one of the bedroom communities of the Golden Horseshoe area. Locals often buy their homes in Whitby (prices there are within the same range as similar pieces of Leaside real estate), and then travel to their jobs in the larger cities of the area. That includes work in Toronto, to the west of Whitby, and Oshawa, the location of General Motors Canada.

That said, there are opportunities to be found for those looking for employment in the Whitby region. The city is home to several heavy industries including a steel mill as well as Canadian headquarters as diverse as BMW and publishers McGraw-Hill Ryerson. The industrial aspects of the city have made it an ideal place for specialized products, such as a new model pin mixer, to find a market.

There are also great opportunities for those looking to open up businesses of their own in the Whitby area. Today the population sits at just under 115,000, and that is a fairly sizable market. Small businesses and large retailers alike can find a market for their goods in the city, where people are looking to buy anything from blackberry leather cases to telescopes. It is true that major urban shopping centres are close by, but entrepreneurs in Whitby have to live by the old rule that human beings want convenience first.

That means it is just a matter of finding a good commercial mortgage rate for your business in Whitby, and you are off to the races. If you build it, they will come!

Indeed, they have come to Whitby over the last decade, in very high numbers. The town experienced a population growth of over 27% between 2001 and 2006, one of the highest rates in the country. This growth continued a trend started in the middle of the 1980s, when Whitby`s population was still under 50,000.

So what does all of this mean for real estate in Whitby? Well, as you may have guessed, prices have certainly gone up. Still, the city`s housing continues to be much more affordable than that in the surrounding metropolises, one of the reasons for its recent growth. In addition, there are a variety of options for real estate that are not available in other urban areas of the Golden Horseshoe. While the southern part of Whitby looks like a typical large city, the north is still defined by a rural atmosphere. Smaller communities have retained a sense of individual identity even with the recent population boom.

Whitby is a great place to live, to do business, or to have as a home base. The diversified economy has opened up new opportunities for those looking for work, and the real estate options should be enough to satisfy the needs of most buyers.