There are as many opinions about the real estate market as there are people who have opinions. Some people are bullish (prices will keep going up), some are bearish (prices and the sky will soon fall) and some are in between. Which way to turn and who to believe? Or should you form your own opinion? Here are a few signs to look for to determine if you’re a bull.

You know you’re running with the bulls if this is what you’re thinking……

1.You’re of the opinion that prices will keep increasing or, worst case scenario, they’ll stay the same or decrease by a small amount;

2.You’re not overly concerned about the size of your mortgage because you’re secure in your job, you don’t think interest rates will rise and you believe that the bank wouldn’t lend you the money if it thought you couldn’t pay it back;

3.You’re confident that the economy will stay strong;

4.You know that housing prices in Toronto represent extremely good value relative to other major cities of the world and feel that Toronto is just catching up to where it should be;

5. You believe that Toronto is a great place to live and that positive immigration trends bode well for future real estate prices;

6.You realize that there are more buyers than sellers and that there’s a fixed supply of homes in Toronto; and

7.You’re willing to pay a premium price for a home you love because you think its value will increase in a couple of years.

If this sounds like you, consider yourself to be bullish on the market. What are the pros and cons of being a bull?

Pros: You’re more likely to get a home that you love because you’re willing to pay the price needed to buy it. You won’t be sitting on the sidelines as prices increase. You won’t get priced out of the market if prices keep rising. You won’t waste your time making low offers that are either rejected by the sellers or outbid by other buyers. You’ll get a home sooner so you can spend more time enjoying it.

Cons: You might overpay for your home in terms of its current market value, but this won’t affect you until it’s time to sell. Your mortgage payments might be higher than you’d like if interest rates increase.

Next up, da bears!