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New Condo Search Websites Popping Up Everywhere

New condo buyers in Toronto are finally getting some serious attention from ‘the industry’ and it looks like the future isn’t entirely bleak for those wanting a true web 2.0 experience when searching online for information on new developments. This month two new Toronto condo search websites have popped up recently that I wanted to share with my readers: CondoCatch and Novo Condo.

CondoCatch is a fairly simple yet effective Google maps-based site which shows most of the new condo developments in Toronto on a map along with their key stats and occupancy dates. One neat feature is the ‘timeline’ which shows in chronological order the expected occupancy dates of their database of new condos. I’m not sure who runs CondoCatch or what their goals are, but it looks like they are not agents and they are focused on creating a useful tool for consumers.

Novo Condo is based out of Montreal and is a more sophisticated and professional looking site, but the basic premise is the same. They offer consumers a Google map of the GTA with most of the major condo projects included and the ability to contact the developer directly for more information. Clearly the focus on Novo Condo is on the developer/marketer/agent side of the equation to generate sales leads and interact with potential buyers and investors.

Check them out and let me know what you think!

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BuzzBuzzHome.com Aims to Help You Find Your Next Condo

BuzzBuzzHome.com has just launched in beta. What is BBH? In their own words:

BuzzBuzzHome’s mission is to give people the power to search, research and connect to directly new home developments.

Many of you have perhaps been following the BuzzBuzzHome blog, or following BuzzBuzzHome on Twitter for the past few months and like me, have been wondering what exactly they were planning. Now that they have launched their website it’s clear that they are aiming to build a comprehensive online database for buyers to be able to research new condo developments as well as sign up for updates on their favourite developments. It’s all based on Google maps and users can search and compare the various condo developments quickly and easily with the click of a mouse.

It’s also aimed at developers themselves so that they can reach their potential customers and make their information about their developments available in a user-friendly way. Developers are encouraged to ‘sponsor’ their listings so that they stand out from the rest and so they can add more premium content.

It is still in beta, so the data is somewhat limited at the moment, but it looks promising.  Here’s hoping developers will be willing to share their data with the site to make it a truly useful tool for condo buyers.

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New Hometrader.ca Site Looks Promising

If you are looking to buy a new condo in Toronto, you probably have picked up a copy of The Condo Guide magazine. These free, bi-monthly full colour magazines are more or less 100% advertisements bought and paid for by Toronto’s numerous condo developers with a few “articles” thrown in for good measure by industry insiders.  The magazine is distributed by the Trader corporation and is available on corner newstands all over the city.

Their current website is pretty much useless as a search tool for condo buyers, but they are working on creating a new website called HomeTrader (currently in beta), that so far looks pretty promising. .

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