Urban or Suburban?

If you’ve lived in the city long enough, there’s a certain familiar paralysis around moving that you might recognize. It’s that moment when the pull of a quieter suburban existence comes up against everything you love about your city life.

This impasse is so common that it should probably have its own word in the dictionary. It doesn’t yet, but what it does have is a whole niche of real estate specialty devoted to it.

One family even built a mother-daughter business around it. Jane Stevens, realtor at Urban Suburban Real Estate, has seen it all over nearly a decade in the industry. And one thing she’s learned through watching countless home buyers mull over the city vs. suburbs is that realtors need a certain kind of intuition. Over the years, she’s honed a knack for zeroing in on what clients really want - because they aren’t always sure how to clarify it when they first walk through an agent’s doors.

Torontonians know this indecisiveness all too well. It’s a product of circumstance, really - who could be expected to think calmly in a frenetic market where the stakes feel more and more inflated every second you spend looking? But that’s why, Jane suggests, you need to ask yourself these questions at the very beginning.

That’s one of the reasons Jane started working with her daughter, Alexandra. Jane, an Oakville resident, is an expert in suburban real estate, while her daughter is a pro in urban real estate.

As a real life embodiment of the generation gap in the housing market, these two have firsthand knowledge of what’s motivating families to move to the suburbs and what’s driving younger people to press forward in the city - and if you’re torn, they can help you get real about where you stand.

Jane loves to help growing families find their ideal suburban landing place. As a mother of four with three school-age kids still at home (and her fourth with her at the office), Jane is a pro on all things kid-friendly in the Oakville area.

Alex, on the other hand, is a go-to for finding a home within the boundaries of the Six. She hones in on neighborhoods like Liberty Village and West Queen West. Alex mainly serves up-and-coming younger residents looking to make that first purchase, and she’s also a go-to for young families who’ve decided on the “stay” side of the stay-or-go equation.

Just like their everyday mother-daughter relationship, there’s a bit of a friendly rivalry that fuels their professional work. Jane is the spark who inspired Alex to pursue a career in real estate, so while Jane always encourages Alex in her growth as an agent, the two still fall firmly on opposite sides of the suburban-urban divide.

Among a Covid-era rush of people temporarily fleeing the city - and driving up costs across the market - Jane and Alex, like most Toronto realtors, are keeping a sharp eye on what’s next for the market. For them, it comes back once again to knowing what your clients really need. As a city enthusiast, Alex suggests that movers try to avoid suburban buyers’ remorse by asking themselves the real reasons they’re leaving. If it’s because they feel a social pressure to do so or are simply following the Covid wave, they might be regretting their choice in the near future. If, on the other hand, a buyer is craving more space or looking for a new phase of life, the move is more likely the right choice for them. (And if you do decide to leave the city, suburbanite Jane will be first in line to show you around.)

At the end of the day, the duo agrees, it’s all about honesty - both between you and your agent, and with yourself. You’re the one who wakes up in your home each day, so make sure your decision is one you’ll love.

Jane Stevens is the co-founder of Urban Suburban Real Estate and a realtor based in Toronto.