Our Stat Chat column from Ben Myers on page 10 of this issue touches on the important topic of media coverage of the homebuilding industry.

Myers, president of boutique real estate advisory firm Bullpen Consulting, explains that, coverage used to be factual, balanced and even relatively dry. “Fast forward to 2025, and we’re awash in a sea of tweets, TikToks, blogs, subreddits and forums, all offering wildly divergent takes on where this market is headed.”

Who to trust?

If you’re active on any of those or other social media platforms – for entertainment, hobbies, favourite sports or what have you – you likely know of what he speaks. Everybody is an expert. Just ask them.

Myers summarizes perfectly that “while access to a wider range of perspectives isn’t inherently bad, it comes with a major downside: It’s harder than ever to know who to trust.”

Another of our valued columnists, Lianne McOuat, vice-president of strategy at McOuat Partnership, recently wrote about the evolving media landscape, and how print media – even in this digital age – remains an important source of information.

“This is a crowded marketplace, and the competition for your attention has never been greater,” she wrote in her piece that can be found on nexthome.ca. “In today’s diverse media landscape, a social media post may connect with you on multiple levels, but a print ad has a stronger impact. A study in Neuropsychology Review looked at the effects of different media formats on memory retention, and it found that tangible formats lead to stronger long-term retention than digital ones. The study proved that when readers engage in a tactile way with printed material, the engagement that takes place is deeper, which leads to improved recall and understanding of the content.”

These two contributors are among the who’s who of industry experts – actual experts – whose insights we present here in Condo Life, our sister publications Homes and Active Life, and on nexthome.ca.

They also happen to be among those included in our special Who’s Who section, beginning on page 13.

When it comes to preparing to buy a new home, research is everything. Staying on top of financial and economic news, visiting builder websites, touring prospective neighbourhoods and housing developments, building your team (realtor, lender, lawyer) and, yes, reading the news and analysis in publications such as Condo Life. Everything you can do to make a fully informed decision.

The GTA is blessed with excellent new home developers, builders, marketers, sellers and other contributors. When you’re ready to take advantage of the emerging homebuying opportunities, you’ll be dealing with some of the very best.

In short, the who’s who of excellence.