Edmonton Real Estate Investor: December 2006

If you were worried that Edmonton is too far away to put your money into think again.

International investors and business elite have a new stop on their flight plan. The new Edmonton -London non stop flight tickets are now available from Air Canada. The flights operate three times weekly and daily service is planned for 2007.

Proof that the new development is related to Alberta's Oil Economy all flights are timed to ensure no glitch connections to Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie and Yellowknife.

"Air Canada’s announcement further signifies Edmonton’s expanding economy plus its growing importance in both business and leisure markets." www.edmonton.com

The holidays are a great time to show appreciation to your equity building partners - tenants. Good tenants can really make or break your investment. They take pride in their home and it shows in the neighbourhood and in your returns. We often give our tenants gift certificates, movie passes and long term tenants get turkeys or other holiday fare. Of course the tenants that call at three am with the toilet plugged get a plunger.

"Faced with long lines and slow service, Albertans are shunning the province's clerk-starved malls and clicking through their Christmas gift lists online." - CBC NEWS

Alberta`s hot economy and it`s labour shortages are affecting the Christmas rush. Albertans already shop online more than most other Canadians with 45% using online services to do their shopping.

Now with Alberta`s legendary winter in full swing, it is much easier to shop on line than drive to the mall to deal with parking and long waits.

"In September, six Alberta retail chains put expansion plans for the province on hold because of the difficulty in finding staff. The provincial government and the Retail Council of Canada are working on recruitment drives, expanding access for disabled workers in retail, and awareness campaigns for students of the possibilities of a retail career. "

So if you need a job head out to Alberta, you are sure to get hired and if possible bring 150,000 of your friends because that is the estimated labour shortage Alberta faces.

"Canadians are among the richest two per cent of the global population who control more than half of the world's wealth, a United Nations study released Tuesday has found."

Canada was ranked in at number 11 in the wealthiest countries in the world study.

"Building up wealth in the form of your house, (for example), is very important, but that's very difficult to do in a lot of countries." Canadians are very lucky to be able to easily buy properties, obtain mortgages and hold assets.

"The World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University, the UN agency that undertook the study, said it's the first time that household wealth - rather than just income - has been measured in a global study."

With house prices appreciating in many parts of Canada, many Canadians are house rich.

"If you hit a recession, or a drought, your income disappears, but if you have assets, savings and so on, you're in a much better position......."

Canada is a stable G7 country, it has a strong economy and a great social system and infrastructure.

"Still, there are many countries in the world where you can't depend on the bank on the corner - maybe it's not going to be there next year."

We are lucky to live, be born or to become Canadian. Now we have to start giving back or tithing our wealth back to those who are in the other 98%

Edmonton's market is still hot but the listings are cooling down.

"Edmonton-area home prices resumed their ascent in November after a brief pause in October.
Average prices rose to $334,039 for detached houses, and $282,434 for all housing types.
Compared to one year earlier, those figures are up 47.7 per cent and 42.5 per cent, respectively."

"Weaknesses in the U.S. or eastern Canada housing sectors are not present in the Edmonton market......." Madeline Sarafinchan, president of the Edmonton Real Estate Board

The frenzy we saw over the summer is slowing down and as a result less than 15 per cent of last month's sales were sold for over the list price. A big drop from the 37% seen in July.

Listings are down 21 per cent and sales are also down 16.7 per cent from October. The demand is still strong in Edmonton so prices are bound to increase. Especially since 2007 will see the city with historically low levels of inventory. The market is going to heat up next year but not to the level we have seen in the last twelve months.

So what? If you buy in Edmonton now you will still have a lot of opportunity to buy properties that make sense as an investment.

Sure they will be on the market for a shorter time and there will be multiple offers but Edmonton is still the NUMBER 1 city to invest in in Alberta. The market still has a lot of room to grow at least 5 years as the Alberta Oil Sands Development is still poised to take off. High demand and low inventory always means price increases.

"One in three Edmontonians say they haven't benefited from good economy"
Mike Sadava, The Edmonton JournalPublished: Friday, December 01, 2006

One third of Edmontonians say that they haven't noticed any economic change in their situation even though Edmonton's economy is the envy of the rest of Canada.

Mike Sadava, in his article in The Edmonton Journal, says this may depend on factors such as age, education and income. Things like a university education, owning your own home and having a yearly income of over $100,000 per annum were more likely to affect your benefits from current Edmonton economy.

"... many people who own homes are likely doing better than they think they are because they forget that they are sitting on an asset that is appreciating in value.

They might notice that the price of a coffee at Tim Hortons has gone up a dime, but they won't think about how much the value of their home has risen, at least until they think of selling....."

The fact is that home values have increased by 53% over the last year, unemployment is at a national low, salaries a national high,taxes the lowest in Canada and the economy is on fire. Sure prices may be increasing for daily commodities but there is so much opportunity in Edmonton now, that we are in a world model economy. The best thing to do is take or make an advantage of it.

The poll is deemed to be accurate within 5.7 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

JOB SURVEY

You have personally benefited from the boom

Stongly or moderately agree 60%
Strongly or moderately disagree 37%
Don't know / Not applicable 2%
Your wages have increased more than the cost of living
Strongly or moderately agree 32%
Strongly or moderately disagree 57%
Don't know / Not applicable 11%
Have rising real estate prices been good or bad for you?
Very or somewhat good 37%
Very or somewhat bad 20%
Did not make a difference to you 43%
Don't know Less than 1%