Vancouver and Toronto were once Canada’s top real estate locales. That crown now goes to Edmonton and Calgary, as stated in the 2013 report, Emerging Trends in Real Estate, released this past Tuesday. Produced by PwC and the Urban Land Institute, the report notes that the real estate market in Canada is projected to stay on a steady course. Development and investment opportunities are expected to be modest, but on the good side throughout 2013. The supply and demand ratio is expected to remain solid for most property sectors.
As far as that ranking list, Calgary was on top, followed closely by Edmonton. Toronto came in third, Vancouver fourth and Ottawa fifth. Calgary topped the list for both development possibilities and investment prospects. The city came in second as far as homebuilding investments were concerned.
Calgary is definitely growing, and that growth helped the city unseat Toronto from the number one spot going into 2013. This does mean it is a bit more challenging to get your hands on quality real estate in Calgary. Prime properties are being snapped up at near record rates and rental rates are edging upward because of the low vacancy rates. Both trends are expected to continue through 2013, particularly in industrial and office space. Housing starts will also see an increase, but at a more modest rate.
Compared to other parts of the globe, Canada’s real estate market is pure heaven. Some regions, including the United States and Europe are much more volatile in their economic outlooks and correspondingly their real estate markets. Canada is doing remarkably well in spite of these global and some domestic issues.
Calgary’s growth is largely due to the energy market, specifically oil and gas. Employment for 2013 is expected to increase by 2.8 percent and in 2014 the increase is expected to hit 2.9 percent. All of those people, many of them migrating from other parts of Canada and beyond, will need housing and that is good news for the real estate world.
If the proposed pipeline projects, one to the British Columbia coast, the other through the United States, are approved then the numbers would be even better.
As of the end of October, sales in the MLS system numbered 18,905 for Calgary, an increase of 15.56 percent for the same time period in 2011. Pricewise, those sales have added up to $3,394 billion. Housing starts are expected to top out at 12,400 by the end of 2012 for the Greater Calgary region. That is a 33 percent increase over 2011 and the largest increase since the boom year of 2007.