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Fort McMurray Real Estate: Show Me the Money! | Add Comment

    • Take the long view. 3/26/2009
    I'm not certain what the purpose of this article is... The economy is good, no bad, no good... no wait... Make up your mind. Investors and columnists alike need to take the long view. Of course the last few years have been a boom in many areas concerning real estate. Canada is much different from the States in terms of financing, and mortgages are quite conservative in contrast. Real estate is regional as well. In Canada for example the LEAST hardest hit areas are those located in Alberta. The more diverse the economy, the better protected the investment. It is true that Fort Mac has a less diversified economy compared with Edmonton or Calgary, but is much more stable in contrast to areas of Ontario that have been under stress due to lessened demand in manufacturing. If you average out the last 10 years you will come to a Canadian average of 5% appreciation - but that is an average and markets are regional. When Alberta has been undervalued (based on income versus housing costs) you could see a trend building that would push prices up. The year over years stats are closer to 6% per annum in Edmonton/Calgary compared with Canadian average. In Fort Mac you may have had a 20% year, then a 1%, +15% - 12%... etc... then you get your average. After having several crazy years prices will remain flat or go down. Then, like all cycles continue up and after that... down or flat. Fort Mac is an excellent area to invest in when you buy for cash flow. Alberta is one of the best if not the best place to be investing in for the long-term if you are buying properties that CF after all debt. It is much easier to achieve that now with lower interest rates. Whether or not you believe that oil prices will go up (which I do) there is still going to be a demand for the stuff and the US will continue to get it from Canada. Thanks for your article. Todd Millar, http://www.glennsimoninc.com Edmonton Investor Blog

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      • RE 3/27/2009
      I agree with your point on buying for cash flow. That should always be on the mind on investors. With prices like those in Fort McMurray, though, I just don't see how there are going to be too many properties worth investing in. In addition if 25K people actually get laid off (in a town of less than 100K) that is going to have serious ramifications on the rental market. At this point I think I'd steer clear of Ft. McMurray.

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