City real estate good bet, report says
Written by Mark Nielsen – Prince George Citizen, Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A real estate consultant is rating Prince George the 10th best place in B.C. to invest.
The city's move toward economic diversification makes Prince George worth looking at, says the Real Estate Investment Network in its report, "Top B.C. Investment Towns," released today.
The report also says investors need to do their homework.
"Prince George could become one of the stars of the B.C. economy," say report authors Don Campbell, Melanie Reuter and Allyssa Epp. "However, investors must exercise extra caution when investing and ensure they are not investing based on opinion or speculation."
Prince George made the list in part because of efforts to become less dependent on the forest industry and plenty of credit is given to Initiatives Prince George for the trend.
"A forward-thinking economic development office has seen the necessity in diversifying Prince George’s economy beyond forestry, and businesses are beginning to pay attention to Prince George, with more retail companies expanding to the city’s market," the authors say.
"As more people come to see the benefits of living in the region, the trend will continue. Prince George is a city that is destined to see future growth."
The possibility of more mining development, extension of the airport runway, the opening of CN Rail's intermodal terminal and the container port in Prince Rupert are listed as examples of the move toward diversification.
The presence of UNBC also plays a role in part because it provides a place where people can seek higher education, particularly in tough economic times, and in part because students need places to rent.
Prince George failed to rank any higher because forestry continues to be a worry thanks to the U.S. housing crisis, the decline in housing starts in the Canadian market and the proliferation of the mountain pine beetle, which not only kills the tree but makes them harder to mill.
"This economic transition is not an overnight phenomenon," the authors said.
"Investors in this region will battle with tenant turnover, selecting the right part of town in which to own, and the inevitable cycles that an economic transition brings over the coming years."
Surrey was rated the top place to invest, followed by Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows, Abbotsford, Kamloops, Dawson Creek-Fort St. John, Kelowna, Comox Valley, Penticton, Vancouver, Prince George and Vernon.
Based in Calgary, REIN describes itself as "Canada's leading real estate research, education, and consulting organization for the last 17 years."