Investor's Shown Durham's Potential
Real Estate Tour Reveals Hotspots for Affordable Housing
July 4, 2011 Crystal Crimi, www.durhamregion.com
DURHAM -- If you're looking to make money in real estate, Durham Region has income property opportunities, heard hundreds of real estate investors.
As Durham's population projections head upward over the next 10 years, so will the demand for rentals, with two-unit properties with basement suites becoming the main source of affordable housing, according to Don Campbell, president of the Real Estate Investment Network.
The network, which does not sell property, recently brought a tour of more than 250 investors through Whitby, Ajax and Pickering to show and explain some of the reasons Durham is worth considering.
"Eye opener, real eye opener in the Durham Region," Mr. Campbell said during a stop at Whitby's Garden Cafe for lunch.
Around him, hundreds of men and women, dressed mostly in collared golf shirts, got out of their buses to grab some grub before receiving a presentation by Liisa Ikavalko, the Region of Durham's manager of economic development, advanced manufacturing and real estate investment.
Durham's lack of affordable housing, along with its proximity to Toronto, quality of life, public transportation system, Hwy. 407 expansion, and growth projections, make it an ideal area for investing, Mr. Campbell said.
By 2031, Durham's population is expected to go from its current 600,000 to one million people, Ms. Ikavalko said. Energy and environment are sectors driving growth, with Ontario Power Generation alone employing about 9,000 people, she said.
"We are Ontario's energy capital," she continued, and added that more than 30 per cent of the province's energy is produced locally.
Durham's role in higher education is also an attraction, with Durham College, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, and Trent University all having a presence in the area and attracting students and employees, she continued.
"They're not moving here in tents," Mr. Campbell cut in. "Intensively, but not tents."
Plans for new nuclear reactors are also contributing, Ms. Ikavalko continued.
"You can see they're bringing engineers in," Mr. Campbell said, referring to the ongoing projects planned for Durham Region.
And those people don't want to live in hotels for months at a time, but in furnished suites, Mr. Campbell said. He encouraged investors to take advantage of 'don't pay for a year' furniture deals to create premium-attracting furnished rentals -- by the time the bill comes, the furnishings should have paid for themselves, he added.
"Find a niche and fill it," Mr. Campbell said.
The Seaton development in Pickering, expected to create homes for 70,000 people, should have its environmental assessment completed by the end of the year, Ms. Ikavalko said. A light-rail transit system between Oshawa and Pickering is also expected, with trips to occur every seven and a half minutes, she added.
"Consider the possibilities," Ms. Ikavalko said.
One of the people who was considering such possibilities is Pickering's Ryan Henry.
"There's a lot of potential here," Mr. Henry said.
Mr. Henry has been a real estate investor for about two years now and has property in Ajax and Pickering, regular houses he's turned into two-unit apartments. He was impressed by the amount of growth coming this way.
"There's so much land out here, there's a very big workforce of people that live in Durham and work elsewhere," he added. "I can see business moving here."
In Pickering, you can still pick up a bungalow in walking distance to the lake for $275,000, he said.
"You can get a lot more for your money," Mr. Henry said.
And in Durham, there are hardly any apartment buildings, he added.
The tours help people better see the potential they may miss while driving around on their own, Mr. Campbell said.
"A bunch of people on the bus are from Durham Region, but when you live in a region, you don't see the region for what it is," Mr. Campbell said.
This is the network's 19th year doing these tours, and it's not its first time stopping in Durham Region; a tour came through about four years ago to show investors what was up and coming.