Neighbourhoods near Edmonton Airport, proposed arena fertile ground for real estate investors, author says
October 14, 2011 Bill Mah, Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON — If shovels hit the ground on a new downtown Edmonton arena, real-estate investors should dig around area neighbourhoods for house-buying opportunities, says real-estate author Don Campbell.
“I know it’s a political football, but just get it done,” Campbell said of the controversial arena project, during a stop in Edmonton this week.
“Because the 10-, 12-, 15-year impact on all of those older neighbourhoods that are around there will be substantial — especially when you couple that with the airport redevelopment north of it.
“Those two projects alone will create such a strong economy in Edmonton for a very long time. It will help attract more people in and help older neighbourhoods redevelop.”
He says once those projects start, savvy investors will buy properties in the surrounding areas, “and then let the tide raise the boats together.”
The co-author of his latest book Secrets of the Canadian Real Estate Cycle and president of the Real Estate Investment Network calls the arena and airport projects “market influencers,” whose impact will bolster an economy that is already the envy of Canada and other markets.
“The arena would be a bonus on top of the recovery phase that we’re already starting to witness.”
Campbell says Edmonton’s real-estate market is in the recovery phase of a cycle that also includes boom and slump.
Real-estate cycles typically lag economic cycles by 18 to 24 months because new migrants tend to rent first, he says, and Campbell believes Alberta’s economy is posting strong job and GDP growth and in-migration.
One telling indicator is a falling apartment vacancy rate and rising rents, he says. The latest Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. figures released in June show the apartment vacancy rate in the Edmonton census metropolitan area dipped to 4.7 per cent in April from 5.2 per cent in April 2010. Average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Edmonton region rose to $1,029 from $994 a year earlier.
“Albertans are really going to have to wake up and smell the coffee because Ontario, B.C., Asian and American, European and even Middle East people are pouring money into Western Canada and Alberta, and Albertans are sitting back saying ‘we don’t quite believe it yet.’”
Campbell has previously touted the investment potential of buying properties near new LRT lines and ring roads