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Ask any real estate agent on the
West Coast and they will tell that, from
experience, British Columbia has become
Alberta’s playground. Albertans, chiefly from
Calgary, have become the largest single
out-of-province group of residential real estate
buyers.
Last year alone they snapped up
almost $1.6 billion is residential real estate,
which represented 4,320 house, vacant lots,
condos and fractional ownership properties, says
Rudy Nielsen, president of Landcor
Data Corp. of Vancouver. Landcor tracks all
residential sales in the province and regularly
issues reports on the state of the hot B.C.
residential action.
The main focus on that mini land
rush is, understandably, areas on the coast and
in the interior, where a laid-back lifestyle is
the order of the day. While Albertans do buy
condos in Vancouver (135 last year) and Victoria
(90), their preferred purchases are in areas
such as Kelowna, which abuts Lake Okanagan, plus
seaside communities such as Courtenay on
Vancouver Island.
“All told, they represented 2.6%
of all residential property sales in the
province last year, and $2.38 of the dollar
volume,” he says. “That is twice as many
properties as were bought by all three of the
next out-of-province groups- buyers from
Ontario, California and Washington.
“If you hear somebody say we have
become Alberta’s playground, then they know what
they are talking about. If you are selling a
weekend place or a summer home, then you will
most certainly be seeing a lot of Albertans,”
Mr. Nielsen says.
Absolutely true, says Errol
Winter, vice-president of development at the
Crown Isle Resort and Golf Course at Courtenay.
By the time it is completed, Crown Isles will
have 2, 771 residential units ranging from
fractional ownership suites through condos to
detached homes. To date, it has completed 600
and Albertans have represented a significant
factor in the project’s success, Winter says.
“People from Edmonton and Calgary
have played a major role out here since WestJet
started offering regular service to Comox,” he
says. “For them, it is an easy commute. Besides,
Albertans can sell their home for maybe
$500,000, come out here and buy a two-bedroom,
two-bathroom condo for $230,000, bank the rest
and play golf all-year-round.”
It is that same happy combination
of easy access and languid lifestyle that has
made Albertans a factor in the sale of the Royal
Private Residence Club in Kelowna, says Louise
Willerton, sales and marketing director.
“We are under an hour from both
Edmonton and Calgary,” she says. “We have both
WestJet and Air Canada flying in with regular
service, and depending on when you fly and how
far ahead you book, you can do it for less than
$100.
“Albertans love the lake, they
love the mountains, and they love the
atmosphere,” she says.
Above all, a good many Albertans
are benefiting financially from the current
energy-fueled Western economic boom- or at
least, benefiting enough to be able to afford
the prices Royal Private Residences charges. A
1/12th fractional ownership in a
two-bedroom, two-bath and den suite, for
example, starts at $97,000, and a
top-of-the-line two level suite with its own
patio and pool commands $2,289,000 for 100%
ownership.
Buyers from Calgary far outnumber
those from any other Alberta city. Calgary
residents accounted for 2162 purchases last year
compared with 583 by Edmonton residents. The
next largest sources are Fort McMurray with 96,
followed by Red Deer with 84.
“Both sales and prices are up all
over the province,” Mr. Nielsen says. “Access by
air has even seen the market move into formerly
remote locations. The Gulf Islands, for example,
are now served by daily float plane service. The
Queen Charlottes have daily service as well.
‘The biggest change I have seen in
35 years is accessibility.”
The top choice among Albertans is
vacant lots. The idea is to find a property you
like and then build your dream home. Albertans
snapped up 1,488 of them last year. Next on the
list is detached homes, including cabins
(1,329), followed by condominiums (1,104).
The top cities and towns are
Invermere (294 sales of all kinds), Salmon Arm
(261), Kelowna (256), the Central Okanagan
(194), Vancouver (135) and Radium Hot Springs
(117).
The prices they paid varied
according to the driving distance from
Vancouver, Mr. Nielsen says. While Albertans may
be a growing force, B.C. residents still
accounted for 94% of the 166, 254 residential
sales in the province last year.
“Look at it this way,” he says.
“Today, you can drive two hours into the
interior and find an acre on Nicola Lake near
Merritt for about $500,000. If you are willing
to drive 10 hours or fly, you can get an acre
for as little as $45,000.
“The same rule applies to any
property within driving distance of either
Calgary or Edmonton. The farther you go from a
big city, the better the prices will be.”
Interestingly, buyers from Ontario
outnumbered those from Washington, as did those
from California. Ontario residents picked up 821
properties, almost evenly split among vacant
lots (224), detached homes (222) and
condominiums (219).
Californians, by contrast, showed
less of a pioneering spirit. While they bought
624 properties, their favorite purchase was a
condo (272), followed by a detached home (156)
and only then vacant land (111). Those from
bordering Washington showed the same preference.
Washington residents bought 352 B.C. properties,
of which 137 were condos, 82 vacant lots and 66
detached homes. |
