Question about Investing on Vancouver Island

Charly · Jul 8, 2008

I am a Newbie to this forum and to real estate. I am hoping someone can give me some advise. I took the June Quickstart course and found it to be excellent (but alot of information for me to digest). My question is specifically pertaining to the Comox/Courtenay area.

I am interested in buying in that area and seem to recall the area on Don`s list of top 10 towns in BC to buy. However, I also recall his mention of avoiding forestry impacted towns ( pine beatle infestation). Isnt this town close to certain logging towns and could it not eventually be impacted by the downturn in the forestry industry.

My game plan is to buy now, rent, and retire in 5 years on the Island (I love the lifestyle there). Any information on your thoughts on Vancouver Island, Comox etc. I am open to analysing other towns as well. Also, I notice the prices are dropping and so I feel I would like to take advantage now as it is clearly a buyers market. My fear is if I wait next year, the prices will go up, and I will miss my opportunity to buy at an affordable price in an area that I love.

My underlying concern as well is that I want to ensure I select a Community that will be economically sound in the future.

I even looked into Victoria and off the Island- Kelowna but nearly fell off my chair at the prices. Any information on the Gulf Islands etc would also be appreciated.

Thanks
A newbie
Charly

JanBowler · Jul 9, 2008

Well done on choosing Quickstart - a great way to go. We invest in both the Comox Valley and in Edmonton. We started off in East Courtenay as we were familiar with the area and the "knew" people who would make up our support team. We now invest in Alberta and found it wasn`t that hard to build a team of great people there too. This forum for a start makes for incredible networking. Just for comparison I updated information on a property in Courtenay and one in Edmonton, with this year`s property tax information, and just as I thought we are +$75 in Edmonton but -$90 in Courtenay. Yes, the development here (Comox Valley) has been huge, and the airport is a big winner and there will likely be more destinations added in the near future; Pine Beetle might affect places north of here but this isn`t a forestry town. The market has slowed here as in many places, but prices haven`t fallen that much and more importantly rents haven`t kept up comparatively to Alberta. This town is growing substantially by retirement instead of by an active workforce, and although it was number 6 on Don`s top towns in BC last year if memory serves me, it just can`t compare with that other province! Live here, invest there is our advice.

Charly · Jul 10, 2008

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Thanks David greatly for your advise.

If I could, I would live in Comox in a heartbeat, but I must stay where the jobs are and they are in good old Calgary for me. I have noticed a price change indeed in Comox as I have been looking since March 2008. I understand the average rent is also approximately 1000 per month. Not quite enough to cover the mortgage. I too have been looking at East Courtenay.

I would like to leave Calgary in 5 years and semi retire in Comox. I must admit, I grapple with my decision as I know in my heart I could make more "investment" money in Alberta (I would like to stick to Calgary as I know the area) but am afraid that I could miss that opportunity to buy on the Island if the prices go up there. My thoughts are perhaps the airport in the future with international flights, could bring in more investors to the community hence sending up prices. I really am not the type to buy multiple properties as I am not comfortable with this. What I have now is enough for me to handle. So I guess I have some thinking to do.

Any other advise? How do you like living in Comox?

Dabbler · Jul 17, 2008

QUOTE (Charly @ Jul 10 2008, 06:40 PM) [
Thanks David greatly for your advise.

If I could, I would live in Comox in a heartbeat, but I must stay where the jobs are and they are in good old Calgary for me. I have noticed a price change indeed in Comox as I have been looking since March 2008. I understand the average rent is also approximately 1000 per month. Not quite enough to cover the mortgage. I too have been looking at East Courtenay.

I would like to leave Calgary in 5 years and semi retire in Comox. I must admit, I grapple with my decision as I know in my heart I could make more "investment" money in Alberta (I would like to stick to Calgary as I know the area) but am afraid that I could miss that opportunity to buy on the Island if the prices go up there. My thoughts are perhaps the airport in the future with international flights, could bring in more investors to the community hence sending up prices. I really am not the type to buy multiple properties as I am not comfortable with this. What I have now is enough for me to handle. So I guess I have some thinking to do.

Any other advise? How do you like living in Comox?
I understand that part of the island has had environmental/pollution issues -- been ongoing for years but government hasn`t cleaned up. WE love the area too but when I heard that..gosh where have I been....not sure if it is somewhere I`d feel confidne about living or ethically investing in.

Charly · Jul 20, 2008

QUOTE (Dabbler @ Jul 17 2008, 07:54 PM) I understand that part of the island has had environmental/pollution issues -- been ongoing for years but government hasn`t cleaned up. WE love the area too but when I heard that..gosh where have I been....not sure if it is somewhere I`d feel confidne about living or ethically investing in.

Thanks Dabbler. I was not even aware of this environmental/pollution issues. I will have to do more research on that. I have friends that have bought there and live there seasonally but I have never heard anything from them about the environmental/pollution issues. Thanks for the info though. I will check.

Having said that, if you were to consider investing in Alberta, you might want to consider the ethical side of investing here too seeing you mentioned this above. Lets face it. Alberta track record for clean air, climate change etc. is very bad. I live here and I am not impressed with their attitude towards the environment

Charly

JanBowler · Jul 23, 2008

QUOTE (Dabbler @ Jul 17 2008, 07:54 PM) I understand that part of the island has had environmental/pollution issues -- been ongoing for years but government hasn`t cleaned up. WE love the area too but when I heard that..gosh where have I been....not sure if it is somewhere I`d feel confidne about living or ethically investing in.

We are not aware of any major pollution/environmental problems mid-Vancouver Island and we live here. I wonder if the person posting that could be more specific? The Valley has many "green-minded" citizens. Certainly those types of problems are way less than the funnel of the Fraser Valley and Vancouver itself, for example. We love living here - only downside to paradise is living in the rain-forest in winter! (Although not many places can advertise you can ski and golf on the same day!) On another note, some stats on a real estate sheet from our property manager this month are as follows: "House sales in the Comox Valley have slowed down to a pace not seen for 6 years. VIREB reveals only 89 single family homes sold locally in June. That`s a fall from 137 in June 2007 - a drop of 35%. Sales of condos are down by 40%, townhouses by 43% and vacant lots by a staggering 80%. In fact, a total of only 31 properties in all 3 categories sold in June. Average sale price for the Comox Valley was $379,081 in May 2008, and $376,596 in June 2008". However, there should be caution interpreting these %s as the numbers are relatively small. With regard to your "average rent" quote, it depends what and where you are renting. For a well-kept 2 bedroom condo you will get $750 to MAYBE $800 at the moment. It does look like this may lead to some price reductions and if you are looking for a place for yourself, it may be worth following the market, and may be a good time to secure a place for the future. Best of luck!

Charly · Jul 28, 2008

QUOTE (DavidB @ Jul 23 2008, 03:14 PM) We are not aware of any major pollution/environmental problems mid-Vancouver Island and we live here. I wonder if the person posting that could be more specific? The Valley has many "green-minded" citizens. Certainly those types of problems are way less than the funnel of the Fraser Valley and Vancouver itself, for example. We love living here - only downside to paradise is living in the rain-forest in winter! (Although not many places can advertise you can ski and golf on the same day!) On another note, some stats on a real estate sheet from our property manager this month are as follows: "House sales in the Comox Valley have slowed down to a pace not seen for 6 years. VIREB reveals only 89 single family homes sold locally in June. That`s a fall from 137 in June 2007 - a drop of 35%. Sales of condos are down by 40%, townhouses by 43% and vacant lots by a staggering 80%. In fact, a total of only 31 properties in all 3 categories sold in June. Average sale price for the Comox Valley was $379,081 in May 2008, and $376,596 in June 2008". However, there should be caution interpreting these %s as the numbers are relatively small. With regard to your "average rent" quote, it depends what and where you are renting. For a well-kept 2 bedroom condo you will get $750 to MAYBE $800 at the moment. It does look like this may lead to some price
reductions and if you are looking for a place for yourself, it may be worth following the market, and may be a good time to secure a place for the future. Best of luck!

Hi David:

Thanks for your reply. I am looking for a small two bed or three bedroom house for myself in the future. I noticed the pricing has gone down but as I am a buyer this is a good thing. Do you enjoy the life in Comox? I am longing to escape Calgary and am very into Rowing, swimming, kayaking, hiking etc. I am hoping for that kind of lifestyle there someday. I myself did not hear of any pollution issue happening there either and have done some extensive research. Any areas of Courtenay/Comox you recommend? Any I should avoid? I have a good realtor but it is alwasys nice to hear from people living there.

By the way, what are your thoughts on Qualicum Beach. I have a friend that says I should look there, but it seems a bit isolated for me.

Charly

JanBowler · Jul 31, 2008

There are many good areas - the best thing is obviously to spend some time here and see what appeals to you. Some say to avoid the area around the Driftwood Mall in Courtenay. Qualicum is lovely but may be a harder exit strategy - areas out of the towns often make great homes but you will have a harder or longer time selling. If this is your home "forever" then that shouldn`t matter.

Thomas Beyer · Aug 2, 2008

We own in nearby Campbell River .. so area is great due to diversified economy: retirement, tourism, mines, fishing, .. and yes, some forestry .. a great buy AT THE RIGHT PRICE as prices have moved up substantially over the last 2-3 years ever since WestJet arrived .. but with the new Island Highway it has a great future .. buy at the right price so you can rent to ordinary folks or retirees and you will be fine ! Don`t overpay though !