QUOTE (cwevenson @ Jun 10 2008, 09:01 AM) I have listened to many of the REIN meetings over the last 2 years and as i understand it real estate progresses in swings. And like just about everything else in the world those swings can be tracked. Calgary has been in a Lul for a while now. When is the market there expected to start taking off again, and if so is there any projects on what kind of return to expect?
Right now we are in the best buyer`s market we have seen in ages! Now is when you want to be stockpiling fundamentally sound income property.
Right now the market is in `correction mode` in response to the huge upswing in late `05, `06 and early `07. The expectation is that we will continue to see a buyers market until:
1. The speculators unload their poorly chosen properties
2. Everyone that wants to trade up (due to the equity they generated during the boom) does so. Takes a while for this.
3. Employers adjust their compensation packages to reflect the new cost of living. Property prices/rents can double in 2-3 years but salaries don`t. Given the $250B+ of capital projects in the pipe for Alberta the jobs are going to be there so Calgary employers looking to attract employees will have to adjust their salaries.... which makes us look more attractive to migrants etc.
4. Lastly, look for the next `boom` to be after the Olympics in 2010. It`s no secret that many AB construction projects are on hold due to the prohibitive cost of labor. With the BC infrastructure in place after 2010 the workers on contract there will need new places to work, and you will see AB projects come on stream in force.
