Why invest in Lower Mainland?

[silasstewart]

I am a second your Real Estate student at BCIT and my teacher just gave us two projects that will start a good real estate discussion between all of the investors on this forum. I have to do two 10 minute power points, one on the top 12 reasons an investor should have confidence to invest in the lower mainland and 12 reasons why you shouldn`t invest in it.

These are some reasons I have come up with so far:

For:
gateway project
affordable globally
interest rates
steady political climate
new jobs
wages increase
migration
people moving from pine beetle zones to lower mainland

Against:
Affordability index high (vancouver especially)
hard to cash flow in certain areas
invest in Alberta
sub prime crisis
mills shutting down

Those are just a few ideas, I would love to get some input from the investors.

Thank You

 

[Thomas Beyer]

why NOT:
rent control
left leaning government tendencies
low average wages
traffic nightmares
quite expensive relative to wages (more expensive than Europe !!)

why:
beautiful scenary
warm seasons (baby boomers !!)
land use restrictions
traffic nightmares (i.e. buy close to work)
by the ocean
by the mountains
2h to Whister / close to recreation areas
many 2nd homes
one of 3 Canadian in-migration centrers (with Toronto and Montreal)
closest Canadian city to Asia which has the world`s fastest growing economies

 

[silasstewart]

Thank You Thomas, that is some good input! When you say closest city to Asia`s, do you mean Vancouver? Is Prince Rupert closer?

 

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (silasstewart @ Mar 26 2008, 11:21 PM) Thank You Thomas, that is some good input! When you say closest city to Asia`s, do you mean Vancouver? Is Prince Rupert closer?


City as in "city over 100,000 that is attractive" .. i.e. yes, vancouver + surrounding lower mainland

Prince Rupert is a port that is rainy 300+ days/year in the middle of nowhere .. perhaps legally a city but not in the common sense !