5 Top Towns for Real Estate Investors in 2024
A year of investing pragmatically and strategically means turning from the flash to the proven in Western Investor’s annual pick of the best places to buy real estate in 2024.
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Edmonton
Edmonton, named Canada’s most affordable city for renters this year, has stable housing prices. One-bedroom rent averages $1,130, and the average home price is $374,100, down 3.8% from last year. For commercial investors, Edmonton offers opportunities in multi-family properties, with buildings selling for $134,000 per door and a 5% capitalization rate.
Edmonton’s industrial market has had positive absorption for 12 quarters with a 4.3% vacancy rate. With 2 million square feet under construction and lease rates at $10.57 per square foot, investors from other cities are eyeing Edmonton for 2024.
No. 2: Terrace, B.C.
Terrace is a 30-minute drive from Kitimat, where the $40 billion liquefied natural gas terminal will complete in in 2024 as the biggest resource project in Canadian history. And Terrace is where the regional residents shop and live, opening opportunities for retail and residential real estate.
Terrace’s population is expected to double in five years due to major developments like a new hospital, schools, and industrial projects. Yelizarov is collaborating with Swiss Real on a 21-unit subdivision for investors. The new four-bedroom houses cost $675,000 and offer guaranteed corporate rent of $6,000 per month for two years, with renewal options. Half the units are already sold.
Despite a regional trend of declining housing prices, Terrace saw average prices rise to $500,716, just behind Prince George, according to the Northern B.C. Real Estate Board.
South Delta, B.C.
South Delta is the two towns of Tsawwassen and Ladner in an area of intense development and investment starting in 2024. This September the $3.5 billion Roberts Bank terminal expansion was given the greenlight by B.C.’s ministers of Environment and Transportation. The massive project doubles the footprint of the current Deltaport terminal and will increase the overall container capacity on the coast by 30 per cent. Meanwhile, work also begins in 2024 on the new George Massey Tunnel, a $4.15 billion eight-lane, toll-free immersed “tube tunnel” under the Fraser River linking South Delta to Richmond.
Despite the huge investments, Sean Hodgins, president of Century Group, who is developing the mixed-use Southlands project in Tsawwassen and planning to redevelop a Tsawwassen mall into a retail and residential high-rise complex, said the “two big factors” for South Delta’s success are simply good schools and public safety.
Saskatoon, SK
Saskatoon is a top choice for 2024 due to steady demand, affordable prices, and strong potential returns in retail, multi-family, and industrial real estate.
Saskatchewan is expected to see 2% GDP growth in 2024, driven by agriculture and mining. The $7.5 billion BHP Jansen potash mine near Saskatoon, promising 2,500 jobs, will boost demand in the industrial sector, which has a 1.6% vacancy rate. Colliers forecasts industrial space could reach a record high of $15 per square foot in 2024.
Saskatoon, with 300,000 residents, boasts high household incomes and low average home prices ($378,800). A one-bedroom rents for $1,075. The city is also home to the University of Saskatchewan and a major biotechnology research center.
Lethbridge AB
Lethbridge does not have a deep oil and gas industry and that has proven a strength in recent years as it had the space and the low land prices to attract mega agri-players such as McCain Foods Ltd., Cavendish Farms Inc. and PIP International Inc. which are all building or expanding processing plants in the community. With 2,400 acres of industrial land within the city boundaries and 934 acres available for development, the city is positioned well for growth.
One can buy home in Lethbridge for less than $340,000 and a one-bedroom apartment rents for an average of $1,200. The combination of high job growth, low housing costs and projected population growth of 5 per cent will lead to a retail boom in 2024, says Avison Young.
We hope you enjoy the 5 top towns for real estate investors in 2024!