Beautiful and safe
Canada is increasingly attracting property buyers who are attracted by good prices, a reliable market, a stable currency, lifestyle and the availability of air service. "Canada is known as one of the most beautiful countries in the world with a high standard of living," says Philippe Barker, managing director of Overseas Homesearch, which specializes in the sale of Alpine–style houses in the magnificent Montremblanc area in Quebec and the Monashy mountain range in British Columbia.
Canada is distinguished by a high level of service, low cost of housing and the absence of language problems for people who know English. Besides, you can come here all year round. There are excellent conditions for winter sports, for example in the Rocky Mountains, which are distinguished by long trails, powder-dry snow and are considered a world-class resort. In summer, in Canada, traditional entertainment is mountain biking and rafting!
Canada is considered a popular and affordable vacation destination, so the possibilities of obtaining a decent income from renting out housing are obvious. In addition, the Canadian Tourism Commission has been implementing the Canada, Keep Exploring program for the past few years, aimed at attracting new visitors to the country, within which investments are made in the country's infrastructure and new low-cost flights are opened.
According to recent data from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, this province alone in southeastern Canada received 15 million Americans and 400,000 Britons in 2007. Ontario and Vancouver are particularly popular holiday destinations. And this is definitely not the limit, considering that Vancouver will host the Winter Olympic Games in 2010.
It is equally important that a safe investment environment has developed in the country. "Real estate in Canada has stable prospects in terms of value growth. Thanks to this and the reliability of the Canadian dollar, investing in the country is attractive and safe," says Philip Barker.
Jeremy Tomalin-Reeves, who sells facilities at the Three Sisters Mountain Village resort in Alberta, talks about the prospects of this village: "Over the past three years, the average price of apartments, townhouses and chalets has risen by 20-25% annually. Since January, the average price has increased from $475 to $575 per 1 sq. m, which was a 21% increase."
Red Leaves is currently selling accommodation in the Rosseau apart-hotel – Canada's first JW Marriott Hotel & Spa – on Lake Russo in Muskoka. The company's specialist, Steve Taggart, says that currently the rental real estate sector is strong and the amount required to enter it is not so large. "For example, Rosseau offers an option with a guaranteed annual 7% rental income, despite the fact that the owner can use the house for 14 days a year," he believes. The most affordable studio apartment in the complex is estimated at $300,000.
Canada? This is golf
Perhaps it will come as a surprise to many that Canada is now rapidly gaining points from golf fans. Today, a lot of new fields with appropriate infrastructure and residential real estate are being built on the territory of the country, but can the vast Canada count on pushing Portugal and Spain, which are almost completely dominant in this field, where from European countries, and even more so from Russia, you can get much faster?
"Yes," he answers with confidence Kilmney Fane-Saunders from Second Home Nova Scotia. And real estate prices play an important role in this. Second Home Nova Scotia has put up for sale not only the apartments on the edge of the course, but also the entire golf course. A 9-hole course an hour's drive from Halifax, Nova Scotia's largest city, overlooks the sea. Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore have already managed to appreciate the beauty of this region and purchase real estate here.
The Minas View Golf Links Golf complex, which occupies 15 hectares of ocean coastline, was built in 1967 and has since been owned by one family, which sells it for $750,000. The course has five short holes (par equals three) and four medium holes (par – four) on slightly rough terrain, which is convenient to move around. The intrigue lies in the eighth hole, which can be reached in two ways: moving along the 130-meter fence, skirting the cliff, or hitting so that the ball flies over it in one fell swoop.
The UK-registered company Invest You Can last year received the Homes Overseas Award for the best home in Canada. Noting the vast expanses, colorful landscapes and so far low prices, the director of the company Rozlen Zhurno advises buyers to visit the construction site before concluding a deal: "There are developers who give distorted information about their objects. They claim that the buyer buys real estate on the first line, but in reality it takes 30-40 minutes to get to the field. Of course, this will also affect rental income. And if a lover of skiing does not rent a house from which it takes more than 10 minutes to get to the track, then a golfer will not agree to a house from whose windows the holes are not visible."
Now Invest You Can is implementing the Rabaska project, presenting it as "the only complex under construction in Montremblan on the first line of the golf course". We are talking about townhouses and two-family homes priced from $230,000, located between the La Bete golf courses and the river.
In Quebec, Undiscovered Properties is selling housing in the Eagle Ridge Golf Complex with an 18-hole course, just a 90-minute drive from Montreal and its international airport. There are shops, boutiques, club houses and restaurants on the territory - in other words, all the necessary infrastructure. The highway connects the project with Montremblan, the ski capital of eastern Canada. Housing prices start at $500,000. John Pryer of Undiscovered Properties confidently predicts an increase in the cost of objects, referring to the previous project, which provided buyers with an income of 46.9% within two years.
Fields, fields, fields everywhere
Huge Canada impresses with a variety of offers in the golf real estate sector. These are the Residences Le Maitre complex near the Laurentian Mountains, including houses for $285,000- 890,000, whose owners can become members of one of the best clubs in Canada, ClubLink Platinum Course, and the Le Meandre project with houses from one to five bedrooms and numerous services, as well as 70 residences with four and five bedrooms at a price from $450,000 within the La Seigneurie complex, which occupies as much as 60 hectares.
Sean Collins, President of Pure International, predicts an increase in interest from those who invest in lifestyle: "For most of our clients, the key motive is the availability of high-quality infrastructure and proximity to year-round resorts. Among those who strive for healthy, active recreation, golf is in great demand, second only to alpine skiing."
Recently, Vivaldi Resorts launched the Ogilvy Lakes project – 100 log houses on 240 hectares among the forests and mountains of Quebec with its own 18-hole course. Houses with four and five bedrooms on plots of 4000 sq. m. The apartments are rented on a turnkey basis, with a 42’ plasma TV, a billiard table and a Jacuzzi. The minimum price is about $500,000.
CEO Alex Porrit says that owners of real estate in Ogilvy Lakes can expect a 7% annual income or choose to cover mortgage interest for up to 5 years, adding at the same time: "The new owners overwhelmingly experience great happiness and for a long time do not want to part with their property at all, in which they see not only an economically profitable investment project, but also, in the future, a family nest."
Today, more and more people are talking about British Columbia: so, in 2007 The International Association of Golf and Tour Operators recognized her as the winner among the North American golf regions. Only in the eastern part of the province there are 22 unsurpassed golf complexes, including 901 Fernie, which Pure International experts believe will be of interest to fans of skiing and golf. Built in 1908, the building of the former school after reconstruction will turn into impressive lofts and penthouses with an area of up to 185 sq. m. m and cost from $586,000.