Justin da Rosa
Other
One market’s woes could mean good fortune for investor’s in another major market, according to one industry veteran.
Real estate professionals are bullish on the Toronto market for investors this year, as savvy buyers could cash in on troubling times in western Canada.
“Toronto will definitely be a good spot for investors this year; I was just talking with a broker from another office about this and we think many people who currently live in Alberta will look to move to Toronto,” Ira Jelenik, an agent in Toronto, told REP. “A lot of those people will look to the rental market and prices in both freehold and condos will go up this year.”
That potential influx would just add to the always growing number of Torontonians.
“Along with immigration, a lot of people will be migrating from other provinces,” Jelenik said. The oil industry taking its fair share of beatings last year, with many people out of work and struggling to cover the cost of rent or mortgage. The trend is expected to continue – and its one that has had a very real impact on the real estate industry.
In late November it was reported that agents in Fort McMurray were leaving the city in droves. Phil Soper, chief executive officer of Royal LePage Real Estate Services, told the National Post at the time that Fort-McMurray based agents are leaving the area in hopes of taking advantage of markets that haven’t been hit as hard as the capital of oil country.
“Our offices in Edmonton are experiencing a transfer of agents from Fort McMurray and you’d expect that, because the region is experiencing the most severe change in economic fortune in Canada in years,” Soper told the Post.
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