基秦拿滑铁卢剑桥居首
最新研究指出，安省最佳物业投资是在基秦拿-滑铁卢-剑桥地区。
属科技中心 就业多元化
Real Estate Investing Network分析师金宝(Don Campbell)在周三说，上述地区有滑铁卢大学及无线科技巨擘Research In Motion坐镇，是具有竞争力的北美科技中心。它击败去年的冠军巴里而名列前茅，原因在于该地区从制造业迅速转变为更多元化的就业形态，学生、退休者及新职位带来潜在租客，造就了置产的好机会。
金宝利用13种因素评估各地区的投资价值，其中包括比较收入及人口增长跟全省的平均状况、是否有主要雇主、是否在进行交通改善工程等。他说，例如耗资4亿元兴建的咸美顿Red Hill Valley Parkway将在今年完工，便是非常重要的因素。
多伦多仅名列第8
81页的报告将巴里-奥维利亚列为第2个值得投资地区，其次是杜咸区的韦比、碧古灵、雅积士，多伦多只排在第8名。
金宝说，多伦多的外围地区会有较大升值空间，例如士嘉堡的坏名声言过其实，他以往的投资成绩并不差，目前3卧室房屋的平均价格为325,000元。他也喜欢北约克的Armour Heights及海柏公园的Junction社区，但不认为共管柏文是良好的中期投资，因为预计存货会大增、要有高租金才能自给自足支付按揭、而且预购单位完工后会大量流入市场。加拿大按揭及房屋公司估计，大多伦多地区在今年及明年会有11,000个共管柏文完工。
金宝列出其余最有利物业投资地区包括：
2,巴里及奥维利亚社区：人口在未来10年会增加60-70%，离多伦多只有1小时车程而屋价低得多，巴里的2层楼3卧室房屋去年平均价格为288,400元。
3,韦比、雅积士及碧古灵：一向是多伦多上班族喜好的居住地，现在更增加汽车、航天、塑胶、制药等行业雇主，租金增幅将超过全省平均，典型房屋平均价格在碧古灵为300,522元，雅积士为267,500元，韦比为293,000元。
4,万锦：不断吸引积极削支的雇主，该市目前有900多家高科技及生命科学公司，3卧室房屋平均价格为425,000元。
5,咸美顿：当地钢铁业渐被高科技业取代，正重新规划商业住宅及工业区，新公路通车后将面目一新，3卧室房屋平均价格为229,670元。
布兰福：首次入选就排名第5，主要是受惠于丰田公司在附近的胡士托设新厂，该市地位有利而房价容易负担，可望强劲成长，平均屋价为294,000元。
6,宾顿：人口及工人数目在大多伦多地区的29个市镇中排名第3，多元经济成长速度超过基础建设，3卧室房屋平均价格300,000元。
7,渥太华：在全国主要都市中，房屋价格显得最容易负担。共管柏文空置率低，未来租金将大幅上涨，3卧室房屋平均价格403,000元。
9,奥沙华：经历汽车业遣散风潮打击，重新开发市中心使得原先表现不佳的地区受人垂青。
10,惠特撤奇-史托维：空置率低，未来出租单位不会显著增加，人们向往乡间生活有利于该地区成长。
KW is Ontario’s ‘economic Alberta’
Apr 12, 2007 04:30 AM
Tony Wong
BUSINESS REPORTER
The Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area is the top place in Ontario to invest in real estate, with the most potential for future price appreciation of any area in the province, according to an investment study released yesterday.
Canada’s technology triangle is the “economic Alberta of Ontario” said analyst Don Campbell, head of the research and education firm Real Estate Investing Network.
The area, home to the University of Waterloo and companies such as Research In Motion Inc., maker of the popular BlackBerry wireless devices, is rated one of the most competitive regions to do business in North America, he said.
More than 60 per cent of Canada’s population and 40 per cent of the U.S. population is within 800 kilometres of the area, where the average price of a two-storey, three-bedroom home in 2006 was $215,000.
“We are looking for places in Ontario that are poised to go forward, that haven’t reached their potential yet, and that still have good upside for investing,” said Campbell, a prominent real estate investor who is based in Vancouver.
In the study’s second spot is the Barrie-Orillia area, followed by the Durham Region towns of Whitby, Pickering and Ajax. Markham comes in fourth, and Hamilton and Brantford are fifth.
The Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area beat out Barrie, last year’s winner, because K-W and Cambridge are rapidly transforming from a manufacturing base to a more diversified jobs base, representing a buying opportunity, Campbell said.
“You have a wide range of potential renters, anywhere from students to retirees, and continued strong job growth in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.”
Campbell, the author of Real Estate Investing in Canada, uses 13 key factors for each area to help him determine rankings.
He looks at whether the average income and population are increasing faster than the provincial average, if there’s more than one major employer, and if major transportation improvements are in the works. The $400 million-plus Red Hill Valley Parkway in Hamilton that’s due for completion this year fits with that criteria, he said.
“Transportation drives future value more than just about any other factor,” Campbell said. “Distance isn’t the issue, it’s time. No one says I’m 12 kilometres from Toronto, they say I’m 30 minutes from Toronto. It’s about shrinking the commute.”
Toronto, representing a more mature market, ended up in eighth spot. The economic capital of Canada continues to produce jobs, Campbell said, but certain neighbourhoods will do better than others.
Areas outside the core have been showing the highest appreciation and Campbell feels neighbourhoods such as Scarborough, where the average three-bedroom home costs $325,000, have an upside.
“I’ve bought in neighbourhoods before that had poor reputations that they didn’t deserve – and have done quite well,” he said.
He also likes the Armour Heights neighbourhood in North York and the Junction neighbourhood near High Park. He doesn’t like condos as an investment.
“The new condo market is a cautionary tale and best avoided due to the huge expected increase in inventory, the sky-high rents necessary to make the property carry itself and the anticipated flooding of the market as soon as the pre-built purchases are completed,” Campbell said in the 81-page report.
“Although demand may currently be high, this market is not yet considered a good medium-term investment.”
A Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. report released yesterday said housing starts, particularly for condos, were down significantly in March.
Multiple family starts are down 34 per cent year to date in the Toronto area. However, based on record levels of pre-construction sales over the last two years, the CMHC said it expects starts to ramp up significantly in the second half of the year. More than 11,000 condos are scheduled for completion this year and next in the Greater Toronto Area.
Some of the other Top 10 spots according to Campbell include:
Barrie and Orillia: A young community with a population expected to grow by 60 to 70 per cent in the next 10 years. Close to recreational areas, but housing values are less than in Toronto, which is a one-hour commute. A study earlier this year by ReMax Ontario Atlantic Canada said the average Barrie residence appreciated 372 per cent over a 25-year period – the most of any major urban market in Canada. The average price for a three-bedroom, two-storey home in Barrie last year was $288,400.
Durham Region – Whitby, Ajax and Pickering: While a traditional bedroom community for the Toronto area, the region is attracting an increasingly diverse list of local employers involved in automotive, aerospace, plastics and pharmaceuticals. Rental increases are poised to be above the provincial average. The average price of a Pickering home was $300,522. In Ajax it was $267,500 and in Whitby $293,000.
Markham: A strong, consistent performer. Continues to attract employers looking for a more liveable area to relocate. There are more than 900 advanced technology and life science companies in the town. The average price of a three-bedroom home is $425,000.
Hamilton: Steel town is undergoing a revitalization of key areas and showing an entrepreneurial spirit with the start of a major high tech industrial park. Redevelopment of commercial, residential and industrial areas is ongoing, and a new highway this year is a big plus. The average price of a three-bedroom home is $229,670.
Brantford: Joining the list at No. 5, Brantford looks to benefit from the spillover of the opening of a new Toyota plant in nearby Woodstock. A strategic location with affordable housing should see strong growth. Average house price of $294,000.
Brampton: Has the third largest population and the third largest number of workers among the GTA’s 29 municipalities. A diverse economy is growing faster than the infrastructure. Average price of a three-bedroom home is $300,000.
Ottawa: When compared to other major centres, Ottawa has one of the most affordable housing stocks in the country. Low vacancy rates for condo apartments suggest rents could see a dramatic increase over the next several years. A three-bedroom home goes for about $403,000.
Oshawa: The area went through economic shock after the announcement of automotive sector layoffs. Downtown re-development will put the spotlight on underperforming areas of the city.
Whitchurch-Stouffville: Low vacancy rates, no substantial increase in rental units planned for the future, and a rising demand for country in the city lifestyle makes it poised for growth.
