Investing in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

[Chris Perreault]

Hey Everyone, I am looking to make moves in the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada market. My wife and I are entrepreneurs and have decent access to liquid cash (400,000K) to invest. Just curious what others are seeing with the recent downturn, Covid, Oil prices, unemployment rate, would anyone offer suggestions whether Edmonton is worth looking at for deals ? My concern is real estate values haven't increased since the oil crash in 2014. We have been considering going to the US market since it seems like there are better CoC returns and more deals to be found.

Also, for other seasoned investors, how are you finding the right properties in competitive markets like ? There are some already strong established flippers and investors who seem to have the market consumed. Before the 20% under market properties come up they are tied up by established investors. Tips on how to break in to a market that is very competitive ?

Cheers, thanks for all your ideas.

Chris

[Zorya Belanger]

Hi @Chris Perreault, I'd like to hear more about what type of investing you are looking into and what your experience has been so far. 

My husband and I have been investing in Edmonton since 2013 and still feel it’s a viable place to invest. I feel the long term forecast for Edmonton is still very positive. It's a big growing city that is focused on diversifying economically. Of course you need to invest in the right type of property and strategy depending on what the market is doing. Based on economics and key drivers, Edmonton’s real estate market is in the beginning to middle of a slump phase of the real estate cycle. So that means Buy and Hold is possible/good, Rent to Own is Tricky/Possible, Flipping should be avoided/tricky. 

I've heard that with covid there has been increased interest in people wanting to be out of apartment buildings and into new or renovated places with private entrances and backyards. I know an investor who needed to lease all units in a brand new basement-suited triplex (6 units total) by possession day on May 1 2020, and she did it - in the middle of city shutting down due to covid. People are still moving and paying decent rent, providing good cashflow. You just need the right type of property. Personally, we've only had one tenant not able to pay rent, 3 months into covid.

As far as finding deals, there are going to be established players in any market. I believe the key is getting out there and doing some marketing yourself and being creative with it. Or get to know wholesalers who are already doing that. Build your network. Work your way in. Everyone has to start somewhere. I dont think there's any one tip to break in and see the same deals as established investors. I know one couple who finds a lot of the deals because they're spending thousands of dollars per month in marketing and doing the work of filtering through a ton of bad deals.

PM me if you'd like to chat sometime.