Next up and coming market(s) for BRRRR in Canada?

[Jason Park]

Hi everyone! Newbie investor here.

Hope everyone's having good holidays despite the pandemic.

My name is Jason, and I'm a resident of BC looking to put a foot into REI, particularly via BRRRR strategy.

Besides having recently purchased a townhome (primary residence for my family) in Port Coquitlam, listening to RE podcasts including biggerpockets to and from work in the car, and having read couple books, I would say that I know very little regarding REI.

I figured I would join the community to connect with people and learn from those who have walked the walk.

I learned about the BRRRR strategy, and on paper, the mechanics make sense to me. But I find that I would need to first find target markets where the numbers would work out. Definitely not where I live, Vancouver, where 1% rule is just a fantasy (I think it's more like 0.1% in Vancouver).

I have a couple friends that have been actively doing BRRRR in Moncton, New Brunswick, but now I think people have caught on as they tell me that it's been getting progressively more difficult to find properties with good numbers.

So I have looked around the forum and a few places that have come up are:

1. Vancouver Island - Duncan, Port Alberni, Campbell River

2. Calgary

3. Edmonton

4. London

5. Barrie

6. Sudbury

7. St. John

I would prefer to invest near home and stay in BC. Also since it would be my first rental property, I was looking at either SFH or MFH. Eventually I would like to get into MF, but I wonder if it would be better to start with something smaller in scale and eventually move up.

However, beggers can't be choosers! If there are good opportunities in Canada, I'm willing to follow.

If anybody could give me a lead, it would be much appreciated. Better yet, is there anywhere I can go look for information and do independent research? Also, I would be happy to connect as well.

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Thanks,

Jason

[Jason Ridout]

As @Evan McLeish mentioned, Prince George is a good option if you want to keep it in BC and want decent cashflow. Rents are fairly high and housing prices are still somewhat affordable. I own a few houses up there and they've all performed well, but just like everywhere else in North America, prices are climbing.

Many people are finding places across Canada to invest, including the east coast and Alberta etc. The cashflow can be appealing, but I question the long term sustainability of some of those places. If people have a choice, they'll choose mild climates, which is the lower mainland or Vancouver Island. East coast winter weather isn't appealing, either is Alberta for that matter. Huge percentages of Canadian plan to retire in BC. That means they'll be leaving other provinces and heading to the west coast. That puts demand on rental and housing ownership on the West coast, but a possible reduction of demand for those things elsewhere. Now that people can work from home, even more people are moving to the West coast. The majority of clients I help are from Alberta or the lower mainland.

If I lived elsewhere in Canada, I'd probably invest where cashflow is good, but because I live on the west coast, I'm going to focus on taking advantage of the fact that the West coast is the most desirable place to live in Canada. I think demand for real estate on the West coast will reduce the effects of any looming recession. If oil doesn't rebound, Alberta could be in trouble as the major draw there is high paying jobs. The draw to the East coast is simply that it's cheap. Cheap isn't a good selling point if no one wants to live there.

That's just my opinion. Lots of people are doing well investing all over Canada. I just think Vancouver Island and the lower mainland will be very desirable for many years. Seeing as how the lower mainland is very expensive, I'm focusing on Vancouver Island.