I'll put my 2 cents in here: I live in BC, and invest primarily in AB, but am keeping an eye on the changing landscape in BC right now, as well as the Golden Horseshoe in Ontario, with the changing market environment of rising rates.
The "Alberta Advantage" includes the following: No property transfer tax, no Provincial Sales Tax for doing reno projects, no rent control, very easy to evict problem tenants, higher rent to purchase price ratio, lower barrier to entry for purchase (depending where you are buying), and I have found typically the cities are much quicker with permitting where I invest.
Having said that, I factor in 1% appreciation on my numbers, because it really is a much more cyclical and stagnant market compared to Vancouver where I currently reside.
One of the big knocks on Alberta is the idea of it being a "1 trick pony" aka oil dependent. Although oil plays a very large role in the Alberta economy, the main cities of Calgary and Edmonton have been doing a lot of work to try and diversify their economy via attracting tech companies, the booming marijuana sector, as well as health care, post-secondary education etc. Can debate this topic all day, but at the end of the day the price to rent ratios make more sense for my goals (cash flow and scaling a portfolio) and that is why I choose Alberta.
At the end of the day, it really all depends on your strategy and what you are looking to get out of real estate. If you are looking to find historically higher appreciating markets, consider the interior BC, or even downtown Vancouver/Toronto as they are "on sale" compared to a few years ago (depending on your definition of sale lol). If you are looking for cash flow and more landlord friendly rules, I am pro Alberta.
Hope that helps!
