MoneySense magazine uses various criteria to establish its list
By Mark
Schadenberg
With the price of crude
oil now below its 'produced value', the economy of Alberta is feeling
the crunch. In 2008-09, the Ontario economy suffered through an
auto-industry turmoil which greatly effected the three main North
American car producers – The Big 3.
Every geographical area
will find its ebbs and flows – ups and downs – based on which
sector of the macro-economy is flourishing and which is floundering.
In southern Ontario
now, especially in Oxford County, it could be said this is a great
area to both live and do business in, and invest in. A recent poll by
MoneySense magazine of large Canadian communities, positioned the
London area at #19, Kitchener at #13, and surprisingly Brantford at
#4 as leading Canadian centres to purchase real estate in, especially
multi-family residential investments.
I'm somewhat surprised
by the Brantford positioning as that community has had a
well-publicized tug-of-war with Brant County in recent years dealing
with boundary adjustments as Brantford itself had a low inventory of
industrial land, but Brant was building commercial parks along Hwy
403, such as the one they have near Paris at Rest Acres Road. Tax
dollars from major industry would be going to the Brant County
coffers for those developments.
Woodstock as any map
maker would tell you, is strategically located in the middle of the
London – Kitchener – Brantford triangle.
Since I always say
'Stats don't lie', a story last week in the Brantford Expositor
notes the success story in that community currently:
Last
month saw a 60% jump in the number of building permits issued to 130,
up from 81 in August 2014. And the value of permits issued in August
more than quadrupled to $22.9 million, up from $5.1 million in the
same month last year.
For
the first eight months of 2015, the city has issued 708 permits,
valued at $124.4 million. For the same period last year, 540 permits
valued at $38.3 million were issued.
"Obviously,
we're very pleased with the volume and the value of the permits,"
said Russ Thomson, the city's chief building official.
"The
residential component of construction was huge in August," said
Thomson. "And that's 144 permits issued so far this year for
single-detached homes and permits for more than 100 townhouse units
as well."
A $4 million
institutional-zoning building permit always assist in propping up the
property numbers as there was a large school-board permit for
improvements to Coronation
School on Ewing Drive in Brantford.
MoneySense Survey
The criteria for this
latest MoneySense survey is varied from the local economy to the
strength of the area's rental income property market to overall
momentum (appreciation in investment is tied in here) of each
community's overall real estate market. The methodology also
includes affordability (average home prices) and vacancy rate for
apartments.
Check out the links to
the magazine, as the poll also goes further by discussing the best
neighbourhoods to consider in major metro areas such as Toronto,
Montreal, Vancouver and Edmonton.
Back To Woodstock
One great reason to
consider Woodstock is depicted in the chart shown here. Woodstock has
a very low municipal debt and even though there wasn't a public party
to celebrate the fact, the community complex debenture loan was paid
off this year, so the City has very little debt. The chart below was part of an initial look at the 2016 municipal budget from a September city council agenda.
I believe Woodstock is
a terrific place to locate your business / industry. We're at the
forks of the 401 and 403, and land prices are reasonable compared to
the GTA. Woodstock owns much of its future commercial industrial land
and most of it is shovel ready for your business.
As a community, we have
everything a family would want when considering a home – three
arenas, high-end gymnastics club, a 7-plex movie theatre, two French
immersion schools, one French-only school, a wonderful trail system
around the banks of the Thames River, a thriving 'regional commercial
node' with more than a dozen restaurants and major retailers, a
vibrant downtown which does have a few empty storefronts but is an
attractive shopping destination in a great community, plus many
amazing architectural buildings (Courthouse, city hall, museum, board
of health, and previous Armouries just to name five). As for new
buildings, Woodstock features a terrific almost-new hospital.
While I admit this
entry does bounce around between multi-family, commercial, building
permits, geography and current trends, it is apparent that it's
Brantford's turn to have the spotlight focused on their community,
but the entire London – K-W-Cambridge to Brantford area is
flourishing. A report in the Waterloo Region Record points out the
quick growth in their specific area.
Paul
Singh, chair of the city's planning committee, says he sees the
report as an affirmation of its focus on balanced growth.
"Growth
and development are not bad words," he said. "Growth helps
infuse revenues in the city, it helps attract talent, but it needs to
be properly managed and smart growth, with neighbourhoods that are
walkable, have access to transit, with mixed-use development and a
range of housing."
The
city issued building permits for 2,417 residential units in 2014,
more than double the 1,070 units in 2013.
According
to senior planner Natalie Goss, only one of the last 28 years was
busier for residential growth. That was 1987, when permits were
issued for 2,600 units.
You almost can't go
wrong if you're thinking or living or doing business in this area of
southern Ontario.
When you narrow down
your decision to Woodstock, due to our affordable residential
listings and quality of life, give me a call for a tour of our
'Friendly City'.
LINKS:
www.cometothecrossroads.com
Mark
Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior
Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal
LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
757
Dundas St, Woodstock
(519)
537-1553, cell or text
Email:
mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter:
markroyallepage
Facebook:
Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
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