“Calgary homeowners are long overdue for a win, when it comes to equity in their homes,” says Jared Chamberlain, founder and co-owner of Chamberlain Real Estate Group, a Calgary brokerage. “For too long we’ve had many conversations about clients homes not being worth what they paid for, and they have to sell for a loss.”
“Our interest rate was higher after refinancing it; we were only making about $100 a month,” Mr. Moreau says, noting that he’d invested more than $11,000 in renovations. “Our initial investment strategy was to buy it distressed, give it an uplift, legalize , refinance, hold it and let it cash flow – and then evaluate year over year.”
As properties appreciate across segments, homeowners can make a jump to a product type that better suits their needs and lifestyle, explains Terrin Daemen, a Calgary realtor. “For people who are wanting to upsize, to go from a starter home to a bigger one, their house is now worth between $550,000 and $600,000, so they can buy something a little more easily in that higher price bracket, because they’re going to sell theirs for a good profit.
Because finding detached properties for less than $700,000 is nearly impossible in the Toronto and Vancouver markets, investors have turned to Alberta’s largest city in search for cash-flow opportunities.