Edmonton Real Estate Investor: investments

Thank goodness I realized my money skills weren't up to par when I was young enough to make the significant changes necessary to ensure I wouldn't be worried about money at retirement. For the 35% percent of Canadians that are losing sleep at night it's time to take a course, read a book and make the changes necessary.

One thing seriously lacking is a foundation in money management for kids. Although I can still spell antidisestablishmentarianism thanks to Ms. Carroll in grade 4 - one thing I never learned in school was how to make a budget or even balance my cheque book. Now kids have more options as parents are themselves seeing what is missing in their own financial education.

"We teach the kids that money makes you more of what you already are," "You as a person determine how the money will show up in your life and how you use it." Kim Deep president of Kidz Make Cents a company providing youth with financial education

The government of Alberta has a series of courses you can take to improve your financial savvy, like Money 101 for teens and there are many private organizations that can help you or your children learn how to make money not waste it.

Find a course near you!

My statement from Mackenzie Financial Corporation came today no big shocks or surprises this time but I did get a little pleasure from a link on the Mackenzie site.

Burn Rate shows how Canadians are burning through their hard earned post-tax dollars. The Denialers "a family of four that spends like fourteen" who are "experts at convincing themselves that their financial affairs are in fantastic shape" are indicative of how many families sometimes have everything - except a financial plan.

It's a good link to spend to someone who may need need a little nudge to think about their finances.

Don't miss the Burn Rater Spending Test that will tell you how much of an over spender you are.

gen x

I am worried about my generation. They didn't want anything and now when they realize, "Hey money is all right!" They are so in debt that they can't get ahead nor can they save for their future.

This article is such an eye opener for me, I am so happy that I made the choice to give up new clothes, that cool car and nice furniture for a few years to pay off my student loans and all my credit card debt. I am also happy that I learned to invest and wait, to not let my current appetite steal from my future feast.

Facts From OppeinheimerFunds

* 62 percent say they live paycheck to paycheck

* 56 percent have an outstanding credit-card balance of $3,000 or more.

* 62 percent of women say they have not bought any investment products.

* 45 percent of women would buy 30 pairs of shoes before saving $30,000 in retirement assets.

* 65 percent of women and 48 percent of men said they do not know how a mutual fund works.

* Nearly 65 percent did not know that when interest rates go up bond prices typically go down.

* 38 percent of women have not started saving for retirement.

"Generation X may have shed the slacker image over the past decade as its members moved beyond coffee shop jobs and into the suburbs, SUVs and corporate boardrooms. But when it comes to saving for retirement, the description still fits.

Most Gen Xers, the oldest of whom are heading into their 40s, are woefully behind in saving for retirement. Nearly half of the 5,000 Gen Xers surveyed by Charles Schwab this year said they are so saddled with debt or live on such tight budgets they can’t even think about saving." Read Full Article Click Here

It's not just my opinion. Edmonton and Alberta have won a slew of awards for being cost competitive, amount of corporate projects and expansions.

"Edmonton has been named the Number 1 metro area in Western Canada for business investment based on the number of capital projects and expansions taking place in the region...." Edmonton Economic Development Corp

To Read The Full Article Click Here

Edmonton attracts business and projects from all around the world and with these projects come workers who need housing.

In September alone Edmonton gained 1300 jobs with Alberta's unemployment rate the lowest in Canada and investments into the city growing we can expect big things for this northern diamond especially if you are in Real Estate.

Prices in Alberta have rising so much in the last few years. These are a few of the properties and profits we have brought to our clients. These numbers are based on appreciation and equity pay down. They do not include taxes paid at sale.

If you would like to see more deals like this please visit our website www.glennsimoninc.com or contact us at info@glennsimoninc.com for more information.

Deals like this come up all the time and with the market we are in now is a great time to pick up an investment property.

Find Edmonton Investment Properties Here.

I was on one of the fastest trains in the world, heading at near light-speed to an early morning meeting in Tokyo last Friday. The purpose of my journey was to liaise with international investors who are moving capital from European and Asian markets into rock steady Alberta real estate.

An easy enough task, all things considered. My partners are quite well informed about Alberta and it’s effortless for them to see the advantages with ‘global eyes’, meaning from a seasoned-world perspective.

With Alberta’s growth a mere half percent (that’s right: 0.5%) behind China’s growth it’s no wonder why it is effortless to see. As it’s easy to forget with all these heady numbers, here are a couple of facts to show what’s really happening. Alberta has a population of 3 million people. China has a population of 1.3 billion. Hopefully that clears up any confusion about how BIG of a growth spurt Alberta is enjoying.

Did you know that in China every year about 30
million people move up the economic ladder from ‘poor’ to ‘middle class’?

That’s nearly the population of Canada increasing its income bracket every 365 days.

India now has a ‘middle-class’ of about 250 million people, which represents 25% of the Indian population. By 2025 India will have 400 million middle-class people with over $2.8 Trillion a year in spending power.

As I’m watching the eki-in (train-pushers) pack people into the Shinjuku train line with soft, padded poles and white cotton gloves. I start thinking, 2 million people go through this station everyday…

Like some outtake from the movie Pi, I can almost see this demand as tangible: Alberta’s oil, gas and nanotech, Canada’s water, uranium and lifestyle.

Luckily we don’t need any Tushy-Pushers to push people into Alberta as there is enough room for everyone- in fact the gate is swinging wide open and welcoming.

Japan, Germany, Russia and Italy are all projected to shrink in populace in the coming decades whereas Canada will have the fastest growth of all industrialized countries, faster than the USA.

Alberta’s in the midst of the strongest economic growth of any Canadian province in history- poised to be a global energy super-power in the coming decades. Why wouldn’t people rush in?

This is the opportunity of a lifetime.

I decided to post a one of our monthly newsletters from our free monthly mailing list. If you would like to receive this in your mailbox every month go here

It is full of our hot deals, market updates and Edmonton information for the investor!

No, that isn't a mistake. Alberta oil sands saw another $38 Billion invested into the region over the last week.

The only thing stopping the region going into full production mode is high construction costs and a shortage of labour. Oil sands' labour demands are set to double from 15,000 today to 34,000 by 2010.

Of the development plans announced:

"Shell Canada's plan to spend up to $27 billion on Canada's biggest oilsands upgrader, the $6.6 billion friendly takeover bid for Western Oil Sands (TSX:WTO) by U.S. refiner Marathon Oil Corp., and a $4.4 billion regulatory strategy filed by Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) for the mining plan of its Voyageur South site all indicate the need to ensure a smooth development path for the tar-like bitumen."
Yahoo News

Edmonton is the hub of the oil sands activity, this kind of investment so close to the city shows this oil boom is here to stay. These companies don't throw around this kind of money without a lot of research. The demand for housing will increase exponentially and when demand rises so do prices.

Edmonton once again leads in residential sales for Canada West. March was a record breaking month.

"The biggest percentage gains continued to be primarily in western cities. Edmonton's year-over-year price appreciation of 47.8 per cent leads all cities. Saskatoon's price gain of 28.2 per cent and Calgary's 27.6 per cent rounded out the top three."CBC.ca

The great thing about Edmonton is that prices will continue to rise due to the labour needs (among other things) of the oilsands - more people coming to look for a limited supply of housing. Edmonton also has an undervalued residential market. It may slow down this year but that only gives us a breather to get more great properties for our investors.

Edmonton residential prices have increased 16.5% since January. Unbelievable. As usual no signs of slowing down. The city is still affordable, prices are still rising and it is still no.1

“Edmonton is still affordable compared to Vancouver, which has an average of $590,000,” said Pratt. “(Edmonton is) certainly not in that range yet.”
She said she expects the increases to continue, especially through the busiest months of real estate, which are April, May, June and July. The market will then likely stabilize for the remainder of the year, she said. Carolyn Pratt, president of the Edmonton Real Estate Board (EREB.)read full article

In Business Edge News Magazine Online

"Canadian real estate provided a total return of 18.6 per cent in 2006, close to the record 18.7 per cent set in 2005, according to the Canadian Property Index.

The index is published annually by U.K.-based Investment Property Databank and the Institute of Canadian Real Estate Investment Managers.

Of the six major markets monitored for the index, Edmonton recorded the highest property return at 35.2 per cent. The others were: Calgary (30.4 per cent), Vancouver (22.8 per cent), Montreal (18.3 per cent), Toronto (13.1 per cent) and Ottawa (12.6 per cent).

The index is based on data from pension funds, life insurance companies and real estate managers on more than 2,000 properties."

As they say "Don`t wait to buy real estate buy real estate and wait!"