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Alberta Oil Sands Investment Real Estate News®
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April 1st., 2017

Volume 22, Issue 06

Dear Friends and Partners,

If you’ve followed the Alberta news the last couple of days you’re probably aware of the bickering between Saskatchewan’s Premier Brad Wall and Alberta’s Premier Rachel Notley (article below). As much as it frustrates me to think about companies (energy or other) leaving Alberta, Wall has the right idea to tempt them. It would be wise for Alberta’s government to assure (and ensure) to local businesses that the grass is, can and will be greener if they stay in Alberta. I can’t blame Premier Wall for trying to entice business his way, but I sure wish he didn’t.

On a different note… You can see affordability greatly improving down in Calgary. It has remained good in Edmonton for several years. This will increase activity down there as new jobs (hopefully) develop. Ahh.. spring; full of promises.

 South Central Edmonton: Forest Heights, 4-Unit Cashflow 

Turbo charge your portfolio. For those wanting a low risk investment in a great A+ area with 4 renovated units under one roof - here it is. This 4-plex is steps from ravine and school and 5 minute drive to downtown 8 mins to U.O.A. 6 minutes to Hospital.

This is property has many recent upgrades and offers 4 X 2 bedroom units. Stylishly renovated up and down with coin laundry in basement. 1963 built, 6 parking stalls and wide front yard.
Terrific access to local amenities in sought after Forrest Heights. Purchase price to include reserve fund and light renovation budget to make it standout - rolled into mortgage. This is a turn-key deal. Excellent access downtown and in this highly rentable mature neighbourhood.

Comes complete with great tenants making this a totally turn-key property for you. Forest Heights is a mature neighbourhood that is convenient for tenants working downtown or attending UOA. HUGE upside potential due to the great purchase price, strong economic fundamentals and the proximity of this property in relation to Edmonton’s growing centre and University.


Purchase price: $692,000
Total Investment: $156,400
Your Estimated 5 Year Profit $90,462
Your pre-tax Total ROI is 58% or 12% per year

These 4 (non-conforming) suites rent for top dollar and have everything arranged, including financing structure and incredible tenants. Your investment includes: impeccable tenant selection, financial analysis, professional inspection, insurance, financing set-up, legal fees, basic accounting, reserve fund, CMA, bi-annual statements, strategic market planning to ensure successful entry and exit, plus much more!

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ATB: Big upswing in optimism shown by Alberta business owners

By Troy Gillard, ATB Business Index, March 21st., 2017

EDMONTON - Oil prices at the start of the year have owners and operators of small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) in our province feeling more optimistic about the economy and their business' future, says Alberta’s Crown-owned financial institution.

The ATB Business Index, which measures Alberta business owners' confidence in their own operations, measured 66.1 for the first quarter of 2017. That's the highest ATB Business Index score since the fourth quarter of 2014, when energy prices started to decline. It's also a jump of 17.6 points compared to the previous quarter, the largest quarterly increase in the ATB Business Index since its inception in 2013. A score above 50 suggests more businesses are optimistic than pessimistic.  READ MORE HERE 


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Brad Wall heats up spat with Rachel Notley by inviting Calgary companies to move to Saskatchewan

By Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post, March 29th, 2017

CALGARY – Saskatchewan’s conservative premier, Brad Wall, has upped the stakes in his ongoing spat with Alberta’s NDP premier, Rachel Notley, by offering incentives to Calgary-based energy companies to relocate their headquarters to his province.

It’s a bold move at a time Calgary’s attractiveness as a head office magnet is taking a beating, and one that companies are taking seriously, said Grant Fagerheim, president and CEO of Whitecap Resources Inc. With nearly 45 per cent of its business in Saskatchewan, Whitecap is one of the targeted companies.  GRAB THIS ARTICLE


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Looking for an affordable home? You may want to buy in Calgary

By Erica Alini, Global News, March 30th, 2017


The Calgary housing market is “likely to get more attention,” predicts an RBC report on housing affordability released Thursday.
That Calgary homes have become relatively cheap hasn’t really made headlines over the past year — and unsurprisingly so. After all, low prices or not, few Canadians would want to buy a house in a recession-stricken economy.

But Alberta’s economy is showing signs of recovery, noted RBC. And the fact that homes in Calgary haven’t been this affordable since the mid-1980s may soon start to turn heads, suggest economists Craig Wright and Robert Hogue.  FOLLOW THIS STORY

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I appreciate all your calls and emails. I'm looking forward to helping you with your next step towards building real wealth.
Your success continues EVERYDAY, let me help you build for tomorrow.

“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Warm Regards,

Todd and Danielle Millar


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P.S. Stay ahead by checking out Danielle's daily blog at Edmonton Real Estate Investor for all your cutting edge market news and information.

What's The True Story?

So which is it? Is Saskatchewan the next mecca for life, work and investment or is the affordable housing, great jobs and incredible salaries just another wheat field in the sky?

I am not sure.

Saskatchewan has a lot of potential; there are large oil deposits, significant uranium and potash deposits and a diamond mine that but the economy isn't THAT huge and from what I can tell the reverse in-migration was about 150 people more going back to Saskatchewan than moved to Edmonton.

First you read this:

"The Canada West Foundation has published it's State of the West report - it's the first in five years.

Author Brett Gartner says what stood out most for him was the net migration out of Alberta and into Saskatchewan.

It's the first time this has happened since the mid-80's.

The reason for this high job availability and having cheaper real estate than our western neighbour.

Gartner also points out there is also a net migration from the countryside to the city within the province.

He says both trends have everything to do with enormous job opport unity in Saskatoon and Regina. Benson McCulloch

Then you read this:

"If Tracy Mercier could do it all over again, she would never have given up her west-end apartment.

The former Edmontonian packed up her family last August and moved to Saskatoon, lured by the promise of low-cost living and an easy lifestyle. But what she discovered were sky-high rents and low wages.

Now Mercier, 32, wants to warn others planning a similar move that the grass isn't greener next door.

"We took a chance and we thought, 'OK, it looks pretty cheap,' and we moved," said Mercier. "I tell you, every day I kick myself."

"It promised a lower cost of living and a higher quality of life," said Mercier.

That wasn't entirely true, she said.

Mercier said that in Edmonton, they paid $650 a month in rent compared to $689 in Saskatoon. It's going up to $830 this summer, she said.

She said her husband got a job changing oil for $10 an hour, compared to the $16 he made working for the City of Edmonton. Taxes, meanwhile, are "a killer," she said.

Mercier, who isn't working because of a medical condition, said the experience has taught her there's no place like Alberta.

"You have to work harder there, but the rewards are worth it." The Edmonton Sun

Perhaps in a few years the economic fundamentals of Saskatchewan will be able to support residential investment interests but for now I am sticking with the "800lb gorrila" in the blue corner.

Are They Lining Up To Buy?

Saskatchewan real estate values/investing has increased in value recently whether it is due to native Saskatchewan returning home, speculative buyers lured into the market now that Alberta has softened or an exodus due to fear of the effect on Royalties on the Alberta Oil Sands is unclear. I know I say this all the time but - as my mentor says, "What's behind the curtain?"

Take this news release I found on CNW Telbec on the 2007 Property Tax Assessment and Tax Analysis of 2006 Data.

A little background on the assessment it is released by REALpac and prepared by Altus Derbyshire, Realty Tax Consulting and hopes to show both the range of commercial and residential property tax assessments coast to coast in Canada and to determine the trends amongst urban centres, allowing REALpac to extrapolate which cities taxes are going up, going down, and how quickly.

This is their take on Regina Saskatchewan:

"Employees won't be standing in line to move to Regina, since the city also has the highest residential tax rate in Canada, with 2.25% of the value of the property going to municipal tax coffers, followed closely by Winnipeg at 2.20%. On a $200,000 home in Regina, that's an annual property tax bill of $4,500. "It's not clear why Regina's commercial and residential rates are so high as to be leading in both categories, when comparable cities such as Edmonton, are consistently much lower," Michael Brooks, Executive Director of the Real Property Association of Canada

Though real estate prices are rising in Saskatchewan what do people encounter when they buy that cheaper house in Regina? Higher taxes and less employment than Edmonton, not to mention it’s as cold as the arctic over there.