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NANAIMO - Ten per cent of Vancouver Island real
estate buyers come from Alberta, says the
president of the Vancouver Island Real Estate
Board.
Darrell Paysen says more than 1,600 buyers were
surveyed for VIREB's annual Buyer's Profile
publication.
"From this we determined the growing percentage
of Alberta buyers," he said, quoting the VIREB
Buyer's Profile published last fall. The 2005
profile is nearing completion.
Real estate research firm Landcor noted
Albertans are buying at twice the rate of other
non-B.C. buyers.
The VIREB Buyer's Profile showed eight per cent
of buyers originating in Ontario, 3.7 per cent
from the rest of the world, 3.4 per cent from
Saskatchewan/Manitoba and 2.5 per cent from
other points in Canada. It also showed 38 per
cent of buyers came from within the same area or
elsewhere on Vancouver Island.
"While we will be publishing the 2005 Buyer's
Profile later in this year, early numbers from
the report show the number of Alberta buyers has
grown to 11%," says Paysen.
Alberta buyers looking to semi-retire or retire,
have an interest in getting a piece of the
action on Vancouver Island.
"There are some who while they may not be ready
to retire for seven or eight years, still want
to get a piece of property here now to take
advantage of the growth. They're planning to be
active retirees, who want to live near but not
necessarily in an urban centre and are looking
for all of the lifestyle and climate qualities
that Vancouver Island is becoming known for."
The Landcor study says one of the factors
bringing people is the increasing numbers of
direct flights between Alberta locations and
B.C. destinations, such as the Comox Valley.
"WestJet continues to supply the seats these
buyers are arriving on, and after July 1 Air
Canada will add 50 seats a day," adds Marty
Douglas, a VIREB past President and current
Comox Valley Director.
"A 15-unit riverfront strata project recently
sold-out in six hours, and 13 of the buyers were
from Alberta," he says. "The Calgary average
price makes ours seem a bargain.This is a
dramatic change from a few years ago when our
average price was twice that of Calgary."
VIREB represents approximately 1,027 licensed
REALTOR® members in more than 80 member offices
on Vancouver Island (north of Victoria). |
