Assetz® Property News Service

New investment opportunities in Canada

11th October 2006 | back to article listings BACK send this article to a friend via email SEND TO A FRIEND print this article PRINT

Cheap flights to Canada are opening up a market with "great investment potential" for jet-to-let buyers in world famous ski resorts, claims leading property investment firm Assetz.

For as little as £70, customers of chartered airlines such as Canadian Affair, Zoom and Air Transat can now reach Vancouver and Calgary in the North American highlands.

Along with the longer ski seasons from November to June and the ability for resorts such as Whistler to offer all year round skiing due to its supplementary artificial snow, this ease of access has opened up a whole new market to British property investors.

By the end of the year, house prices in Canada are expected to reach an annual growth rate of 11.2 per cent, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, this represents a significantly higher return on investment than the average UK annual increase of 7.7 per cent reported by the Department for Communities and Local Government for August.

But investors are also drawn to Canadian properties for their large size and attractive architecture and jet-to-let enthusiasts will not be burdened by any of the language difficulties that sometimes burdens investors on the continent.

Though Canada has a relatively mature housing market, Assetz believes that its long-standing virtues help to keep it abreast of other, newer, markets.

Martin Sadler, manager of the new Assetz's ski division, said: "High quality destinations such as Canada and France are maintaining their popularity in the face of competition from young ski resorts in emerging markets, where property prices remain lower."

He continued to say that while new, volatile can seem appealing in the short-run, they may not have the lucrative long-term draw of the more developed markets.

Mr Sadler explained: "Hardcore investors are tempted by high yields, but quality destinations that offer an established infrastructure, culture and lifestyle, where buyers can see themselves living on retirement, continue to hold firm against their new competitors."

Due to the high all-year round tourist demand, British holidaymakers can combine a holiday home purchase with a jet-to-let investment as the Canadian market is such that a home can be easily let out for just a few weeks a year.

In Temblant, a resort located in the Laurentian mountains of Quebec, visitors can expect prices of three bedroom townhouses from £150,000 and can partake in a fractional ownership scheme whereby they can buy a 600 sq foot apartment for as little as £65,000.