Real Estate Trends Help Chart Our Future

The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board recently released its buyer profile that not only helps realtors, sellers and buyers but also is useful to city planners, business owners and potential investors assisting us in charting the future.

Knowing the trends of people moving to Nanaimo will help with effective planning for our community in the future.

The buyer profile finds the two biggest trends continue to be an increasing number of retirees relocating to the Harbour City from other parts in Canada and people of all ages moving here from other Canadian cities.

The largest amount of buyers from out of province are Albertans at 11 per cent while 8.9 per cent of homes purchased in 2005 were bought by people moving from Ontario says VIREB President Darrel Paysen.

"Forty-six per cent of the buyers originate on Vancouver Island and 70 per cent originate from B.C., with the vast majority of buyers purchasing their principal residence in our city," he said.
"It's good to see what the long term trends are in terms of where people are coming from, what they're buying and why they're buying.

"It is useful information for all types of infrastructure planning."

Paysen said the buyer profile also fits perfectly with the principles of building better communities and encouraging economic vitality under the real estate industry's Quality of Life initiative.

Prices are up over the same time last year with March-to-March figures seeing a 23 per cent increase.

Forecast experts anticipate prices to continue to rise but at a softer incline than this past year. However, this may not apply to B.C.

With continued in-bound migration, demand for our natural resources, the Gateway to the Pacific initiative, supported by both the federal and provincial governments and, of course, the Olympics, B.C. may well continue strongly.

Despite increasing costs for housing, Nanaimo is still a great market for people to get into and our city has so much to offer. It is a great community for people of all ages with wonderful parks, recreation, schools, sporting facilities, senior's homes and shopping.

The cost of living in Nanaimo is considerably less than our neighbours in Victoria and Vancouver, yet offers all the amenities and comforts of a larger city.

Nanaimo is truly the most desirable liveable small city in North America.

This article can be viewed at SnapUpRealEstate.ca or Nanaimo News Bulletin

The energy boom in Alberta is creating new wealth, and people are looking for places to spend. Building a dream home in B.C. to retire in is at the top of the list for many retiring boomers in Alberta. Some recent developments on places like Pender Island do restrict the placement of dream homes.