Population and job growth, a business-friendly government, high absorption, and low vacancy rates are the factors that make real estate investing good. In Canada, mortgage interest rates are near historic lows today. While house prices in large cities like Vancouver and Toronto remain high, they offer positive trade-offs. Overall, real estate investment is appealing. Location is the most crucial part when it comes to real estate investing not only in Canada but in any country.
The top cities in Canada for real estate investment in 2020 were ranked by Pricewaterhouse Cooper (PwC) Canada. The rankings were based on 7 forecast economic indicators – real GDP growth, total employment growth, unemployment rate, household income per capita growth, population growth, total housing starts, and retail sales growth.
Vancouver
Vancouver emerged at the top of the survey for overall real estate prospects. Among the top 10 cities, it has the highest household income per capita (3.1%) and the 2nd lowest unemployment rate of 4.4%. Its real GDP growth is 2.4%.
Toronto
The provincial capital of Ontario and Canada’s most populous city, Toronto has the highest total employment growth rate at 1.9%, the 2nd highest population growth at 2%, and the 3rd highest retail sales growth (3.8%). It has the same real GDP growth as Vancouver (2.4%). First Access Condos offers hundreds of condo units for sale in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, including Mississauga, Maple, Oakville, and Concorde.
Ottawa
Canada’s capital has the 3rd highest total employment growth with 1.5% and household income per capita growth (2.6%) among the 10 cities.
Halifax
The Nova Scotia capital has the highest real GDP growth along with Edmonton at 2.6% and a modest performance in the other indicators.
Montreal
Montreal, the largest city in Quebec province has a high 2.7% household income per capita growth, 2nd highest along with Quebec City.
Quebec City
The capital of the province of Quebec is tied with Montreal for the 2nd highest household income per capita growth (2.7%)
Saskatoon
Saskatoon’s 4.4% retail sales growth is the highest among the top cities. Its population growth is likewise the highest (2.1%).
Edmonton
The capital city of Alberta, together with Halifax, has the highest real GDP growth at 2.6% It has the 4th highest retail sales growth (3.3%)
Winnipeg
The capital of the province of Manitoba along with Vancouver has the highest household per capita (3.1%). It also has the 2nd highest retail sales growth (3.9%).
Calgary
Rounding up the top 10 cities is Calgary. This cosmopolitan Alberta city has the 2nd highest real GDP growth at 2.5% and has 3rd largest population growth at 1.9%.
You cannot go wrong when you consider investing in Canada’s top ten cities to do real estate investment.