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Hunt points to prices being in a prolonged down-cycle in the city with the benchmark price of a home falling from about $470,000 in 2015 to about $424,000 last month, based on Calgary Real Estate Board data.
“With buy and hold, you want to buy at the bottom of the market to pay the least amount for it,” says Hunt.
Just don’t expect an immediate return on investment, says a veteran city realtor.
“Most investors right now realize they’re not buying for positive cash flow today,” says John Hripko, owner/broker at John Hripko Real Estate Team with Royal LePage.
Yet investors are still going to receive relatively good value for their dollar on the purchase price of properties. The challenges will come with renting properties. The market is particularly tough in the multi-family condominium market, especially downtown and in the East Village, he adds.
Demand is stronger in the townhome and single-family detached segments in the lower price points in the market, he says. “These are homes priced under $500,000, and ideally zoned for more than one dwelling.”
Hripko adds single-family or semi-detached properties with the potential for multiple cash flow streams are likely to offer the best return on investment.
Regardless of the dwelling type, investors must be able to carry the cost of ownership in case they are unable to rent a property for several months.
Hripko adds the shift in focus to largest properties has been driven by COVID-19 “where previously investors generally sought apartments.”
