In January 2010, WinnipegREALTORS® market analyst Peter Squire and Commercial Division chair Don White were in Calgary where over 300 real estate investors were assembled to hear a pitch on Winnipeg real estate investment opportunities.
The invitation to WinnipegREALTORS® was at the request of Don Campbell, the president and driving force behind the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN).
Don Campbell was not one to miss an opportunity to bring up his passion for hockey. He is an avid Vancouver Canucks supporter and is quite familiar with the Manitoba Moose. Campbell is a very dynamic speaker who sometimes while on stage, appears to be skating from one end of an imaginary rink to the other. Campbell moves around in order to directly engage his audience.
Campbell acknowledged the Manitoba Moose when introducing Squire, saying that the AHL team was helping out his beloved Canucks (Campbell lives in Abbotsford, B.C.) by supplying great players such as Ryan Kessler.
Squire’s rejoinder to Campbell was not to be surprised that when they next talk or meet for a presentation that Winnipeg would be back in the NHL. Why? Squire said Moose owner Mark Chipman is a very shrewd and astute businessman who had bigger ambitions than the AHL.
Lo and behold, the prediction has become reality.
Winnipeg’s upper-end market is now being highlighted in the media as NHL players can well afford high-priced homes.
There are presently 122 single-family home listings and 12 condominium listings for over $500,000 on the MLS® market. A number of these listings are properties with asking prices of over $1 million.
White asked Campbell what he thought of former Moose player Alex Burrows. At the time, Burrows was on a tear with Vancouver and gaining recognition as one of the impact hockey players in the NHL. Burrows is now helping the Canucks reach their goal of winning their first-ever Stanley Cup. Let’s also not forget about Bieksa, another former Manitoba Moose.
Campbell suggested to Squire that if Winnipeg does get an NHL franchise, he wants to have the Moose in Abbotsford so that the farm team is close to the parent team. Unfortunately for him, it looks like the Moose may be going to the other coast of the country and will remain the AHL affiliate for the new Winnipeg NHL team.
Calgary-based REIN has grown to over 3,100 members across the country. To date, REIN members have purchased in excess of 26,800 properties valued at more than $3 billion. It is estimated the members add 220 new properties each month.
The goal of the largest real estate investment network in Canada is to inform their members so that they are better equipped to understand where good real estate investments exist and train them to assess the risk associated with acquiring a property.
The members are not all small investors, who buy a few single-family homes or duplexes to rent out. A number are purchasing apartment buildings and condominium units with some holding investment portfolios of more than 200 properties.
The WinnipegREALTORS® representatives delivered a strong message about how well both residential and commercial real estate was performing in Winnipeg.
From 2000 to 2009, Winnipeg’s MLS® market average price increase outperformed the overall national MLS® average price increase. Other indicators, such as how long homes were staying on average on the market before selling, as well conversions of listings to sales, all showed superb results.
The commercial side somewhat mirrored the residential marketplace with not enough inventory to keep up with demand, resulting in sellers’ market conditions prevailing in Winnipeg. Exciting projects were highlighted, such as the new airport, CentrePort Canada (Canada’s first designated foreign trade zone) and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
At the end of the residential portion of the Winnipeg presentation, a lovely cottage was depicted in a winter setting with the comment Manitobans also use their cottagers in the wintertime.
Go Jets go! Go Canucks go!