Calgary is quickly becoming one of the hottest places for real estate investors to purchase properties, and that is holding true even with recent interest rate hikes. Whether it’s buy-and-hold cash flow properties or short-term rentals, there are options that will work for any investor. In this post, we’ll take a look at the top reasons why Calgary is a great place to invest in real estate. Below are the main takeaways as well as a detailed list from the video.

1. No Provincial Sales Tax

As many investors are coming from out of Province, the first thing you will notice is that Alberta has no provincial sales tax. We only have the five percent federal tax, which means if you’re purchasing a brand new or pre-construction property, you’d be saving a considerable amount of money compared to BC and Ontario’s 12 and 13 percent sales taxes. To put that into perspective, on a $500,000 home, you could be saving upwards of $40,000, which is a huge amount of money no matter what type of property you’re purchasing, especially if it’s a cash flow property.

2. Affordability and Better Prices Compared to Vancouver and Toronto

The cash savings don’t stop there; real estate in Calgary and Alberta is vastly more affordable than Ontario and BC. If you take a look at the numbers, you can see that the average home price in Calgary is 2.5 times more affordable than in the GTA and Vancouver area, which are the other two hot spots for investments in Canada.

3. Strong Rental Market and Rents Are Increasing

To make things even better, Calgary’s rental market has seen a considerable price increase in the past few years, with rent increasing 20 to 30 percent year over year. This is actually outpaced home prices, so not only is it more affordable to purchase here, but you’ll be taking in more rental income as well. With the extremely low supply of rentals on the market, this does not appear to be changing anytime soon. Additionally, Calgary has the highest median after-tax income of all the major Canadian cities. Higher household incomes typically lead to higher monthly spending on housing. Calgary also has no rent controls, and there’s no limit to the amount by which a landlord may raise their rent. Rental rates are market-driven here in Calgary, meaning that when supply is low and demand is high, such as right now, rental rates can go up very quickly.

4. High Quality of Living

The strong demand in Calgary is not likely a fad either, as Calgary ranks incredibly high globally as one of the best places to live in the world and is a huge reason why so many people are considering Calgary to be their new home. Calgary is actually ranked as the third most livable city in the world and the most livable city in North America. Calgary has always had a strong and fairly resilient economy, and that all starts with a strong presence in the oil and gas industry and is being aided by a massive tech boom happening in the city.

5. Calgary’s Population is Growing

Calgary’s population is growing and is growing quicker than ever, as we saw the largest net gain last year since 2014. This is due to a variety of reasons, combined with a large number of residents moving here from Ontario and Vancouver. Immigration is also on the rise here, as there were a record number of new immigrants that moved to Calgary in 2022. You can start to see why there is so much pressure on the rental market and why prices have soared over the past few years.

In conclusion, investing in Calgary real estate in 2023 can be a great decision for many reasons. With no provincial sales tax, affordability, a strong rental market, high quality of living, and a vibrant young population, Calgary is quickly becoming one of the hottest places for real estate investors to purchase properties. Additionally, with a growing population and a resilient economy, Calgary offers a great opportunity for both long-term and short-term real estate investments. If you’re considering investing in real estate in Canada, Calgary may just be the perfect place for you.

Thank you for reading this blog post on investing in Calgary real estate in 2023. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them down below and I’ll be happy to respond to them.