Why Invest in Canada?
Strong Economic Performance
Canada has been one of the better performing countries during the global economic crisis. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011, Canada has the soundest financial system in the world and is in the top 10 most competitive countries.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised Canada’s economic growth forecast for 2011 and 2012 upwards for the second time this year, estimating 2.8% and 2.6% growth respectively. According to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook report, Canada leads the G7 in economic growth (Source: investincanada.gc.ca).
Canada is the Best Place to Invest in G7
Canada is the No. 1 investment destination in the G7 and is ranked 4th in the world as the country best to conduct business over the period 2010-2014, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Business Environment Ranking Aug 2010 report (Source: investincanada.gc.ca).
Foreign Investors
Economic stability has become key to Canada‘s success and is demonstrative in attracting investors from all over the world to its shores. Investment in Canada is considered a safe haven for investors’ hard-earned money and continues to represent a solid foundation for future growth and prosperity.
Canada Voted as the Best Place to Live by Expats
British expats have voted Canada as the best place to live in the world. Of the 1,000 expats surveyed by NatWest International, “Canada is the country which offers the best quality of life for Britons abroad” (Source: The Telegraph). 90% said their financial security is “very good” or “excellent”. Head of NatWest International Personal Banking, Dave Isley, commented, “This is the second year Canada has topped the tables of the NatWest IPB Quality of Life Index. Its excellent working conditions, financial security and peaceful reputation have pushed Canada into this year’s pole position.”
High Demand for New Property Developments in Nova Scotia, Canada
Demand for new build property within commuting distance to Halifax is high with few new property developments emerging onto the market. Forest Lakes Country Club will be ideally located within a 30 minute drive of the Halifax metro and the International Airport.
Multinational companies are expanding and creating new job opportunities within the region. This in turn is fuelling demand for quality residential property in Canada. Multinational companies currently operating in the Nova Scotia include Citco Fund Services, ING, Admiral Insurance, Research in Motion (RIM), CGI, IBM, Keane, Unisys, Xerox, Lockheed Martin, L-3 Electronic Systems and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) (Source: www.novascotiabusiness.com).
In addition on 19 October 2011, Nova Scotia´s Irving Shipbuilding was awarded a $CAD25bn shipbuilding contract from the federal government. This is the biggest ship building contract since the Second World War and is estimated to generate 15,000 jobs each year for the next 30 years with many of the highly skilled, well paid workforce looking for quality housing within commuting distance of Halifax.
Canadians Choose Residential Property for Long-term Investment
According to the Royal LePage 2011 Recreational Property Report, Canadians are extremely bullish about buying vacation property. They see investment in Canada real estate as providing a larger financial investment return than investing on the stock market (Source: Royal LePage).
Rising House Prices in Canada
Average property prices are expected to rise by 4% in 2011, according to Scotiabank Group. Housing sales in Canada are rising due to steady job creation, attractive borrowing costs and relatively short supply in several city areas.
Luxury Property Destination
Canada has massive appeal to second and permanent home buyers and represents excellent value for money for foreign investors. More recently, Canada has been earmarked on the luxury property market, as a number of luxurious lifestyle developments have been successfully marketed to international buyers. Canada is an attractive option for luxury property; real estate is a bargain by international standards, in a country that is ranked highly for its quality of life, political and economic stability as well as its strong property laws (Source: RE/MAX Canada).
According to RE/MAX Canada, sales of luxury property have surged in nearly two-thirds of Canada’s housing markets in the first 4 months of 2011. A 27% increase was registered in the Halifax region. Their report noted that demand for residential real estate holdings has increased among high net worth individuals as investors demonstrate a clear preference for tangible assets. This trend is only expected to continue as investors look to diversify their assets in 2011 boosting Canada’s luxury residential property market.
