You Can Call the Alberta Boom By Another Name But It Still Smells As Sweet!

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Although most experts are hesitant to call it a boom, Alberta is certainly poised for one, according to an article in the Ottawa Citizen.

“People are scared to call it a boom because of what happened in 2007, with the way it almost imploded on itself,” says Neil Shelly, executive director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association.

“But upstream in Fort McMurray, if it is not a boom there I don’t know what you would call it. They have a lot of projects in the pipeline that are already approved.”

In fact, $180 billion is set to be spent on new oil sands projects over the next decade, with annual spending expected to peak at $22 billion by 2014.

I wouldn’t be one to boast, but if you think about it, no country has weathered the credit crisis and subsequent world wide recession as well as Canada, no province as well as Alberta and no city quite as well as Edmonton or Calgary, being the gateways to the oil sands. Nobody will deny that it was a rough go the past few years with little going on up north however the tap as been turned back on, so to speak, earlier this year and is set to be running freely for the next decade.

The number of direct and indirect oil sands jobs will top 900,000 by 2035, CERI estimates, up from just 75,000 in 2010, and oil sands royalties alone are expected to reach $15.5 billion by 2019. That would top the record $14.3 billion in total resource revenues Alberta generated in 2006-07.

What does this mean if your a home buyer or home owner in the capital city? For buyers, it means that home prices will most likely rise as workers from all over the country and even farther afield converge on Alberta to take up one of those 900,000 jobs over the next few years. With major projects already slated for next fall and the spring of 2012, the onslaught could happen sooner than later. Now is definitely the time to make a move, before prices rise in response to demand and before mortgage rates rise in an effort to control inflation.

If you are already a home owner, you can probably look forward to gaining back much of that equity you lost in the recession as some experts say values may even reach the heights seen in 2007. It may be a little tougher to sell your home in this boom, however, as mortgage rules have become considerably tighter since the credit crisis so if you are considering selling in the next few years, be prepared to wait a little longer to sell your property than you might have, pre-recession.

If you are considering moving to Edmonton or Calgary to experience the Alberta Advantage, be sure to speak to one of our experience licensed associates. They can assist you in obtaining a pre-approval to lock in one of our current, historically low mortgage rates and they will make sure you are informed about the mortgage rules in regards to job transfers and career changes.


President of First Foundation Residential Mortgages and First Foundation Insurance. Live in Edmonton but cheer for the Riders. I have lots of kids. Follow me on Twitter @gordmccallum

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