We are currently in the process of acquiring land for our next project, or projects possibly. The Calgary market is in a strange state of flux. Finished homes, particularly the newly built stuff in the higher end has come down in price considerably. We have seen some pretty serious and painful price reductions in the market segments above where we position ourselves.
What is not available, unfortunately, is land. Property to develop multi family townhouse project is in short supply, despite the apparent real estate and economic bust. Two factors are at play here, first, the builders that own much of the land base are refusing to sell into current market pricing, and secondly, the city acts to constrain supply by making sure rezoning application are costly and slow.
Given the lack of supply, prices are now too high given the end value of the product. We are seeking out private deals and off market property to attempt to get a decent project. We are actually in a strange position of having the funds to close on a property, but unable to find an suitable seller.
What we will not be compromising on is quality and location. We can thrive in the down market, but we need a great location to build in. Stay tuned to this blog as we will be updating it as soon as we buy land. We will update our project on every step from design through construction, as we have for our last two projects.
This house was a real disaster when we purchased it. Right now we are dreaming of another just like it...