Areas of rapid growth: Where to look

By Cameron McNeill
January 22, 2020

As the new year commences and the real estate market has officially made the turn, it is a good time to be looking at key neighbourhoods that will likely see rapid growth, and how to capitalize on it.

This year will continue to be the age of the retail centre. Brentwood Mall and Lougheed Centre will both start to see homeowners move in, but with the size and scale of these developments, there is still a great deal to come.

Major improvements in the retail offering and experiences as well as further rental and residential suites are all on the horizon, with opportunities to still take advantage of, with upward value potential.

Richmond Centre will also see a major transformation, and buyers still have an opportunity to get in on the ground level. With so much walkability, access to Skytrain, parks, shops and services, these areas will continue to attract buyers and renters alike.

Speaking of Skytrain, this continues to also be the biggest catalyst to development and future growth into the suburbs.West Coquitlam is slated to have a number of rental and residential large-scale communities coming, most notably up and down North Road. Interestingly enough, Coquitlam was one of the best performing markets even during this most recent decline, particularly in the apartment and townhouse sectors. In fact, the apartment year-over-year benchmark price was one of the few positives in the region in 2019.

Although there’s not a great deal of inventory coming, there still appears to be good value to be found on the east side of Vancouver. Additionally, downtown New Westminster still offers relatively good value with again, access to Skytrain, parks, River Market, and more.

In the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford continues to garner attention as the city executes on its ambitious Official Community Plan. The focus is to create a walkable, transit-friendly, forward-thinking, and dynamic urban community and in fact, it was voted the third best place to invest in Western Canada last year. The City Centre in particular will see a positive transformation towards this goal.

About Cameron McNeill

Cameron McNeill is co-president of MLA Canada, a comprehensive real estate service provider in Canada. Partnering with residential developers, MLA Canada offers an unmatched level of expertise in advisory services, market intelligence, project marketing, sales, customer care and administration.

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