Should you invest in the Whistler property market?

Everyone has a property investment story, and in Western Canada the stories often have a pretty strong Whistler element. Whistler has in the past offered spectacular payoffs for property investors. You could in 1980 have bought a prime waterfront property on the lake in Whistler for $10,000. Today the land alone would command $2m upwards, and other plots of land can sell for $3-4m. Add a house and you could be looking at up to $20m (the ? ludicrous - price being asked for ?The Couloir?, a ski-in, ski-out location on Whistler Mountain). Prices have at least doubled in the last 5 years. Talk to realtors in Whistler and you will invariably be told that there is still considerable upside. Is there any mileage in buying in at these prices?

The quick answer is: probably not. Rental yields in Whistler are currently hovering around 1% net, with many people not even making enough to cover their taxes, let alone make a positive return. Add debt into the financing structure and you are looking at an asset which costs you significant money every month you own it. You are essentially speculating on either a continued decline towards 0% in the yield that other investors are willing to accept, or a dramatic turnaround in occupancy levels and rates to compensate. There is no reason to believe in either of these events.

The facts are that while the rest of the property market in British Columbia stagnated for years, Whistler grew like crazy, peaking at about the same time that the rest of the BC market bottomed out, circa 2002. The market is almost entirely divorced from the factors which drive prices in the rest of the province (interest rates, unemployment levels, wages, general optimism about the strength of the economy). Rather, the market is linked to demand for Whistler skiing from the international community which can afford the elevated prices that Whistler requires. And this demand has declined precipitously, made up for by demand from the local (Vancouver) market as well as the Seattle market. So while visitor numbers are up, the value to be extracted from these visitors by property owners is well down, since local visitors stay for less time and are way more price sensitive.

So the canny investor should continue to stay out of the market. Economic fundamentals suggest that this market will stagnate or decline for quite a few years to come. However, that is no reason to avoid visiting Whistler, which continues to offer fabulous skiing and excellent restaurants, as well as all its other attractions.

Posted by Erica Hayward on December 13, 2008 at 12:00 AM

About Erica Hayward
Erica Hayward is affliated with RE/MAX 1st Choice, which is located in Mission, TX. For further assistance please use the contact information located on the right.

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Local Information for Mission, TX

Latitude: 26.211402 -- Longitude: -98.321277

ZIP Codes for Mission, Texas	78572 78573 78574
Area Code for Mission, Texas	956
Time zone for Mission, Texas	CST

Other Area Cities: Edinburg, TX Mission, TX McAllen, TX Pharr, TX San Juan, TX

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There were 13,766 households out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.8% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.3% were non-families. 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 3.68. In the city the population was spread out with 32.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Texas 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Mission	Texas	United States
Population	45,408	20,851,820	281,421,906
Median age	30.5	32.3	35.3
Median age for Male	29.2	31.3	34
Median age for Female	32	33.4	36.5
Households	13,766	7,393,354	105,480,101
Household population	45,298	20,290,711	273,643,273
Average household size	3.29	2.74	2.59
Families	11,385	5,247,794	71,787,347
Average family size	3.68	3.28	3.14
Housing units	17,723	8,157,575	115,904,641
Occupied units	13,766	7,393,354	105,480,101
Vacant units	3,957	764,221	10,424,540

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Should you invest in the Whistler property market?

Local Information for Mission, TX

Latitude: 26.211402 -- Longitude: -98.321277

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