Top Reasons why (I think) People Buy in Nanaimo
By Ryan Coffey, Nanaimo Realtor
Every so often, someone at a party will ask me "How's the real estate market? Still going up?" I usually answer something like:
Yes, it's still going up and should be continuing to do so for the foreseeable future. You see, in addition to the good economy, the fact that people from everywhere are starting to find out about how nice it is living in this part of Canada, and since we're much more affordable than the two larger urban centers nearby, it's just been plain busy. The baby boomers are starting to retire, and out here is where retirees tend to go due to the mild winters, plus with the attention that the Olympics will bring to the area and what it has to offer, who knows when things will slow down again.
But behind it I'd think, "Wow, you didn't know? You're missing out!"
Sure, I'm a realtor, so that puts me in a position ripe for bias, but as I left a decent job in Tokyo, have European as well as Canadian citizenship (I can work in all sorts of countries easily), have a good education and am capable of getting other good jobs in various fields, why then would I have chosen to come back here and become a realtor? I'll tell you, it's because I enjoy being here and it's easy to do a job when you believe in it. I'm living out my dreams. It just wouldn't make sense to do it otherwise. There is also of course the opportunities for invest of which I allude to above. Who wouldn't want to be part of that?
In the past year, Nanaimo real estate has gone from an average sale price (for a single family home) of $330,431 to $359,712 according to the stats from the Vancouver Island Real Estate board for Sept. 07. I'm writing this in November and am eagerly awaiting to see the stats for October, as from what I've been seeing and hearing in the realtor community, last month was pretty wild in terms of how busy things are and how quickly they were selling. Usually things slow down slightly this time of year as fall peters off into winter . While no one can predict the future with certainty, although many pundits try, I have yet to hear a compelling reason why things will take a downturn anytime soon.
Naturally, people often wonder what the factors are that make it so appealing, so here's my list of top reasons why I think people buy in Nanaimo (in no particular order):
- Investment (for renting and/or reselling in the future)
- It's the right size of a town in the right location, i.e. Vancouver Island
- It's totally beautiful here
- Easy access to Vancouver
- It's much more affordable than Victoria or Vancouver
- Job opportunities/Transfers
- Retirement
- Love of the outdoors and the ocean
- Social Climate
Of course, an individual buyer will tend to consider more than one of these factors in various combinations and orders of priority.
Some people don't see the appeal, but they're almost without exception people who've only lived here and travelled little. I grew up in the area too, and it never occurred to me whether it was nice here or not until I started working in the tourist information office where I heard so many people raving about the natural beauty every day. Then, as I spent 7 years living and travelling all over the world, it became incontestably clear to me that this Island is a gem and Nanaimo was the right size, location, cost of living and social climate for me.
For those of you who don't know Nanaimo so well, I suggest taking the time to look around this website, it's got a lot of good info and even a forum where you can interact with some of the locals and probably get your questions answered. If you decide to come for a visit, or a move you know where to go to get some info and some help.