Investing in Real Estate

Announcements, Blog / May 30, 2022

For the past few decades, Canada’s real estate market has become a booming industry exhibiting immense returns.

According to a 2022 report from WealthAwesome.com, Canadian investors and foreign buyers bought a record 551,000 residential properties in 2020. The average price of homes sold across Canada in December 2020 was $607,280, up 17.1% from December 2019. History continues to demonstrate that buying real estate is one of the soundest investment decisions you can make (See full article here.)

However, most Canadians are still hesitating to move forward and buy a property. For most, getting a foot in the real estate market can be out of reach due to the cost of acquisition and trying to understand the characteristics of what makes a good investment – needless to say making the final decision can be daunting.

Here are some of the most popular real estate investing options in Canada that you can pursue:

Principal Residence Property Investment
Buy And Hold – Long Term Rental Income
Short term (Airbnb) vacation rentals
Land Development

If you still don’t know where and how you should invest, at BGWG, we can help do the footwork for you. We help guide you on how and what makes the most profitable real estate investments. We can do the research, provide a recommendation and help you with all paperwork.

The information provided in this article is subject to the terms and conditions of BG Wealth Group, which can be accessed by clicking here.

Owen Sound

261-281 9th Street East, Owen Sound, ON

	Value
Purchase Price	$1,055,000
Rents upon acquisition	$127,000
Fully rented	$235,290
Fully rented Building Value	$2,256,000
5-year ROI annualized	15.99%

The Story
261-281 9th Street East is a mixed-use (commercial/residential) building located in the heart of the downtown River District of Owen Sound. The building consists of 9 residential units (7-1 bedrooms, 1-2 bedroom & 1 studio apartment) and six commercial units. BG Wealth Properties purchased the building in March 2019 for $1,055,000 and immediately started employing its value-add model by renovating units and attracting high-quality tenants at attractive rental rates.

At the time of acquisition, one-bedroom residential units were renting anywhere from $550-$800 per month, and the two-bedroom unit was renting for $700/month. Through our value-add program, BG dramatically improved the condition of these units while successfully increasing rents on one-bedroom units to $1,300 per month, and $1,400 per month for the two-bedroom unit.

Similarly, commercial tenants were paying anywhere from $8.50-$10.00 per square foot at the time of acquisition (inclusive of taxes, maintenance, and insurance). Within the first 6 months, BG successfully started renovating commercial units and had new tenants sign long term leases at an average rate of $14.00 per square foot + $4.00/foot TMI (taxes, maintenance, and insurance) – for a total average rate of $18.00 per square foot.

Fully rented, the building carries a value of $2.2 Million based on rents we have achieved through our value-add business model.

This property still has more upside potential.

Owen Sound

950-956 2nd Ave. Street East, Owen Sound, ON

	Value
Purchase Price	$555,000
Rents upon acquisition	$28,800
Fully rented	$187,692
Fully rented Building Value	$1,600,000
5-year ROI annualized	17.38%

The Story
950-956 2nd Avenue East is a mixed-use (commercial/residential) building located in the heart of downtown’s River District of Owen Sound. The building consists of 6 residential units (2-2 bedrooms, 3-1 bedroom & 1 studio apartment) and two commercial units. BG Wealth Properties purchased the building in March 2019 for $555,000. The five upstairs vacant residential units were gutted with no tenants, while the downstairs had a high-end spa and a furniture store as commercial tenants.

In March 2021, BG Wealth Group partnered with an institutional lender and secured funding to renovate all residential units. In addition, given the shortage of high-end vacation rentals in the City of Owen Sound, BG has converted all six units to short-term vacation rentals, which will launch at the end of 2021.

In June 2021, BGWP attracted an up-and-coming Flame ‘N Bricks pizzeria franchise located in the commercial space beside the high-end spa. The culmination of high-end vacation rentals on the upper level, a spa and a pizzeria on the lower level will make this building one of the most attractive buildings in the downtown River District.

BG received a post-renovation appraisal of $1.3 Million on the building – more than 2X the original purchase price. Fully rented, the building carries a value of $1.6 Million based on typical short-term rental rates of the area.