The COVID-19 pandemic has made many homeowners re-evaluate their current properties and housing choices, with the desire to escape density fuelling the trend.
You can see it in the soaring demand and increased prices for rural and recreational properties in all markets, particularly in BC, where rural property prices are surging.
This trend is especially notable in Toronto and Vancouver, where buyers are looking further afield to meet their desire for space and privacy at an affordable price.
According to Statistic Canada, Toronto had one of the most significant population losses last year, with the number of people leaving by the end of 2021 up 14% from the previous year.
Vancouver homeowners are cashing out in droves, driving prices of recreational properties even higher.
The pandemic isn’t the only factor driving the trend to rural property. Other considerations are fueling exurban development, including continued remote work, boomers opting to cash out of high-value urban property, affordability for first-time homebuyers, and a growing desire for a more natural, environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Not only is remote living here to stay, but the advancement of satellite technology makes the internet available virtually everywhere in the world, allowing people to live anywhere they want. No longer do you have to sacrifice modern convenience for a remote lifestyle. Emerging technologies are revolutionizing communications and accelerating remote property living.
The boomer generation, which bought their homes 20 to 30 years ago, and have since become empty nesters, are increasingly opting to cash out of the urban real estate market and fund a comfortable retirement in a larger, more affordable rural property.
With interest rates at all-time lows, many people have the flexibility to move. Combined with the relative affordability of rural and exurban properties, the ability to work remotely and the desire for a higher quality lifestyle, a more remote, natural setting property becomes a desirable and affordable option for many.
While suburbs are just outside the city, exurbs are further out even beyond those. The appeal is the increase of usable land, fewer nearby neighbours, less crime and noise pollution, and access to wilderness.
Fresh air, plenty of privacy, and wide-open spaces, paired with increased affordability are calling more and more people to exurban development properties.
The Village of Lumby, located at the base of the Monashee Mountains and close to Vernon, Kelowna, and Kamloops, is an undiscovered gem in North Okanagan and the ideal location for development investment.
A development plan for Cedar Ridge Mountain Estates, located at Cedar 2557 Cedar Ridge Street, has been put forward for the 160-acre wilderness property adjacent to the Shushwap Avenue suburb.
Developers believe the market trend has shifted dramatically toward larger lots in more natural settings. As such, the developers are proposing a vision for a high-quality sub-division that aligns with these buyer preferences.
The property at Cedar Ridge is perfectly suited to an in-demand exurban development. Its unique features make it ideal for this plan. The location on the outskirts of the Lumby suburban area makes it accessible yet remote, and the large lot size zoning in space offers far greater privacy and ability for land use.
The natural beauty of the land is unparalleled. It features fully treed lots with dense, second-growth forests. The mountainside terrain provides views and gently sloping lots.
The property is currently zoned as Small Holding (SH) 1 Ha size lots and can be subdivided into 50 lots, generating up to $20-million in sales. The current owners have a PLR development document for the property and will be developing 50 lots of 2.5 acres in the Okanagan area.
The property is listed at $4.5-million and qualified buyers will be given a cost pro forma of the whole project. The owners have commenced the development process and have received the district's and neighbour's support for the subdivision. At the moment, the property owner is working with local engineers and contractors on preliminary development work and can supply serious buyers with information about the progress of the project.
For more land investment opportunities in Canada, go to www.professionalsland.com/canada.
