Western and Atlantic Canada real estate markets

Western prosperity is helping boost prospects for Atlantic Canada's real estate markets, a major national realtor reported Monday.

Re/Max, in its Atlantic Canada Market Trends Report 2008, said that while some markets in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. have moderated, an influx of investment from western provinces has helped bolster them against the disappearance of U.S. buyers.

Re/Max spokeswoman Christine Martysiewicz said the investment is the result of a combination of factors: Atlantic expatriates returning home with wealth built up in western resource economies, Albertans with oil-patch wealth to spend and British Columbians with real-estate-equity gains to spend.

"Many [British Columbians] are looking [at Atlantic real estate] with retirement in mind," Martysiewicz said. "But they're looking for waterfront property and acreages. Recreational properties, if you will."

"Obviously its more affordable than areas in B.C. and Alberta . . . . When we spoke to all our key people across the Atlantic provinces, it came up time and time again: [westerners] are finding the affordability and rusticness of the Atlantic provinces [to be] just a gem."

"Strong economic performance in Western Canada continues to spill over into other parts of the country," says Michael Polzler, executive vice-president for Re/Max Ontario-Atlantic Canada. "A serious influx of Western Canadian purchasers has bolstered housing sales in every Atlantic province.

"Tremendous job opportunities available in Alberta that allow commuting to and from the East Coast have served to further strengthen home-buying activity in the region," he said. "Last, but certainly not least, after living in Western Canada for many years, more and more Maritimers are returning home."

Closer to Alberta, the resources boom has not only spilled over into Saskatchewan, which has replaced Alberta as the country's real estate hot spot, but has boosted exploration activity there and in B.C.

(prepared by Eric Beauchesne/Vancouver Sun)