A national real estate organization has ranked Okotoks as one of the top 10 places in Alberta to buy a home.
According to a Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) Canada report, Okotoks finished sixth in a compilation of the best Alberta towns and cities to invest in real estate.
Don Campbell, senior analyst at REIN, said it’s the first time Okotoks has placed in the top 10, after being ranked around number 12 to 13 in the past. REIN has been conducting its research and releasing reports for 26 years.
The economics and demographics of the region in recent years play a large role in its new assessment, he said.
“What that means is that Okotoks’ housing market, and that includes everything from rentals to homebuyers, is set to be in the top six performers over the coming five years,” said Campbell.
He said it’s crucial when looking at real estate to look to the future rather than living in the present, because communities can change drastically from one year to the next. Focusing on the immediate future won’t produce an accurate picture of the market, he said.
For Okotoks, it’s the predicted economic growth, current age and income demographics in town, recent and expected job growth, proximity to Calgary (which placed second, behind Edmonton), and expansion of Highway 2 that indicate the Town’s market will be on the rise, he said.
The market in Okotoks plateaued after booming in 2008 to 2010, under-performing compared to the rest of the province, but it’s starting to climb back up, he said.
“Okotoks now is kind of getting its feet back on the ground, and that’s one the of reasons we’re going to see it be in the top 10 performers in the next five years,” said Campbell. “Growth drives the inevitable demand.”
He said he doesn’t see Okotoks moving up or down from its number six position on the list, but expects the Town will see steady growth that keeps it performing well.
Attaining a long-term water supply will ultimately help Okotoks see further expansion and could see the market change, said Campbell. Future growth will come with some decision-making, he said.
“Whoever thought 15 years ago when we talked about Okotoks that we’d be talking about Okotoks sprawl?” said Campbell. “Now we have to consider that as a potential without the cap and once the water supply is there. The Town is going to have to decide whether it’s going to sprawl out and become a big suburb, or densify and start making it a more walkable town.”
He said making Okotoks walkable – including more sustainable communities within the town and interconnecting neighbourhoods – will attract the millennial population, a huge demographic. In Canada, roughly 27 per cent of the population is considered millennial – those born between 1982 and 2004 – but in Alberta that number climbs to 30 per cent.
“That millennial generation, young families or young singles, they’re just entering into that wave of the housing and rental markets over the next five years,” said Campbell. “So Okotoks has the potential, if they do really focus on density and walkability, livability, to boom.”
Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson said planning sustainable and walkable communities is something the Town has been working toward for some time. The active transportation plan is in full gear, and the town boasts more than 85 kilometres of interconnected pathways, he said.
“People want desirable communities, they don’t want to just live on streets without being able to move around and enjoy life when they’re not going to and from work,” said Robertson. “The walkability, the biking paths, inline skating, skateboards, all that kind of stuff is important.”
He said being listed as number six on REIN Canada’s list of top cities and towns is a positive for Okotoks because it shows people the town is a prime place to invest.
However, he noted, it may not necessarily be a benefit to everyone.
“If it’s a very desirable community to live in, real estate is attractive and will appreciate in value, it’s good for those people who own a home and so on and are investing here, but it increases the price of homes and we have an affordability problem already,” said Robertson. “So it makes our initiatives for affordable housing to be all the more important.”
