Why Invest In The Waterloo Real Estate Market?
When it comes to the Southern Ontario region, Waterloo is regarded to have one of the best potentials in terms of real estate investments. Waterloo is home to several universities and several big companies have already started to invest here owing to the abundance of bright, young and talented minds here. Waterloo is also a great place to raise a family, considering the number of educational institutes available here along with the abundance of employment opportunities. Waterloo is also a part of the ‘Tri-Cities’ along with Cambridge and Kitchener, also commonly known as the Waterloo Region. Besides the proximity, these cities are also tied together by many traits, which also includes the public transit system. The city of Waterloo has had much faster growth than that of Toronto at 6.25 percent over five years and Developers have taken notice of it, proposing new development throughout the city. The development areas also include Uptown Waterloo, which is a designated Urban Growth Centre, ensuring that a new project or two can be expected here. During the years 2012 to 2017, the total tech employment in the Waterloo Region had grown by 29 percent, which is quite impressive compared to its other counterparts within the province.
List of New Homes in Waterloo
Why Should You Buy A New Pre-construction Home In Waterloo?
Waterloo is often regarded as a ‘University Town’ and features some of the best educational institutes as well as a vast number of employment opportunities. In many cases, the universities themselves happen to be leading employers in the region. Besides the universities there are big players such as BlackBerry, Manulife Financial and Sun Life Financial which are also considered as some of the best employers in the region. This city also has a large number of post secondary graduates which seem to be attracting big companies such as Intel, Shopify and Google to invest. These giant tech companies have already started to take advantage of the brilliant minds present here and have established research and development units within the city of Waterloo. What makes this place great for investors is the presence of both educational institutes and employment opportunities. One of the major reasons why investors look out for students is the fact that they are not the type to buy a place of their own, rather opt for renting something within close proximity to their campus. Thousands of students enroll every year and this is where new investment condos start turning lucrative. The post secondary education present here also looks to ensure that these tech industries continue to have their interests kept in the research and development offices in the city, which can further attract more companies, leading to the generation of more jobs in the city. Most young professionals prefer renting a place rather than buying their own, and this is where investment condos also come in handy. With the present rate of development, Waterloo will soon be regarded as Southern Ontario’s city of the future, and getting a condo for yourself now is the best time to do so, before the market rates get soaring!
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
Education In Waterloo
There are two major universities present in Waterloo. Wilfrid University has a smaller student body among the two with an annual enrollment of about 20,000 students. This university has been famous over the years for its courses in video game design and business programs. The University of Waterloo on the other hand is the larger of the two and has an annual enrollment of 35,000 students. It is a public research university and has been regularly ranked as Canada’s most innovative university. This honour has been awarded to the University of Waterloo by Macleans magazine for the last 25 years in a row. Their engineering program is regarded as one of the best in the world and is known all over. Conestoga College is also another place that students in Waterloo can check out. It features an annual program of about 20,000 students and is located towards the Kitchener-end of Kitchener-Waterloo. The programs here focus on business management, computer technology and system engineering. The presence of the universities is something that an investor can take advantage of when it comes to the real estate market as there is massive potential in terms of students and working professionals who are looking for accommodations within close proximity to their educational institutions as well as employers.
Average Prices Of Homes In Waterloo
Homes of all kinds in Waterloo have a price tag of about $483,275. This also includes a resale appreciation rate of 5.5 percent which has been constant for the last 10 years. The average rental rate for Waterloo on the other hand is presently at $1,100, which is in addition to a rental rate appreciation rate of 4.2 percent for the past 10 years in a row. The vacancy rate currently is at 2.9 percent which makes the demand for condos strong here. Condos are ideal for investing here in Waterloo owing to the presence of several educational institutions. Often regarded as ‘University Town’, there are thousands of off-campus students here that are in constant search of places to rent out that are in close proximity to these campuses. Investing here is a lucrative option as there you will never run out of tenants to choose from.
Getting Around In Waterloo
The city of Waterloo is also adjacent to Highway 401 in Ontario. This is a convenient route and is considered a major highway as it covers the whole of Southern Ontario while connecting some of the most important economies together in Canada. Highway 401 is also regarded as one of North America’s busiest highways. Besides the major highways and routes, this area also features excellent public transit. It is an incredibly convenient experience to travel throughout Waterloo and also by extension into the whole Tri-Cities area. King Street is one of the main thoroughfares and serves as the main one for the region as it bisects all the three cities. One can use this road to travel from Uptown Waterloo in the north, right up to Concession Road to the south in Cambridge. The Grand River Transit is famous here and is a single public transit service that is shared by the Tri-Cities. This name was derived from the river that these three cities share. Buses available at the Great River Transit are capable of transporting commuters throughout their individual communities, besides being able to take them from city to city. One can travel from Waterloo to Cambridge without ever having the need to transfer. The region is also about to experience a major upgrade in the public transit service as the ION rapid transit network is about to be introduced, whose route is mostly likely to follow the path of King Street. This is intended to replace the iXpress bus system that offers direct routes to some of the more disconnected parts of town. As per the plan, the first phase will connect northern Waterloo with that of southern Kitchener, while the second phase will also have Cambridge in the loop. Not only will this increased service bring about convenience in commuting, but will also help in uniting the Tri-Cities further, thereby creating a new thriving urban centre. These stops are also an ideal destination if you are looking for a good location in the city. The new 19-km LRT system, also known as the ION Rapid Transit, is currently going through its final stages of testing and will be in operation very soon.
