Real Estate - An Industry Perspective

Real property finds harmony with my strongest inclinations in life and business, land ownership sits at the foundations of my cultural mooring. It seems that our culture, that of the European Americans, has ownership in general and especially land ownership as a cultural expression of belonging. There is a propensity in the post modern Canadian culture to minimise ownership, ownership is viewed as a separator from community. My appreciation for the Canadian rural agrarian culture has taught me that community is more effective when composed of a collection of owners, ownership brings with it investiture and as a uniform identifies the person and dictates their role - so does ownership. Ownership by its very nature instills responsible societal conduct, it does because, its retention and value are dependant on society at large. Everyone needs to be an owner, look where you find societal discord, deprivation - they are invariably occurring in the absence of property - oft times because of the absent of property rights. I am most grateful that Canada has as a the keystone of our societal functionality the capacity to own and trade assets, and also grateful for the abundance of real property we have and the opportunity it brings.

The Real Estate industry is a hubbly bub of trends, every sub sector has its own influencing factors, sub sectors are as diverse as the people that inhabit the market. The majority of my contemplation in the real estate space has been; agricultural land or rural land opportunities in general, tourism development land and the full spectrum of residential development. 

There is an exciting arena of participation when one looks at a piece of property, assesses its geophysical values and begins to design the altering of the landscape toward its perceived best use. The land development space puts one in touch with people's interface with environment, each other and how environment can enhance human exchange. There is a propensity in modern society to put people so close they are unable to see each other; how is it, in the modern urban setting we have human densities measured in thousands per acre and people are isolated, and just one generation before, we lived miles apart and were connected - much of the answer lies in the design of our build environment. 

See this links for assessment of rural land opportunity .

http://nthomson2.blogspot.ca/2014/03/the-right-time-of-rural-land-in-bcs.html

http://nthomson2.blogspot.ca/2014/03/real-estate-agriculture-works.html

The rural land space has a number of significant opportunities. If you believe as I do, that the agricultural space with be a place of paced growth for the next thirty years, then you will share my enthusiasm for rural land. If you believe as I do, that urban populations will be seeking the rejuvenation that comes with time in rural / wilderness settings, then you will share my enthusiasm for rural land. I hold a passion for extensive landholdings and their management, they provide a unique lense to the world - one forges their successful management from contemplation of the full spectrum of human enterprise, all the sciences are encountered and human concern is the culmination of effort. 

In the rural land space in my immediate region, there are a number of trends supporting investment. There are a number of properties for sale due to a period of reduced activity in the space, these properties present opportunity as self supporting holdings, as amalgamation opportunities, as developments, as ALR title transfer opportunities, tourism opportunities and as enhanced agricultural enterprises. The assessment, purchase and configuration of viable models for given lands has become a specialty of mine due in large measure, to a real passion I have to own a large land holding. 

Opportunities in the residential development space are abundant, straight subdivision, subdivision and building, multi family, rural acreage, all this space is good, success here weighs heavily on playing the cycles properly. There is a healthy space in several markets for the condominiumization of aged rental apartments, I have found these deals give great margin in the active market and relative to the prevailing new inventory. The time is right for the make ready space due to where we are in the residential real estate cycle, this space really plays nicely with rural land purchase and reconfiguration.   

I am generally optimistic for the real estate categories I am familiar with, there is a lot to be done in this space - and right now is the critical entry point for a lot of them.