Canada Property Market Unaffected by U.S. Woes

As the U.S. property market continues to make the news for all the wrong reasons, Canada continues to grow into one of the best places in the world to make an overseas property investment. Advantages include low total transaction costs of between 4.7% to 11%, a moderate capital gains tax equivalent to 12.5%, no inheritance tax, and manageable rental income tax withheld by the tenant.

Also, Canada is the second largest country in the world, of a similar land-size to Russia, but the population is only a fifth the size of Russia’s, meaning Canada is one of the least densely populated countries in the world. No doubt that is a factor in Canada’s sustainable growth, with GDP, employment, and wages all rising strongly over the past year.

Canada’s capitol, Toronto, is one of the only places in the world where rental yields on condominiums rise in line with property size, from 6.4% to 6.74%. Rental yields in Quebec’s spectacular Montreal, the Paris of North America, are around the same as in Toronto, with the exception of 50-square-meter apartments which earn 7.34% per year in rental income.

Holiday lettings always offer the best yields, especially on properties with strong potential for all-year-round letting. The aforementioned Montreal and Mt Tremblant are undoubtedly two of Canada’s most popular holiday destinations, but their long popularity means property prices are in the mid-high bracket; you struggle to get a decent one-bedroom apartment for under £100,000, so there is little potential to earn spectacular rental yields.

The Rouge River resort is a different story altogether. Located a short distance from both Montreal and Mt Tremblant — in between the two — properties there can be marketed to attract rentals from people coming in for both tourist-attracting destinations. You can get a one-acre plot of land on Rouge River for under £20,000 and a three-bedroom log cabin for £139,000. The lower prices means you can charge less for the rental of the property and still make a sizable rental yield.

Article Author: LiamBaileyDSR

Liam Bailey is Media Relations Executive for overseas property specialist David Stanley Redfern Ltd., who have just started a new Overseas Property Rentals company.

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