Canada looks good for property investors and developers

Canada is attracting a lot of attention from the British press both as a holiday destination and as a place to live. 200,000 people are said to migrate there each year and, according to the BBC , Canada hosts more than 603,000 permanent British residents - a number which continues to grow each year.

Picture perfect destinations and urbanised cities such as Quebec, Toronto and Vancouver are seeing an influx of British residents in search of good employment prospects alongside a better quality of life. As Overseas Emigration reports, Canada was ranked 10th out of 161 in the 2007 index of economic freedom whilst the Economist named it the 8th most peaceful country in the world.

The sheer size and beauty of the land, alongside these facts continue to draw people to Canada. The wide open spaces mean the potential for growth is immense with only 3.5 people for every square kilometre (9.9 million sq km in total) and although some of the more mountainous areas have hostile weather conditions, the majority of the country is entirely habitable. Developers are jumping on the Canadian band-wagon in droves - and are readily welcomed as they help the economy to flourish.

The Canadian Real Estate Association states that the national average for house prices in Canada is CA$313,645, a figure which is low in comparison to British prices and ensures its popularity with investors and buyers alike. Average wages of US$35,500 are higher than most other countries popular with people who are looking to emigrate; and as a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Group of Eight (G8), Canada is rapidly becoming one of the richest nations.

Fact: Canada has long since been popular with holiday makers seeking a warmer climate in summer and ski possibilities in winter and holds 2.9% of the world’s market share in tourism. For investors it is not only rising numbers of immigrants that provide attractive opportunities but also the affluent tourist industry worth US $202 billion in 2007 alone - a figure which is set to grow by 3.7% per annum until 2017.

Buy to let is already an excellent prospect for British investors with an almost 2:1 exchange rate and rental yields of up to 7%. According to the Guardian Abroad, despite US downturn the Canadian market remains strong and as one of the largest, yet sparsely populated, countries there is plenty of room for developers, investors and buyers alike.