When exploring real estate opportunities in Alberta – especially compared to Toronto and Vancouver – the prospects are encouraging.
There's optimism in the economic momentum in Alberta: an RBC economist forecasts it to be the fastest-growing provincial economy in 2022. Edmonton's affordability will drive increased interest in real estate as Alberta's homes are predicted to gain value, and many investors will reap more returns from their timely investments in construction and lot purchasing than in other markets.
This is good news for AMRIK Developments, a highly reputable, multi-faceted Edmonton real estate company with extensive experience in acquisition, financing, construction, and sales.
Services include but are not limited to providing homes, residential lot/land sales, investments (multi-family and commercial), and development and construction. AMRIK works closely with the city's largest developers regarding upcoming developments, connects builders with the most up-to-date opportunities, and collaborates with investors to help uncover the most profitable return on their projects.
Investment strategy, investor value
AMRIK's ability to be strategic is vital in the Alberta market because things can change quickly. Applying both strategic investing and economic forecasting is crucial to their success.
"If we're not looking ahead to 2023 and 2024, we won't be around," says Harpreet Singh, AMRIK's principal/owner.
"We're always looking at different angles on how to keep our builders moving their product, so we work with them extensively on design and on what we need to do if the market slows down. It's always about planning ahead, making sure we can pivot at any given moment. And I think that's what AMRIK is. We're a company that can maneuver quickly."
AMRIK creates investor value by seeing potential before it's apparent. As experts in condo deconversion, AMRIK recently acquired Kameyosek Estates, a nine-unit multi-family apartment complex in Mill Woods, where five of the units were on the market for over a year.
"We're not looking at the regular deals everybody else is looking at," explains Singh. "We're always looking for projects where we can add value. We purchased the five units, and then, one by one, we bought all nine. We saw the value and thought, if we pick this building up as a whole and sell it as a rental, it will be worth $130,000 to $140,000 a door. We actually achieved that in less than 90 days, and we had an offer 30% higher than what we paid."
"With Alberta's current boom, the time to invest is now," says Singh.
"We're starting to see Toronto and Vancouver investors ask us for pre-construction rental projects because the majority can't afford to buy there anymore. We're opening that bridge between both provinces to come in and reap the rewards. We can help you. We'll connect you with our builders and management and make sure it's a good experience for you, so you can achieve that 5% to 6% cap rate that you can't in Toronto and Vancouver."
Development and construction
AMRIK has developed exclusive agreements with many large developers in the city and are able to provide lots that would otherwise not be available to public buyers and builders.
"I think our relationships with the developers have expanded over the years," reveals Singh. "Our smaller builders have proven themselves and we're now getting exclusive lots over other larger builders. These smaller builders have grown, and we're meeting people, almost daily, who want to be in the building industry and are expanding their business based on inventory we're providing."
For AMRIK, Singh believes their next step is to slowly get into development with larger corporations and have exclusive lots allocated for their builders.
"Reputation is what gets us over the finish line on most of the deals," admits Singh.
"It's all about performance, on both sides, developers and builders. Without that, the developers are not dealing with you, and without reputation, your builder's not building with you. So, I think we've established that, and we keep improving wherever we can. Wherever we make a mistake, we say, let's improve, how can we get better."
For more information, visit amrik.ca.
