IN HONOUR OF OUR AMERICAN COUSINS …
Hopefully the Thanksgiving celebrations were fabulous for our American friends! While we pondered topics for this week’s blog, we noticed overwhelming news about chaos and storms, both now and in the near future.
As real estate investors it is important to be realistic, no doubt. But it is also our job to unlock the possibilities within turbulent times. So today, we’re pausing a bit on stats and raw rational data. One of the best strategies that we have found to manage emotions is to keep it positive AND real. So this week, we admit to a blatant bias to the positive.
Yup, it’s time for a Top 10 list of things we’re grateful for!
- Living in Canada! Did you notice the lockdowns in China this week? Freedom is a beautiful thing!
- Living in Alberta! The current government just announced financial relief to lower income families, seniors and AISH recipients. They also announced that there will be no gas tax for the next 6 months AND an increase to the current electricity rebate. I think our favourite though was the immediate assistance the Alberta government is providing to our food banks. Every little bit helps in inflationary times.
- Our health! We’re doing everything we can to stay healthy and active while the healthcare system is over-worked and looking for new future solutions.
- Family and Friends! Good people are irreplaceable. Time spent with the people we love is a great investment –in our opinion.
- Peaceful times. As we watch the events in Ukraine and Haiti, we are grateful for times of peace. Of course we would all love to add prosperity to our daily lives! But the level of safety we enjoy in Alberta and Canada should never be taken for granted.
- Work! Yup, even with supply chain challenges, stressed customers, and never-ending staffing conundrums. Entrepreneur life isn’t easy these days, but each client we serve is a blessing that feeds our families, and the families of our colleagues and suppliers.
- Slower real estate market. Oh dear, now we’ve really gone into controversial territory! But remember March, in Calgary, when it was so hot it was almost impossible to find a real estate lawyer to do a closing? We LOVE a slower market; that allows for buyers to have time for due diligence. Less emotion is almost always better for real estate investors.
- New people! Did you know that Canada’s projected population growth is the highest in the G7? By a lot, according to the latest census data. https://www.reuters.com/article/cnews-us-canada-population-idCAKBN15N1ZH Selfishly, this means a strong supply of customers for us as Rental Housing Providers.
- Did you know that farm land still covers about 1/3 of Alberta? And that Alberta is Canada’s third largest food exporter? In a world with growing food insecurity, we are deeply grateful for the farmers, ranchers, and innovative scientists who continue to feed us and the world with their hard work. https://www.calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com/sectors/agribusiness/
- As much as we would all love to go green, renewable and zero-carbon-footprint, we recognize the transition will take time. Our main business is renovating and building houses, and we are all too aware of the cost implications of green energy. We look forward to a future with cost-effective and environmental building options! In the meantime, we sure are grateful for warm houses and electricity this winter. (yes, we peeked at the polar vortex coming next week).
For our Canadian friends, we hope you enjoy a great weekend! How will you keep it positive and real in your life, and your investment journeys?
