PROBLEM SOLVERS: PREPARE FOR SUCCESS!
In past years, we might suggest that this is the year of paradigm shifts. Haha! That would be woefully inadequate. If we’re being blunt, it looks like 2025 is the year of paradigms being blown out of the water!
This weekend, our American neighbors will be celebrating President Trump’s inauguration (officially Monday, but why not party all weekend?!). He’s like one large rock being dropped into a pond, creating hundreds of ripple effects! It is even possible that some of Trump’s creations might be beneficial – to someone, or to his country. We are especially amused by DOGE, the department of government efficiency (which sounds like it belongs in a Harry Potter storyline, or possibly even in George Orwell’s 1984). Maybe the last laugh is on us? We would love to see more efficiency in Canda’s government services!
Back to the real world. It goes without saying that politics and policy shifts will have a significant impact on real estate investors. Let’s not forget, Canada will soon have its own new government to contend with. However, CRA seems to think they can make their own rules these days (sorry, couldn’t resist a little capital-gains dig there). Which rules will stay, which will go, which will get turned upside-down? And by next winter, we will even have new municipal governance in Calgary.
For our colleagues who are building, please watch your contracts carefully. What impact will the anticipated tariffs have on renovation or new home building costs? Pricing is about to get as “interesting” as it was post-Covid—and that is not a good thing for anyone.
Meanwhile on the insurance front, we think the old insurance packages, coverages and premiums simply must change. The insurance companies are businesses, not charities. After Maui, Jasper, the Calgary hail storm and now the loss of hundreds of luxury homes in Los Angeles, we should all be expecting significant shifts in our policies. The trick will be trying to understand the small print, then deciding which costs/risks are acceptable as homeowners and/or as real estate investors.
We deliberately went down the dark rabbit hole in this week’s blog article. Why? Because with chaos comes opportunity!
That good old Rubik’s cube is a fabulous metaphor. It can be hard, but for those who pursue, prepare and practice for the solution—we all know that there are ways to solve the puzzle.
If you’ve survived as an entrepreneur this far, then you are already an elite level problem solver. It’s time to dig deeper! Rely on all of your previous training and find new solutions, efficiencies and even partnerships. The news headlines are about to twist the knife to deepen emotional wounds and fears. But as builders and real estate investors, we remain forward focused and solution focused. In our opinion, this is a season of opportunities—the challenge will be finding them, and working hard!
