In the past 48 hours we’ve had countless conversations about real estate. People are watching the same news, living in the same city—yet the conversations are wildly different.
Wednesday night we were in a room with about 80 real estate investors, who all braved the snow and cold to network and learn. Even more impressive when you consider the focus of the evening was “tax season and the real estate investor!” Many in the room are leaning into the opportunities in Calgary today: prices are good, vendors are willing to negotiate, rent rates are going up slowly and steadily, and the City of Calgary is offering to legalize secondary suites if they comply with the Fire Code, rather than the complete Alberta Building Code. Cautious optimism was abundant in the room.
Yesterday morning, we had a conversation about tradespeople in Calgary. There is deep concern in the building community: from the electricians to the suppliers to the developers. It’s been a long 4 years, and many emergency funds and backup plans have been exhausted. Change and relief may not come soon enough—the negative and sometimes panicked energy is palpable.
Then after lunch it was more conversations about the latest layoffs in Calgary—which may be more related to one company’s merger than the overall Calgary economy. But if you know any engineers, it has been a long and difficult recession. The people in this conversation couldn’t see or hear anything other than more bad news. Their present world view is deeply affected by unemployment and under-employment.
And this morning, the National Energy Board officially recommends the approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Maybe. The ensuing conversations in Alberta reflect a jaded, almost suspicious view of the latest announcement.
Perspective is a fascinating lens. From rose-coloured glasses to Armageddon-inspired warfare images, we use our biases, opinions, experiences and emotions to view “our” world. As real estate investors, we are challenged to step out of our specific emotions and perceptions. We look at charts and graphs of GDP, population, employment and various other economic indicators. We listen carefully for the bigger picture, beyond our own little spheres of influence. Then we choose and act upon the best available information at the time. And let me tell you, there are hundreds of real estate investors taking action in Calgary in 2019. Careful, methodical, systematic and analytic actions that are designed to grow their wealth and financial freedom. Will you continue to wait for all the stars to align? Or will you begin and advance your path to a life of abundance and choices?
