Hello everyone!
Welcome to our debut episode of ‘Keeping it Real, Edmonton’, where we have on Real Guests to talk all about Real Estate.
In today’s episode, we’ll sitting down and talking with local expert and investing specialist Adrian Nedelec to discuss all about the latest and greatest that Edmonton and the surrounding area has to offer, along with market predictions, and tips for new investors and families looking to enter the Edmonton market.
Q: How long have you been specializing in connecting with investors What types of investors do you often see come to the table?
[Adrian Nedelec]: “So, I've been so I'm part of a group called Mogo Realty Group and so my business partner, James and myself, James started about, 15 plus years [ago]. Mogul has been helping clients for the last 15 years and investors all across Canada. Personally, it's been about ten years being an investor myself and then also helping investors all across Canada for the last eight years.
Q: What types of investors do you often see come to the table?
[Adrian Nedelec]: “Honestly, it's a little bit of everything. That's the nice part about being in this position, is being able to see different types of investors. We typically like to say we deal with regular type of people - they're hard working individuals and people who are looking to get into investments […] They want to get into the real estate market.
Q: When you're working with these investors, what type of properties do you deal with? Is it apartments? Condos? Or regular houses and multiplexes?
[Adrian Nedelec]: We get this question quite a lot about what do we focus and specialize on. Generally for us, we just deal with investors. So if it's somebody who's looking to get a short term rental, they want to Airbnb it, they want to Vrbo it – and especially with Alberta and Edmonton being so landlord friendly, Airbnb friendly, people are looking for just a nice easy apartment, condo investments that they can do short-term rentals [with], all the way up to multifamily apartment buildings.
Q: Over the last few years, many have made the decision to move to Alberta. Why do you feel that is?
[Adrian Nedelec]: Great question. You know, I think it all starts with the affordability piece. Edmonton is one of the most affordable places in Canada as a major city. So, you know, we're poised in a really nice position because Edmonton has a lot of amenities, a lot of things that people like… There's a lot of scenery. There's a lot of nice things in Edmonton. It's just not on people's number one list. And I think that's what has made Edmonton quite affordable, is that, there's a lot of options. We have a lot of land.”
Adrian contrasted Edmonton to Calgary, stating that he feels Edmonton has a lot more land to work with. With regards to investing, Adam claims that Edmonton is unique because there’s a lot more you can do with your money in comparison to other cities, where the average price of housing has skyrocketed over the last four years.
[Adrian Nedelec]: “...People want to come to a place that they can enjoy life and living in Toronto or Vancouver if you're, you know, making medium level income? Most of that is going to housing and so there's not a lot of disposable income that you can use to go on vacation [or] to do all those things that people want to do. So I think that people are getting fed up.”
Q: What, if any, areas in Edmonton do you feel are over-priced? Under-priced? And why do you think that might be? Does it have to do with population growth, or something else entirely?
[Adrian Nedelec]: “I don't really think that there's any sort of overpriced areas in Edmonton in relation to other Canadian places. Of course, when you're looking at it from an Edmonton Lens, then you do think that there's some, some places that are a little bit more overpriced, but those are the, the communities where land value is quite expensive. Some of the kind of iconic, mature neighborhoods will kind of maintain their values for a long time. Some of the areas that are undervalued, and I think especially for an investor lens is looking at places that we're going to see growth in the future and so some of those areas, that I like to target or like to look for or help investors find are ones where it's close to transportation hubs and we're going to see expansion from the city.
Areas that Adrian felt were poised for growth were places like Allendale – a small village located close to Edmonton’s University. He went on to explain that areas that were undervalued included the West End area – because of it’s proximity to the new LRT zones – and some areas in North Edmonton as well.
[Adrian Nedelec]: “I think that the north side can get a bad rep sometimes. But it’s such a large area that is filled with amazing pockets with fantastic schools, tons of playgrounds, and a lot of opportunity for rental properties that are going to cash flow”.
Q: What would you say to investors - new or experienced - who are finding it hard to make a single decision in this very moment?
[Adrian Nedelec]: “You know, for us, it's always about starting with the why. At the end of the day, there’s a reason why this conversation is coming up when we sit down with investors or families moving, [we ask] ‘what’s the reason for the change’? Obviously, there’s some sort of pain point, a motivation, or some sort of position where they want to change, grow, invest. So understanding why that is can help really dive back and decide, you know, is it time to wait? Is time to invest? Purchase? To sell? All of the things we looked at as agents and people to help investors. I would say that it’s important to understand where that is for you – there’s not a blanket answer that’s going to cover every single scenario.”
Q: Some experts are predicting that the Bank of Canada may do yet another rate decrease.
Would you agree with this?
[Adrian Nedelec]: “I would definitely agree that rates are going to drop. I think that, you know, it won't be significant - another quarter point. It’s going to really incentivize buyers to come out of the woodwork. I think that right now we're seeing people still on the fence because, you know, they're a little ‘rate shocked’. I think that, you know, people are uneasy about where rates are, what direction where rates will go, so I think that being able to take a look and say [...] if rates do drop, where will the prices go? So you're always balancing between, interest rates and house prices. [...] I think it's important to really just look at the full picture and not just be focused solely on one item.”
Note: we asked this question to Adrian in mid-July 2024 before the Bank of Canada announcement and the rate dropped a quarter point on July 24, 2024.
Q: If there was one single piece of advice you would give to new investors coming into the market right now, what would it me?
[Adrian Nedelec]: “Great question. I think that there’s a lot of people who just have ‘analysis paralysis’ and they overanalyze everything. So, for me, it’s always just being educated but understanding to take that jump. I think a lot of people hesitate on taking action and they want to read every book, listen to every podcast, or watch every YouTube video before doing anything. I think it’s important to get educated, but actually to take some action for sure.”
Adrian is a real estate agent working under the Mogul Realty Group, with over five years of real estate experience. “At Mogul Realty Group, Adrian brings his lived experience as an investor to build confidence and success for new and experienced Real Estate investors alike. Adrian continues to raise capital for investment properties in his hometown of Edmonton.”
- [MogulRG, About Us, https://mogulrg.com/about-us/edmonton-team/.]
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