OUTSIDE THE BOX

OWNING YOUR OWN HOME IS ONETHING, BUT THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER REAL ESTATE OPTIONS FO RINVESTORS BY BRENDA BOUW

Owning your own home is one thing, but there are plenty of other real estate options out there for investors to consider.

The stock markets are roaring ahead and Canada’s housing market continues to climb higher, but Randy Dyck is getting a lot more satisfaction out of his core investments in other areas: land and buildings. Dyck owns his own home and some stocks, but the vast majority of his investments are multi-family and commercial buildings and land development across British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, which he holds outright or with other like-minded investors. “It’s my pension plan,” says the 50- year-old, who is also a real estate agent and owner of Eximus Real Estate in Abbotsford, B.C. Dyck began branching out into non-residential real estate about 20 years ago because he wanted to see, touch and oversee what he was investing in. “It gives me this security of a hard asset that’s worth something substantial and monthly income. And I control it.”

Real estate has always been a key investment for Canadians, not to mention a national obsession, but more investors seem to be getting into the property game outside of owning their homes and vacation properties. Many have grown skeptical of the stock markets, especially after the most recent meltdown in 2008-09, and see real estate as more resilient. Rightly or wrongly, there are those who believe real estate is less risky, and that its long-term value can only increase given that there’s only so much land that can be developed to accommodate a growing population.

But it’s not just land and buildings that Canadians are snapping up. Given the constant nagging from financial experts to diversify within asset classes, many are also turning to real estate investment trusts ( REITs), mortgage investment corporations ( MICs) and other real-estate-focused equities as well as private funds, including crowdsourcing opportunities.