Number One Again

by Darrin DeRoches September 13 - 19, 2012

Hamilton has been named the top city in Canada to invest in. Hamilton has attracted more industrial and commercial development than any other city in Canada over the past year. The Site Selection Magazine analyzed projects with at least one million invested and at least 50 new jobs created or at least 20,000 sqft of new construction.  I will now include a typical email I received after writing about the accomplishments of Hamilton:     “Hey Darrin, enjoy your column, especially the recent one on REIN’s selection of Hamilton as the top investment market in Ontario for the next few years. First I need to check some facts with you. I read recently, I think it was in the Downtown BIA newsletter, that Hamilton had been picked as number one in Canada. Was that last year? Were we not number one in Canada this year, but still number one in Ontario? Can you clarify this? Secondly, and I’m going to be a bit of a skeptic here, but don’t take that personally – I’m skeptical about everything. I’d be curious to know what cities had been picked by REIN in the past, and did those cities actually experience substantial growth and increased market values in the ensuing years after they were picked ? Thanks for shaking the Hamilton pom poms. Regards, Mike”     This email is exactly what I would expect after writing about we are now number one in Canada not just Ontario and, yes, we beat Quebec City who have 16 projects and also that little town down the road called Toronto with 15 projects. We had 20 projects over a million dollars in the last year and we are on track to have a great year with Navistar and the downtown hotels and condos.      So to clarify our recent accomplishments we are number one in Ontario for the top place to invest in according to REIN’s data and we are number one in Canada for the place to invest according to Site Selection Magazine.      We have all the infrastructure, highways, railways, ports, airports, in place to grow inside of our city’s boundaries to become a force to be reckoned with. Stop living in the shadow of the city down the road because their tower isn’t even the biggest in the world anymore.      I do not blame Mike for being a skeptic and I do not take it personally but the city has to start realizing what we have before someone comes in and buys it all up. If you look at what other cities have accomplished by moving forward instead of dragging their feet, you will see the rewards.     Brantford’s casino has proven its worth and we should consider our opportunities. The harbour is the next jewel to be reckoned with and let’s keep the ownership as local as we can. Invest in your own real estate market before outsiders buy it all up and you miss the boat. V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at mail@uniquerealty.ca.