A wave of greying Boomers is sweeping over the resort industry, raising demand for vacation property and second homes.
Real estate consultant Peter Dupuis of Vancouver told a Calgary audience last week that recreational property is the fastest growing sector of the real estate market.
Dupuis, whose company Playground specializes in resort real estate, spoke at a presentation by Intrawest, owner of the Panorama resort in British Columbia.
The rising amount of financial equity in the hands of a greying Boomer generation set up the demographics for a boom in resorts, said Dupuis.
Sixty per cent of vacation homes are owned by people 45 to 60 years old. A second home has become part of the definition of the good life, and 100,000 second homes were built in the United States in 1997, he added.
Mountain resorts have been associated with skiing, but other sports are gaining popularity as well. Snowshoeing is now one of the fastest growing outdoor pastimes, Dupuis noted.
Resort operators are striving for four-season use. Summer visits topped winter visits at Whistler for the first time in 1994, he said.
But as demand has been rising, Dupuis said, supply has been stagnant. Eighty-five proposed resorts were stalled or abandoned in North America in the last 15 years.
In a later interview, Dupuis said demand is for a second home rather than simply a “summer cottage.”
“It’s not just turning the lights out in October and turning them back on in May.”
More people are moving to Whistler and having a pied-a-terre in Vancouver because they can work from home and spend time on the mountain, added Dupuis.
James Askew, regional marketing manager for Intrawest, says the company specializes in village-centred resorts. It bought Panorama in 1993 and plans to develop about 900 units over a decade.
Not all its resorts are mountain villages; its properties include San Destin, Fla., a beach community.
Panorama currently has three neighbourhoods: Ski Tip, Riverbend and Greywolf. Ski Tip includes the Panorama Springs aquatic area and Greywolf is the site of a golf course named the best new course in Canada by Golf Digest. The golf course doubles as a Nordic ski area in winter and heli-skiing is available from the village.
Another area, Trappers Ridge, will be developed in a few years.
Calgary land developer The Apex Corp. has given up the hunt for a buyer after a long search by a committee of its board of directors. “ . . . there comes a point where you have to go on,” said president and CEO Frank Boyd.
The Apex Corp. announced late last week that it was dissolving a committee struck to seek ways to raise shareholder value, including a possible buyout. It remains committed to finding ways to enhance shareholder value, the company said.
“There was no distress or panic,” Boyd told Business Edge. Apex couldn’t find a buyer at the right price.
The company has a demonstrated track record and is well managed, he added.
Directors are looking for a way to get the stock up to reflect the value of the company.
At Friday’s close, Apex was down eight cents at $1.63. Boyd noted that all real estate stocks have been out of favour the last couple of years and many companies have been privatized.
Apex’s track record includes developing the Citadel neighborhood in northwest Calgary, the Renaissance at North Hill, the Phoenician at Dalhousie Station and the Lewis and Hudson lofts.
Apex has had 39 consecutive quarters of record financial results. It projects 33 cents a share earnings for its April 30 year-end, up 10 per cent from last year.
A land developer specializing in Northern Canadian real estate plans to buy back some of its shares.
Urbco Inc. will try to buy up to 515,000 of its common shares over the next 12 months, or five per cent of the 10.4 million shares.
Urbco bought 151,300 of its shares at an average of $2.26 under a bid that ran from April 7, 2000 to April 6 this year. The company says that its shares have often traded at or below management’s estimate of its net asset value, and the valuations of comparable companies.
Urbco closed Friday at $1.70 on the TSE.
Homes by Avi has picked FutureLink Canada as its application service provider to provide software in a three-year, $360,000 contract. FutureLink Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of FutureLink Corp., will provide application hosting for all Homes by Avi locations in Calgary, Edmonton and Spokane.
The owner of the Travelodge master franchise for Canada reports improved financial results for 2000. Royal Host Real Estate Investment Trust said its overall revenue increased by 8.7 per cent, rising $11.3 million to $140.9 million.
During the year, Royal Host declared distributions of 96 cents per unit. Royal Host said operating income rose 11.9 per cent to $44.7 million. Royal Host REIT owns 36 hotels, manages 77 properties and franchises 91 locations. It also owns the Travelodge master franchise in Canada.
Web Watch:
www.panoramaresort.com
www.apexland.com
www.urbco.com
www.royalhost.com
