A different
sort of
rodeo
you may not realize this but the U.S. military is on
a new mission. it’s going green.
nowhere is that more evident that at Fort Bliss,
a huge U.S. army base near el Paso, texas, which
the local newspaper says is being refitted with
solar panels. it’s part of a goal of making bases less
vulnerable to power outages due to enemy attack.
on June 7, Fort Bliss and the U.S. army
tank automotive Research development and
engineering center were to host an energy rodeo
to display and discuss the latest technologies and
innovations in renewable energy concepts and
alternative fuel technologies.
Panel discussions and guest speakers will
include some of top experts in their fields, organizers promise.
Real estate vs. stocks
volatile stock markets are pushing investors towards solid assets, said don R.
campbell, bestselling author of Real
Estate Investing in Canada.
who can blame them after the stock
sell-off last may, the worst may since
1940, another gut-wrenching drop in
a rollercoaster market that has largely
gone sideways since the big rally of
spring 2009, following the financial
meltdown.
“investors are also sick and tired of
handing control to somebody else to
make financial decisions,” campbell said.
Real estate investors are drawn to the
gentler value swings, the real dirt and
doors they can kick, and being able to
improve their odds through renovations
and increased rents.
the leverage component banks provide also isn’t lost on these investors.
consider a modest three per cent annual
growth in property values on a $200,000
property. that yields 14. 3 per cent
return on a 25 per cent down payment.
compound that year over year.
Sure, real estate values took a hit in
may as well. But most of that is psycho-
logical, campbell said. “what really drives
the real estate market is job growth, immi-
gration, and transportation changes,”
he added. “if you don’t have those three,
your market will plateau or fall off.”
“that will occur between one and
three years after the line actually opens,”
campbell said. “For the sophisticated
investor, that provides a long-term win-
dow of opportunity.”
as for immigration and jobs, campbell
isn’t alone in seeing alberta’s horsepower
under the hood, despite its lagging perfor-
mance most recently. depending on the
projections, alberta can expect 500,000
new direct or indirect jobs by 2020 and
steep population growth.
