As I sat down to decide what my blog would be about this week, I took a look at the stats from 2007 and filtered out some of the more affordable places in the province to buy waterfront. The list includes places such as Ashcroft, Prince George, Port Clements, Smithers, Trail, Kamloops, Merritt, Zeballos and Nakusp. Although many of these places may be worth more investigation, the one that I noticed immediately was Naksup. I had been there for a wedding a few years back and found the picturesque countryside and quiet serenity of the lakefront a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Last year, we featured an investment project on Arrow Lakes (Galena Shores) on our site. The developer, from Alberta, received many inquiries about the project and over-subscribed his project quickly, so I knew there was demand out there for property in the area. Within reasonable driving distance from Calgary/Edmonton and with waterfront prices sometimes half (or even 1/3) of what they are at Lake Invermere, who wouldn't take a closer look at this area?
Located in the West Kootenays, in south central BC, Nakusp offers numerous recreational opportunities including hot springs, boating, hunting, swimming, hiking, camping, ice fishing, golfing, skiing, etc...With a population of approximately 1, 600, the community has an arena, a small hospital, a waterfront boardwalk and even high speed internet!
Ironically, as I sat down to write this blog last night, I opened my latest weekly email from Jurock.com and one of the main stories was specifically about Nakusp and the affordability of waterfront there compared to other areas of BC. One thing Ozzie pointed to in his article was the millions of dollars going into upgrades in nearby Revelstoke and Fairmont Hot Springs, which should benefit the Nakusp area. Ozzie states that it could be the "sleeper market in the Kootenays." I was glad to know I was on track with one of BC's biggest real estate gurus, but hope he doesn't think I'm stealing his story ideas (!) Although we currently don't have any properties on the site in the area (lakefront listings are scarce), the Kootenay Lake Village on nearby Kootenay Lake has been generating quite a lot of interest. More about Kootenay Lake in a future blog!