With big money being made in Alberta, and the high real estate prices that go with it, some beneficiaries of the boom are looking to P.E.I. for more affordable property alternatives.

'We're still pinching ourselves.'— Jason King

Jason and Victoria King have discovered you don't need to have a job in the oil patch to take advantage of high times in Alberta.

The Kings — he's a financial adviser and she's a school teacher — came to Canada from England in July 2005 and settled in Cochrane, a town of 12,000 30 kilometres northwest of Calgary. With the oil boom, Cochrane was expected to double in size in just a couple of years.

Victoria King says it only made sense to cash out of the house in Alberta.
(Steven d'Souza/CBC)

"We'd been there just over a year and the prices in Cochrane had just gone through the roof," said Victoria King of the real estate market.

"I mean, we bought the house for $275,000 and we sold it for $475,000. We just thought we'd be crazy not to take the money out of the house."

The Kings are now living on P.E.I., in a house in French River on the North Shore, which they fell in love with the moment they saw it.

"It's amazing," said Jason King.

"We're still pinching ourselves, you know, thinking and believing why we're actually here and how we actually got to be here in the first place."

A common story

While the Kings can't believe their luck, it's a becoming a common story for real estate agent Matthew MacKay. In the past year, he's been getting six to eight phone calls a week from people in Alberta.

Views of the water are an essential ingredient for luring western money.
(Steven d'Souza/CBC)

"When people are paying $200,000 for a lot in Calgary, and you can find something here with a water view for $40,000 or $50,000 they think it's an absolute steal," said MacKay.

Certainly that's what Jason and Victoria King think. A 3,200-square-foot, three-bedroom home, with a guest house, workshop and shed on four acres with a water view, which at $355,000 they bought with more than $100,000 to spare from the proceeds of the sale of their home in Cochrane.

'You can't find a place anywhere in B.C. or Alberta on the lake under $800,000.'— Shandi Werenka

For the Kings, P.E.I. is their new home, but there is also big money in the market for summer homes.

Shelley Rogerson and Shandi Werenka both work in the oil industry — Werenka as a consultant and Rogerson as an environmental tester. They just bought a summer home in Long River, not far from the Kings: two bedrooms, a pool, a two-car garage, and the all-essential water view, for $195,000.

"We've shown people the pictures and they just cannot believe it," said Rogerson.

"Being on the lake, I mean, you can't find a place anywhere in B.C. or Alberta on the lake under $800,000 with a house on it," adds Werenka. "It's unheard of."

Shandi Werenka looked for a summer home in Alberta, but settled on P.E.I.
(Steven d'Souza/CBC)

The couple had originally planned to buy a summer property in Alberta, but the prices were too high, and figure $600,000 will buy a lot of travel to and from P.E.I.

It's a particularly welcome move for Rogerson, who grew up in Summerside and moved out west eight years ago. Werenka is from Alberta, and has never seen the real estate market as hot as it is now.

"The last year or two, it's just gone through the roof," he said. "We have friends who've bought places and haven't even moved into them and they doubled in price."

Buying sight unseen

The boom in real estate out west is starting to level off and many are ready to cash out. MacKay says people looking to invest their profits have to go somewhere, and P.E.I. is looking like a good option right now.

"I had a call from a fellow from Calgary three weeks ago who bought a parcel of land without ever even seeing it," said MacKay.

"He's never even been to P.E.I.; he's just looking for an investment."

'Anything to do with water you're going to find will go even higher yet.'— Matthew MacKay

MacKay says there's been a decline in American buyers in recent years, but interest from Western Canada has helped to offset that. He believes with more Islanders leaving to go out west, Alberta money will continue to be invested in P.E.I. property.

"I think you're going to see property increase over the next five years, especially the waterfront property," he said.

"Not so much the residential, but anything to do with water you're going to find will go even higher yet."

And while people on Island salaries are being priced out of the market, MacKay says western buyers are bringing economic benefits to the Island as new homes are built and older ones are renovated.

"There's so much opportunity here, for even local people as the contractors, plumbers and electricians," he said.

"All these people from away are bringing work for them."

Both Werenka and Rogerson and the Kings are planning renovations on their new homes, and are talking up their good fortune to friends back in Alberta, making it that much more likely the trend will continue.