The area is home to a large population of university students and young people looking for Skytrain walkability and access to entertainment. The area attracts a 55% rental occupancy rate, with renters willing to pay a median rent of $1,895, an 18% year-over-year increase and well above the national average rent. Within the local condo market, one-bedroom homes in the area retain the highest resale prices in dollars per square foot.

Central Surrey is ideal for investment into a pre-sale studio or one-bedroom home. It offers an exemplary collection of distinctive homes with views of the Fraser River, access to transit, entertainment, and an impressive selection of world-class university campuses.

31,376 people reside in 13,448 households within a 20-minute walk of Surrey Central Skytrain and King George Skytrain station. The median age for the area is 37.1, and 89% of the resident’s mother tongue is English. The average household income for the area is $80,901, with average spending of $10,418 on food, $8,635 on transit, and $1,6340 on accommodation. The residents in this area spend 31% less than the average Canadian on transportation but spend an average of 12% more on education.

Surrey is home to a large population of international students who live and study in Surrey Central. International study is big business for Canada’s real estate market, with 621,565 students in Canada during 2021 and 22% landing in BC, creating a need for additional housing in the form of rental properties. 72.5% of students are planning to apply for a post-graduate work permit. Post-graduation, the students in the area to the area make often call this area home, often purchasing their first property, a condo, after graduation. This dynamic keeps rental and resale condo prices in the area robust.

PRIZM Segments

The three largest PRIZM Segments for Surrey Central make up 51.2% of the population; they are broken down as follows:

• • Social Networkers 19.4%

• • Friends and Roomies 17.6%

• • New Asian Heights 14.2%

All three segments are young renters, primarily single people who live in high-rise buildings. These segments have an emphasis on entertainment, fitness, and social activities.

This indicates there is a demand for living space in the form of single-dwelling units that appeal to young people and are located within walking distance of transit.

55.92% of area residents currently live in rental properties in 2022. This is projected to expand to 56.23% by 2027. 87% of the housing in the area is apartment dwellings, and 39% of the population lives in one-person households. The local area rents have seen healthy rental price increases over the past 12 months, with two-bedroom homes rising the most at 24%, but 1-bedroom and studio prices trailing not too far behind.

Rental rates typically rise annually. If we assume that the rental rates increase with the bank of Canada’s target inflation rate of 3% annually, then the rental rate for a 1-bedroom condo in Surrey Central will increase by $237 by 2026 from $1,895 in 2022 to $2,132.84 in 2026.

In the Central Surrey condo resale real estate market, one-bedroom, and studio units fetch the highest dollars per square foot while selling faster and for an amount closer to the list price.

There are currently 16 projects marketing 4,158 apartment units in the North Surrey / Central Surrey area. Unit pricing ranges from $199,900 to $2,139,900, with an average price of $586,770 at an average of $898 per square foot.

I contacted all 16 developers, and here is what I found:

• • 2 of the projects are sold out

• • 7 of the units were walkable to Surrey Central Skytrain or King George Skytrain Station, but the walk was 12-15 minutes. Most of them were low rises, and none of them were discounted to compensate for the additional walking time.

• • 3 of the projects are being marketed by unknown developers.

• • 3 of the projects were located within a 3-minute walk of the SkyTrain.

There is one project in particular that is marketing one-bedroom and studio condos in a high-rise building that is a 2 – 3-minute walk from the Surrey Central Skytrain. The unit prices start at $476,900 for a 482 square foot 1 bedroom condo. The terms are quite favorable with this developer as the unit doesn’t complete until 2027, and the deposit structure is 10% down with 5% upon offer and 5% due 12 months later.

A 20% down payment is needed to purchase an investment property. The cash outlay needed is:

$23,845 due on offer

$23,845 due 12 months from now

$52,549 due in 2027.

The annual ownership costs are contingent on rental rates, interest rates, and inflation rates. Typically rents increase each year at or above the rate of inflation. Mortgage rates are in flux, increasing from historic lows to the current 5-year rate of 4.65%. Mortgage rates are projected to decline by 1% in the next 24 months and remain flat after that.

If the rental rates increase at the rate of inflation and mortgage rates remain the same over the next five years. In the first year of ownership, the monthly operating cost of this unit is approximately $285 per month, declining to $90 per month in 2031.

If the unit increases with the rate of inflation at 3% per year, the unit will be valued at $622,246.33 by 2031. Using the more conservative interest rate above at 4.65%, the mortgage balance will decline from $400,496 to $373,378 by 2031, leaving $248,868.33 in equity available.

After ten years, the equity in the home will be $248,868.33 less the initial cash outlays of $112,090 to produce a return on investment of $136,778.03 or a 122% return on investment.

• Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) ranked Surrey as 2017’s #1 city to invest in, with the housing market expected to outperform all other cities in BC between 2018-2023.
• MoneySense ranked Surrey as the #1 place to buy real estate in 2019.
• Vancity Credit Union named Surrey the best place to start a small business in Metro Vancouver in 2017.
• 2nd lowest municipal tax for businesses in BC.
• Over $13.7 billion in construction between 2007-2017.
• Record $2.29 billion in building permits issued in 2019.

• The City of Surrey had a population growth rate of 11% between 2011-2016, while the Central Surrey grew by a rapid 18% over the same period, making it one of the fastest-growing areas of the region.
• Surrey outpaced the City of Vancouver (4.6%), the Vancouver CMA (6.5%), and BC (5.6%) in population growth between 2011-2016, accounting for 1/3 of all population growth in Metro Vancouver.
• Surrey is projected to become the most populated city in BC by 2041 (770,000), with approximately 1,000 new residents moving to Surrey every month.
• Strong job growth, with 2,000 new businesses per year in the City of Surrey.

• 3 Expo Line SkyTrain stations are located within Central Surrey, providing direct access to Downtown Vancouver in 40 minutes, along with numerous other regional centers.
• Planned Expo Line extension from Central Surrey to Fleetwood by 2025 and Langley in the future.
• Rapid Bus service connects Central Surrey to Guildford Town Centre and Newton Town Centre, with planned upgrades in the future.
• The City of Surrey has a long-range plan for a city-wide rapid transit grid along major arterials in the future.

• Strategically located in the geographic center of Metro Vancouver with access to regional destinations in all directions.
• Proximity to major highways, including Highway 1, Highway 10, Highway 15, Highway 17, and Highway 99.
• Two international airports within 45 minutes of each other:
  
  • Vancouver International Airport (YVR) | 35km from City Centre
  • Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) | 41km from City Centre
• Access to 2 BC Ferries Terminals:
  
  • Tsawwassen Terminal | 53km from City Centre
  • Horseshoe Bay Terminal | 34km from City Centre
• Access to 2 US Border Crossings within Surrey:
  
  • Peace Arch Crossing (Highway 99)
  • Pacific Highway Border Crossing (Highway 15)

• The Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) designates Central Surrey as the region’s 2nd metropolitan core after Downtown Vancouver and the primary core South of the Fraser.
• Central Surrey is planned to absorb significant population and job growth over the coming decades, including:
  
  • 43,000 housing units by 2041
  • 49,000 jobs by 2041

• Central Surrey is rapidly transforming into a vibrant, walkable, transit-oriented downtown.
• The past decade has seen the opening of Surrey City Hall, Surrey City Centre Library, and Civic Plaza, creating a new focal heart of the city.
• A new Central Surrey Plan was adopted in 2017, covering an area of 1,400 Acres (570 Hectares) – approximately the same size as the Downtown Vancouver peninsula and twice the size of Metrotown in Burnaby.
• An update to the Surrey City Centre Plan is currently underway and expected to be completed by the summer of 2022, which sees the establishment of an office-oriented Central Business District (CBD), a review of plan-wide densities, planning around the future 140th St & Fraser Hwy SkyTrain Station, and more
• As of January 2020, there were over 65 major development applications underway within the City Centre, representing over 23,000 units and 1,500,000+ sq.ft. of retail and office space.
• The Federal Government announced plans in 2019 for a major centralized government office hub in Surrey City Centre.

• Central Surrey, Surrey, BC remains one of the most affordable areas to buy or rent a home in Metro Vancouver while also providing access to rapid transit, services, amenities, parks, and more—in a mixed-use, walkable community.
• North Surrey was listed in the Top 5 most affordable markets to purchase a condo in 2018, according to BC Business.
• Fraser Valley Real Estate Board lists the North Surrey location as having one of the highest increases in residential real estate values within the region:
  
  • 106% increase in condo values (2015-2019)
  • 96.2% increase in detached home values (2015-2019)

• Central Surrey is rapidly transforming into a vibrant, walkable, transit-oriented downtown.
• The past decade has seen the opening of Surrey City Hall, Surrey City Centre Library, and Civic Plaza, creating a new focal heart of the city.
• A new City Centre Plan was adopted in 2017, covering an area of 1,400 Acres (570 Hectares) – approximately the same size as the Downtown Vancouver peninsula and twice the size of Metrotown in Burnaby.
• An update to the Surrey City Centre Plan is currently underway and expected to be completed by the summer of 2022, which sees the establishment of an office-oriented Central Business District (CBD), a review of plan-wide densities, planning around the future 140th St & Fraser Hwy SkyTrain Station, and more
• As of January 2020, there were over 65 major development applications underway within the City Centre, representing over 23,000 units and 1,500,000+ sq.ft. of retail and office space.
• The Federal Government announced plans in 2019 for a major centralized government office hub in Surrey City Centre.

• Central Surrey is home to campuses of 2 major universities and numerous colleges, including Simon Fraser University (SFU), Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), Douglas College, Sprott Shaw College, Stenberg College, and more.
• Simon Fraser University (SFU) opened its Central City Campus in 2005 and recently opened its new Sustainable Energy & Environmental Engineering Building in 2019
• SFU’s Central Surrey campus is planned to undergo two more phases of expansion over the coming decade as part of a mixed-use redevelopment of the former North Surrey Recreation Centre site and Surrey Central Bus Loop. This expansion will see the establishment of new Health Science Innovation and Creative Technologies faculties and also bring more general study spaces, doubling the current capacity of the campus.
• In 2019 the provincial government announced that it would be investing over $17 million in SFU Surrey to establish a new Quantum Algorithms Institute, one of the first facilities of its kind focused on building quantum computing software and algorithms.

• Central Surrey is home to Surrey Memorial Hospital – the 2nd largest hospital in British Columbia and the largest hospital under the Fraser Health Authority.
• A new Health & Technology District is emerging around Surrey Memorial Hospital, consisting of a mixed-use office hub providing space for medical and professional services, research labs, start-ups, tech companies, and more, having synergies with nearby universities.

• Centre Surrey offers proximity and walking distance to numerous major parks and green spaces, including Green Timbers Urban Forest, Holland Park, Whalley Athletic Park, Tom Binnie Park, Forsyth Park, Hawthorne Park, and many smaller neighborhood parks.
• Centre Surrey is home to numerous major festivals throughout the year, including Surrey Fusion Festival, FVDED in the Park, Surrey Tree Lighting Festival, and BC’s largest Earth Day Celebration.
• Plans for a Performing Arts Centre, Interactive Art Museum, and more.