The recent ranking of Bancroft as the top place to buy real estate will be a net positive for the town, according to Mayor Paul Jenkins
A recent MoneySense article in partnership with HSBC rated Bancroft as the best place to buy property in Canada. Jenkins notes that the article mainly uses numbers from the past year, where there has been a spike in interest in the area. But Jenkins is urging people to keep in mind that housing in the area was undervalued compared to other regions before the pandemic. However, once people discovered the Town, with its natural beauty and amenities, people did discover that the region was a good place to live.
Jenkins believes that this new interest will be a net positive for the Town, but not overnight. He says Bancroft does not have the population to sustain the services that are offered, which results in higher taxes for the average residents. With renewed interest in the Town, more residents, and as a result more taxpayers, taxes will decrease if this trend continues.
In addition, Jenkins does not believe that this will have a negative impact on the rental and housing crisis in town. With developers wanting to build new housing, openings will appear at the lower part of the housing market as the supply of housing expands. The resale price of houses now makes it profitable for new ones to be built.
However, while the interest in Bancroft is certainly a positive thing, Jenkins fears it won’t be without its growing pains. While infrastructure like healthcare is strong in the Town, ongoing traffic issues will be an issue for years to come. This is because of the geography of the town and the Connecting Links Highway funnelling cottage goers to other regions in North Hastings and beyond. However despite these issues, Jenkins still thinks that interest in the region will be a net positive for Bancroft.