April 2012 B.C. Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Abbotsford and Langley talk partnership




The Township of Langley should seriously consider pulling out of Metro Vancouver Regional District and TransLink, and think about closer ties with Abbotsford, Mayor Jack Froese said on Wednesday.










And Abbotsford Mayor Bruce Banman would welcome a chance to discuss a partnership with his neighbour to the west.










Abbotsford has been told by the province that it cannot leave the Fraser Valley Regional District, as requested. Instead, the city was given the option to stay with the FVRD or find other communities willing to join them to create a new regional district.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Chilliwack home sales rebound in March



The number of homes sold via the MLSÂ System of the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board rose sharply in March 2012 compared to the previous month, and also came in above year-ago levels.





Home sales totalled 200 units in March 2012, rising six per cent on a year-over-year basis.





On a year-to-date basis, sales activity in the first three months of the year was trailing six per cent behind the same time in 2011.





`Demand picked back up in March following a quiet month of February,` said Cynthia Admiraal, President of the Chilliwack & District Real Estate Board. `At the same time the supply of home for sale in the marketplace continued trending down, resulting in tighter market conditions and some upward pressure on prices.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Timber shortage set to cut B.C. interior home prices





B.C.`s Interior is not a wise choice to invest in real estate because the forestry sector is set to suffer huge job losses, which will then reduce house prices, Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) president Don Campbell told Business in Vancouver Thursday.







He pointed to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations report that was leaked to media April 18 ` which said the province is running out of healthy timber because of the pine beetle infestation.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Don R. Campbell and Peter Kinch on Studio 4 with Fanny Kiefer





Real Estate Authors & Experts Peter Kinch & Don Campbell speak with Studio 4 with Host Fanny Kiefer about predictable cycles in the real estate market.





Watch the video here.

 

[Ally]

All B.C. sawmills to be inspected after latest fatal blast




The government of British Columbia said Tuesday that all sawmills in the province will be inspected, in the wake of two fatal explosions since January.




The news comes after a massive blaze triggered by an explosion at a sawmill resulted in the death of 43-year-old shift supervisor Alan Little on Monday night.




The explosion at the Lakeland Sawmill in Prince George occurred at about 9:45 p.m. local time.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Retail sales gained in February







Consumer spending picked up in February as retail activity in B.C. climbed to the highest level since October.




Retail sales volume rose for a second consecutive month, gaining 0.4 per cent from January to $5.13 billion on the strength of stronger auto and clothing sales. Meanwhile, electronics and building materials sales declined.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canfor to restart shuttered mill in Radium Hot Springs





Canfor Corp. has announced it intends to restart its sawmill at Radium Hot Springs, bringing back an estimated 340 jobs to the Columbia Valley and restoring hope in a community that has endured three hard years since the mill closed in 2009.




`It puts people back to work. It gets our businesses thriving again,` said Radium Hot Springs Mayor Dee Conklin.




Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

B.C. to reap benefits in proposed Canada-EU pact





B.C. could benefit from a proposed Canada-European Union free-trade pact, particularly the forestry, seafood, agriculture, services and investment sectors, Heritage Minister James Moore said in Vancouver Friday.




"We know that companies like this can compete and win in global markets," Moore said during a news conference at the Canadian Fishing Company.






Read the full artilce here.

 

[Ally]

Potential danger at other B.C. mills widely discussed in Burns Lake after explosion




Vinh Nguyen was half a world away, vacationing in Vietnam, when he learned B.C. had been hit by its second sawmill explosion in three months.




Mr. Nguyen had travelled to Vietnam to escape memories of the blast at the mill in Burns Lake in January. The 27-year-old was working as a security officer when the fiery explosion killed two workers. He suffered first- and second-degree burns to his face, hand and wrist. His doctor eventually cleared him to travel, and Mr. Nguyen was starting to go long stretches of time without recalling his desperate escape from the burning building.





Read the full articl here.

 

[Ally]

Pine Beetle blamed for sawmill explosions




Sawmill explosions in the B.C. Interior have thrown the province's forest industry into turmoil, raising concerns that the mountain pine beetle's damage to the sector may be entering a new and more deadly phase.




The potential for dry beetlekilled wood to pose a safety hazard comes at a time when the industry is struggling to cope with pine beetle impact.




A report released this week, prepared before the explosive dust became an issue, shows that more sawmill closings and curtailments are on the way as the wood deteriorates in quality, leading to higher operating costs.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Sky's the limit in Vancouver condo market




VANCOUVER ` There`s a deep, gaping hole in downtown Vancouver and it`s getting bigger. After nearly four years` hiatus, work crews have resumed digging. The on-again, off-again 63-storey building on busy West Georgia Street is on, again. Almost 300 condominiums, starting at $1-million each. A luxury hotel. Amenities galore. Another indication of the froth that has returned to this city`s real estate scene.




Number crunchers report that housing prices are down slightly in Vancouver this year; in Toronto, the country`s second most expensive real estate market, prices continue to rise. But economic conditions and logic don`t apply in all corners of this city.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

West Coast is no stranger to oil tankers





As Victoria residents fuss about the idea of an expanded Kinder Morgan pipeline sending 350 oil tankers sliding past their front door every year, consider this: They already have 800 going the other way.




U.S. government statistics show 548 tankers entered Juan de Fuca Strait bound for Washington state ports in 2010. Another 252 came in bound for Canada.




Now, depending on whether you're a tanker half-full or tanker-half empty kind of person, you might find those numbers either reassuring or alarming as you consider the Kinder Morgan proposal, which would increase the number and size of vessels from Vancouver.






Read the full article here.