February 2010

[Ally]

Industry bounces back as lumber prices spike sharply

After three years of deep losses, the B.C. lumber industry is bouncing back with a bang, and mills that survived the deepest recession in memory are making money from two-by-fours for the first time since 2007.

Lumber prices are spiking sharply upward in the U.S. as sawmill curtailments, largely from producers in this province, are finally tightening the supply of lumber heading into the still-fragile U.S. housing market.

"There`s been a dramatic turnaround but it`s taken more than two years," said John Allan, president of the B.C. Council of Forest Industries.

The mill curtailments have finally "bitten," Allan said, tightening the lumber pipeline to the United States.

Companies remain cautious. There is an overhang of foreclosed homes in the U.S. to come on the market and new-home construction remains weak.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Mayor`s laneway-home championship not echoed at City Hall

Have you ever noticed that some elected officials and the funding sources of their pet projects occasionally claim -to great fanfare -that they are the first to accomplish something, even though someone else has already accomplished the same thing?

Last week, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson was among federal officials and project partners who presided at the unveiling of West House, a 610-square-foot demonstration laneway house located temporarily at Vancouver House, part of the LiveCity site in Yaletown. The builder was Vancouver-based Smallworks, a longtime and respected proponent of laneway housing.

"Today we open the door to the future of eco-friendly construction and design," said a beaming Robertson at the obligatory ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The news release from Western Economic Diversification Canada -the folks who cut the largest cheque for West House -noted the laneway house features a combined living/dining/ kitchen area, bathroom, loft bedroom and a garage with electric carcharging outlet. The home has solar collectors and showcases clean energy and B.C. technology.

The release boasted the exhibit is Vancouver`s first completed laneway house. Oh, really?

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Asian giant takes a look at Mackenzie pulp mill

Rising commodity prices are spurring new interest by Asian forestry giant Sinar Mas in the shuttered Mackenzie pulp mill.

Tanner Elton, who heads the Mackenzie Pulp Mill Development Corp., said Wednesday that talks are taking place with Sinar Mas, the parent company of Asia Pulp & Paper, to purchase the pulp mill.

Elton said there is no deal at this point and that a number of obstacles have yet to be resolved, primarily long-term access to fibre, but that better prices for both pulp and lumber are attracting investor interest in the mill.

"Until the deal is done, it ain`t done," he said in an interview. "But there have been a number of positives in the industry that would suggest [a deal] is more likely than not."

He said those positives are the prices of pulp and lumber.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Lumber back as B.C.`s hot commodity

After three years of deep losses, the B.C. lumber industry is bouncing back with a bang and mills that survived the deepest recession in memory are making money from two-by-fours for the first time since 2007.

Lumber prices are spiking sharply upward in the U.S. as sawmill curtailments, largely from producers in this province, are finally tightening the supply of lumber heading into the still-fragile United States housing market.

"There`s been a dramatic turnaround but it`s taken more than two years," said John Allan, president of the B.C. Council of Forest Industries.

The mill curtailments have finally "bitten," Allan said, tightening the lumber pipeline to the United States.

Companies remain cautious; there is still an overhang of foreclosed homes in the U.S. yet to come on the market - the so-called "second wave" - and new home construction remains weak.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

HST, mortgage rules pushing sales

With new mortgage rules, a new harmonized sales tax in some provinces and the possibility of higher interest rates set to kick in this summer, home buyers are on a tear that is likely to keep markets busy leading to this summer, according to the Re/Max Market Trends Report 2010 released Wednesday.

The report, which examined real estate trends in 16 markets across the country, found that unusually strong activity in January -- traditionally one of the quietest months of the year -- has led to a sharp decline in active listings in 81 per cent of markets surveyed. Too many buyers and not enough homes will probably be the problem, according to the report.

Markets experiencing the tightest inventory levels include Toronto (down 41 per cent), Kitchener-Waterloo (down 33 per cent), Ottawa (down 30 per cent), Victoria (down 30 per cent) and Metro Vancouver (down 27 per cent), which also had some of the highest year-over-year sales gains.

The highest year-over-year sales gains were reported in Metro Vancouver (152 per cent), Kelowna (121 per cent), Greater Toronto (87 per cent), Victoria (69 per cent), Hamilton-Burlington (58 per cent), London-St. Thomas (55 per cent) and Calgary (47 per cent), the report said.

However, those figures for Metro Vancouver represented a slowing in sales in January when compared to the overheated final quarter of 2009, Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association, said in an interview.

Read the full article here.