July 2014 Canadian Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Surprisingly strong loonie spoiling Bank of Canada's best laid plans for economy





OTTAWA ` With the resurgent loonie spoiling the Bank of Canada`s best laid plans, has the time come for governor Stephen Poloz to take off the kid gloves?





The re-emergence of a muscular Canadian currency from as weak as 88.66 cents US in late March to about 94 cents US at the beginning of July may not seem ground-shifting given that not so long ago the loonie hovered around parity, but it is an anathema to what the central bank has been trying to achieve economically.





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[Ally]

Building permits zoom ahead by 13.8% in May





The value of Canadian building permits shot up by 13.8 percent in May from April, the fastest rate since July 2013, led by commercial buildings, and industrial and residential structures also registered substantial increases, Statistics Canada data indicated on Monday.





The increase far exceeded even the most bullish forecast of a 5.0 percent rise in a Reuters survey of analysts. The median forecast was for a 3.0 percent gain.





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[Ally]

Low rates keeping housing sales, prices healthy





TORONTO ` Canada's housing market will continue to stay hot for the rest of the year, with home prices expected to rise on low interest rates and increased demand, says a report by TD Economics.





The bank upgraded its forecast for the real estate sector Thursday, predicting that home prices will gain an average of five to six per cent by the end of 2014.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadians taking on less real estate debt





OTTAWA -- The Royal Bank says Canadians have been slowing down the amount of debt they are taking on to buy real estate, easing concerns about household vulnerability.





The RBC paper notes that overall household debt accumulation remained flatlined at 4.2 per cent growth in May, about the same level as the previous three months.







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[Ally]

Canadian property prices set to increase 5.7% this year but flat in 2015





The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has updated its forecast for home sales activity and prices for 2014 and 2015.





Little is expected to change on the sales front but nationally average home prices are expected to increase by 5.7% in 2014 but by such 0.7% in 2015.





The CREA report says that an extraordinarily bleak winter resulted in slow start to 2014 national sales activity. As the first quarter ended, sales momentum heading into spring was constrained by a continuing shortage of listings in a number of local markets. However, the rise in newly listed properties in April and May supported an increase in sales activity.





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[Ally]

Luxury home sales on the rise in Canada's largest metropolitan markets





VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jul 8, 2014) - In a report released today by Sotheby's International Realty Canada, high-end residential real estate sales in Canada's key metropolitan centres continued to make strides in the first half of 2014.










Building on momentum from the latter half of 2013, home sales over $1 million showed a positive upward trend in the first half of 2014, with all major markets experiencing year-over-year growth of 34% (Vancouver), 17% (Calgary), 34% (Greater Toronto Area) and 11% (Montreal) respectively. Based on these gains, it appears the removal of Canada's Immigrant Investor Program has had no impact on the luxury real estate market year-to-date. Additionally, momentum is expected to continue throughout the year given strong economic fundamentals, increased consumer confidence and mortgage lending rates that remain at historical lows.





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[Ally]

Economists see slower pace of housing construction





Two reports this week may help ease concerns of overbuilding in Canada`s housing market.





First, Statistics Canada on Monday releases its report on building permits issued across the country, which BMO Nesbitt Burns forecasts will show an increase of 3 per cent in May, compared with April`s 1.1 per cent. But the May number is expected to be driven by permits for non-residential construction.





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[Ally]

Even economists say they continued to be surprised by Canada's housing market





Record low interest rates have have forced Toronto-Dominion Bank to boost its forecast for the Canadian housing sector.





Economist Diana Petramala said in an economic report that TD`s forecast in January was banking on an increase in interest rates that has not materialized.





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[Ally]

High-end homes still in hot demand, says Sotheby's





OTTAWA -- Canada's housing market may be cooling, but there's no loss of appetite for high-end real estate, according to Sotheby's.





The realtor says in a new report that sales of homes worth more than $1 million boomed in the first half of 2014, with all four key metropolitan areas covered -- Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal -- recording double-digit gains.










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[Ally]

Luxury housing in Canada booms on foreign demand





Demand for high-end real estate in Canada continues to rise as low mortgage rates and international buyers spur demand and boost prices for million-dollar homes.





Sales of houses valued at $1 million and more in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal climbed 32 percent in the first six months this year over the same period in 2013, according to a report released today by Sotheby`s International Realty Canada. Toronto, the country`s largest city, and Vancouver, the city with the highest selling price, each had a 34 jump in sales of the luxury homes.





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[Ally]

Canadian jobs to remain ugly everywhere east of Manitoba





In a new report on Canada`s provinces today, Toronto-Dominion Bank forecasts that unemployment levels will remain above 7 per cent in central and Atlantic Canada until at least through 2015. And in some provinces, far above that mark.





Here`s what economists Derek Burleton and Jonathan Bendiner project: Jobless rates of 6.3 per cent and 6.1 per cent this year and next, respectively, in British Columbia, 4.4 per cent and 4.2 per cent in Alberta, 4.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent in Saskatchewan, and 5.4 per cent and 5.1 per cent in Manitoba.





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[Ally]

GE, Suncor deals could help reduce oil sands emissions





GE and Suncor Energy Inc. have signed two deals` that could lead to spending $18-million on technology to cut greenhouse gas emissions and water use in the oil sands as criticism of industry operations intensifies.





The moves involve other companies that are members of Canada`s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, `an environmental technology sharing initiative.





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[Ally]

Price surges in Canada's biggest cities mask an otherwise temperate national market





TORONTO, July 9, 2014 /CNW/ - With the harsh winter now a fading memory, the average price of a home in Canada increased between 3.9 and 5.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2014. Prices are expected to increase steadily for the balance of the year, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast released today.





According to the survey, price increases were posted across housing types, with detached bungalows seeing the highest year-over-year gains, rising 5.2 per cent to an average price of $406,454. Meanwhile, standard two-storey homes rose 5.1 per cent year-over-year to $440,972, while standard condominiums posted gains of 3.9 per cent to $258,501.





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[Ally]

Local real estate boards give a hint of surging housing market





Canada`s housing market is again proving to be hotter than economists expected.





The latest data on sales of existing homes across the country will be released by the Canadian Real Estate Board next week. But a number of local real estate boards have made their statistics available in recent days and the picture they paint is generally one of strength, especially in the highly-populated markets of Toronto and Vancouver.





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[Ally]

Edmonton CEOs praise their experience in manual labour and McJobs





EDMONTON - Like most baby boomers, I worked at lots of menial jobs while I was a high school and university student.





I stocked shelves at a paint store, worked at an auto assembly plant, at a summer camp for inner-city kids, and as an office clerk at a trucking company.





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[Ally]

Canadian housing market to remain hot in 2014





Canada`s housing market will continue to stay hot for the rest of the year, with home prices expected to rise on low interest rates and increased demand, says a report by TD Economics.





The bank upgraded its forecast for the real estate sector recently, predicting that home prices will gain an average of five to six per cent by the end of 2014.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadian housing starts unexpectedly rise in June





TORONTO ` Canadian housing starts rose in June, bucking expectations for a modest slowdown in the month and suggesting the building sector added to economic growth in the second quarter after a brutal winter, data released on Wednesday showed.





A report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp showed the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of housing starts rose to 198,185 last month from a downwardly revised 196,993 units in May.





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[Ally]

Unemployment rates for selected Canadian cities in the month of June





OTTAWA ` The national unemployment rate was 7.1 per cent in June. Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month average unemployment for major cities but cautions the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. (Previous month in brackets.)





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[Ally]

Following the money funding Canada's anti-oil movement





Albertan oil has the potential to contribute more than $2 trillion to the national economy over the next 25 years, about $84 billion per year, according to the Canadian Energy Research Institute. Realizing this unparalleled opportunity requires broad-based, public support for pipeline and infrastructure projects that are essential for getting landlocked crude to global markets. For Canada, there is no single economic issue that is more important.





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[Ally]

Canada's unemployment rate rises to 7.1%, the highest in 6 months





OTTAWA ` The economy`s capacity to generate meaningful job growth continued to fall short of expectations last month ` particularly in Ontario ` as employment fell by 9,400 nationally and by 33,900 in the country`s most populous province.





Meanwhile, the official unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a point to 7.1 per cent, the highest it`s been in six months.





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