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June 2010

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Metro Vancouver apartment vacancy rate edges up

CMHC report finds slight increase in local vacancy rate


VANCOUVER - Metro Vancouver`s apartment vacancy rate edged up to 2.2 per cent in the spring more or less in step with most markets in British Columbia and Canada that saw higher apartment availability, a new report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said.

The increase, compared with 2.1 per cent last fall, represented opposing forces of higher levels of first-time home ownership and job cuts during the recession resulting in young tenants doubling up or moving back home. Both trends helped take renters out of the market, according to, Robyn Adamache, CMHC`s market analyst for Metro Vancouver.

Adamache added that an increase in the supply of rental housing — 2009 saw 915 new rental units added to the overall stock — also helped raise the vacancy rate.

And for Metro Vancouver, the rate is a far cry from recent years when apartment vacancy slipped below one per cent.

"I would hesitate to call it balanced, because we don`t have a measure of what is a balanced rental market," Adamache said in an interview.


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Home sales down, prices to remain flat in Metro Vancouver

Victoria, Metro Vancouver record sharpest sales declines


Residential home sales are down substantially in May from the same month a year ago, with Victoria and Metro Vancouver showing the sharpest drop, according to a survey released Monday by the B.C. Real Estate Association (BCREA).

Despite that, Victoria and Metro Vancouver have also seen some of the highest price increases over the 12-month period, although that trend is not expected to last.

"We`ve seen a moderation in demand since the beginning of the year," BCREA chief economist Cameron Muir said in an interview. "Home sales in the fourth quarter [of 2009] were trending on record levels and that wasn`t sustainable because a lot of the demand was pent up during the recession.

"[Metro Vancouver, Victoria and the Fraser Valley] experienced the sharpest rebound last year. As a result we`ve seen moderation in sales, more so in those markets.

"Sales have moderated, inventory has risen [and] there are tighter credit conditions. Now, conditions are tilting toward the buyer and my expectation is that prices will remain flat for the remainder of the year."

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Homeowners sell, start renting instead

Bidding wars have moved from the bungalow to the two-bedroom rental apartment.

Many homeowners who cashed out at the peak of the market are putting their money in the bank rather than investing in a new house. And as a slew of new renters look for temporary homes, they are driving up prices and engaging in bidding wars to ensure they snap up properties that are comparable to the properties they left behind.

With the real estate market cooling and the cost of mortgages expected to climb, they are sitting on their cash and hoping prices will drop before they wade back into the world of home ownership.

"There is angst among buyers who would rather rent and wait a while before jumping back in," said Cary Chapnick, president of Hive Realty Corp. in Toronto. "And then they get out there, and find that the good properties are receiving multiple offers. It`s quite a shift."

In one recent deal, a downtown Toronto two-bedroom condominium rented for $2,250 a month – 122 per cent of the $1,850 its owner had expected. A three-bedroom house went for $2,700, 110 per cent of the $2,300 listing price.

While the sudden surge in price increases are easy to quantify in Toronto where the city`s real estate board keeps track of rentals on a daily basis through its Multiple Listing Service, agents in other cities such as Vancouver have to rely on anecdotes to track prices because the information isn`t compiled.


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It`s top dollar for Vancouver two-bedroom apartments

CMHC Report: Rents leave Toronto and Calgary behind; B.C. second in overall monthly rates to Alberta


Vancouver has Canada`s highest monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

Monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in the city were $1,150 in April, ahead of Toronto`s $1,134, Calgary`s $1,082 and Ottawa`s $1,061, CMHC said Tuesday.

Alberta had the highest average monthly rents, at $1,023. B.C.`s were second-highest at $983 -- which was a decrease of $20 from April 2009.

Nationally, rental apartment vacancies in major Canadian centres rose 2.9 per cent in April, up from 2.7 per cent a year earlier, CMHC said.

"Rental construction and competition from the condominium market added upward pressure on vacancy rates and historically low mortgage rates attracted renter households towards home ownership over the last year," CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan said.

As well as the 35 major census metropolitan areas (CMAs), the report also includes average vacancies in communities of 10,000 or more. That part of the survey found the average vacancy rate in structures with three or more units rose to 3.1 per cent from 2.8 per cent in 2009, while average rent rose 1.8 per cent.

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Vancouver`s small businesses more confident than Montreal, Toronto counterparts

National survey: Optimism higher than eastern cities


VANCOUVER - Small business owners in Vancouver are significantly more confident of their prospects in the coming year than counterparts in Canada`s two other largest cities, according to a national survey released Wednesday.

"If you`re optimistic, you`re more optimistic in Vancouver than in Toronto," Eric Nielsen, vice-president and general manager, Small Business Services Canada, American Express Canada, said in an interview. "It could be a variety of reasons. The Olympics could have an impact on stimulating the economy. And Vancouver is more resource-based. Toronto is more manufacturing, which is a bit more challenged. We`ve noticed a rebound in the resource sector."

The survey of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, a segment of the quarterly American Express Small Business Monitor which measures the confidence, performance and attitudes of small business owners nationally, showed a rise in confidence in all three cities — nationally, the index hit its highest level in more than a year — with Vancouver coming out on top.

Among the results, the survey found that:

- In Vancouver, 64 per cent of respondents said they were hopeful that their business`s financial position would improve, compared with 61 per cent in Montreal and 40 per cent in Toronto.

- Of businesses predicting revenue growth in the next 12 months, Vancouver small business owners predicted growth of 40 per cent versus 24 per cent in Toronto and Montreal.

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How prices will change with the HST

See which products will go up in price, and which will stay the same, after B.C.`s HST comes into effect on July 1, 2010.

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B.C. gas auction attracts $404 million

VANCOUVER — Add Cordova Embayment to the list of British Columbia shale plays attracting big money from the natural gas exploration sector.

This week`s gas and oil rights auction attracted $404 million in bonus bids, making the June sale the fifth-largest on record — and the Cordova contributed two thirds of that.

The area sits in the extreme northeast corner of B.C., east of Horn River Basin — but sharing the same deep shale gas geology as its more famous neighbour.

Shale gas resources have ignited a resurgence in energy exploration in North America since 2008, turning the United States from net importer to net exporter of natural gas, and B.C. is considered to have some of the best potential resources on the continent.

The ministry of energy and mines reported that 21 parcels of deep rights in the Cordova dominated bidding with more than $260 million in bonus bids at prices ranging from $2,224 to $13,880 per hectare — a peak price that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.

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Chinese investors fuel population growth in B.C.

The population of Canada has surpassed 34 million, and British Columbia again has the highest rate of growth among the provinces.

According to new Statistics Canada figures, B.C.`s population grew by 16,626 people in the first four months of the year, bringing the total to 4,510,858 residents.

The largest driver of this immigration boom?

Chinese investors.

According to the B.C. government`s most current statistics, Asian immigrants made up nearly three-quarters of new arrivals to B.C. in 2009 (29,455 of 41,434).

Of these, 9,375 were Chinese, ranking China well ahead of second-place India`s 6,078 immigrants and the third-place Philippines` 4,623.

Perhaps most surprising, however, is that well over a third of these Chinese immigrants -- 3,977, to be exact -- are categorized as financial investors.

Compare this with the 101 Chinese immigrants classified as entrepreneurs.

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Buyers take control with Okanagan slow to recover; fewer Albertans are purchasing recreational property

The shine is off Okanagan real estate, with a buyer`s market returning to the sun-drenched region and some developers not only delaying projects but dropping prices sharply to promote sales.

The once-lucrative source of recreational properties for Albertans has also diminished.

"We`re definitely slower on the recovery [than Vancouver or Victoria]," Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board president Brenda Moshansky said in an interview Monday. "It`s been slow and steady coming back."

Moshansky said that while top-end properties are once again starting to sell, additional homes are also coming on the market.

"We`re seeing more listings coming on, but there`s definitely now a heavy enough inventory to create a buyer`s market. And Alberta, with their natural resource sector being slower, their discretionary spending for recreational spending has been a lot more cautious.

"People are getting much better pricing."

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B.C. economy springs back from recession

British Columbia`s economy is picking up steam, with housing prices rebounding faster and higher than expecting, more people finding work and shoppers spending as if the recession never happened.

But the province`s better-than-expected economic performance will likely not mean much this year for the fiscally strapped provincial government, which is spending $1.7-billion more than it is taking in.

Government revenues usually lag behind an economic recovery, B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen said Thursday in a brief interview.

Financial losses over the past two years will reduce corporate and personal tax bills for awhile yet. The government will not start to see increased revenue from taxes "until the red ink has worked its way through," Mr. Hansen said.

The provincial government has seen its natural-gas revenue drop significantly in recent months but other sources of revenue have increased, he also said. "On balance, we are on target," Mr. Hansen said.

In an economic update released days before the introduction of the new 12-per-cent harmonized sales tax in B.C., BMO Capital Markets says the province`s gross domestic product will grow by 3.9 per cent this year, surpassed only by potash-rich Saskatchewan with a growth rate of 4.2 per cent. Six months ago, BMO economist Doug Porter had forecast a growth rate of 3.1 per cent.

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Laneway palaces generating complaints

Laneway homes were supposed to be Vancouver`s answer to creating affordable housing and making room for new residents in old single-family neighbourhoods.

But the ornate mini-McMansions going up on some lots – complete with balconies, gables and pitched roofs almost as high as the main house – are startling residents.

"Originally my thoughts were quite positive about them," said Oliver Gilbert, a Dunbar resident who works in banking.

"I thought it would make sense for people who have a relative they wanted to house.

"But the ones that I`ve seen go up near us are changing the character of the neighbourhood.

"They are quite a bit taller than garages – some of them look almost two storeys."

Peter Selnar, a retired architect and design consultant who is Mr. Gilbert`s neighbour, has started a campaign to alert council and local residents to the size of some of the new houses, which have been replacing garages and gardens under a citywide policy approved last year. Under the policy, the houses can be rented but cannot be sold separately from the main house.

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Canadian, BC consumer confidence plunges in May

Conference Board`s index hit by labour market sentiments on west coast


OTTAWA — Consumer confidence is falling across Canada, with B.C. recording one of the sharpest drops.

That`s one of the key findings of the Conference Board of Canada`s Index of Consumer Confidence for June, which also showed the province recording a "roller coaster" ride since the start of the year as confidence levels fluctuate each month.

A separate Angus Reid Public Opinion poll, also released Tuesday, found confidence slipping across the country with a greater proportion of British Columbians believing the economy will decline over the next six months.

"Regionally, two regions were responsible for most of this month`s less-than-stellar results," the Conference Board index concluded in finding that pessimism isn`t evenly spread across the country but is centred in B.C. and Ontario.

"British Columbia continued its roller coaster ride, dropping 11.3 points [to 91.5], led by a severe drop in positive sentiment towards labour markets."

Ontario`s index fell 11.9 points to 73.9, and the Prairies moved back into top spot in consumer confidence at 98.5 despite increasing just 0.8 points. Elsewhere, Atlantic Canada saw its index rise 4.3 points to 90.8, while Quebec pushed its index up another 1.8 points to 83.

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