Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

SignUp Now!

June 2014 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
May 2014 housing starts in Calgary





CALGARY, ALBERTA`(Marketwired ` June 9, 2014) -
Housing starts in the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 15,776 units in May compared to 17,239 in April, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)[sup]1[/sup] of total housing starts.





`After rising consistently since July 2013, the trend in total housing starts in Calgary declined in May,` said Richard Cho, CMHC`s Senior Market Analyst for the Prairie and Territories Region. `Production of multi-family units slowed in May after reporting strong increases in the first four months of the year.`





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
May 2014 housing starts in Edmonton





EDMONTON, ALBERTA`(Marketwired ` June 9, 2014) -
Housing starts in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 12,824 units in May compared to 12,623 in April, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)[sup]1[/sup] of total housing starts.





`The trend in total housing starts moved slightly higher in May as a declining trend in single-detached starts was countered by an increased pace of multi-family units. The trend has been relatively stable in the first five months of 2014, but is down from the elevated levels reached in mid-2013,` said Christina Butchart, CMHC`s Senior Market Analyst for Edmonton.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Booming Alberta expected to fuel bulk of Canadian job gains over the next two years





OTTAWA ` The Royal Bank says most of Canada will experience stronger economic growth this year and next, but only Alberta will see the kind of gains that will make a real impact on job creation.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Iraq's second-largest city falls to insurgents, threatening oil sector





OPEC`s second largest oil producer is in severe disarray just as the world has come to rely upon Iraq for greater energy supplies.





Iraq is facing its biggest security threat in years following a surprise attack by Sunni militants on Mosul. In the June 10 attack on Iraq`s second largest city, members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) surprised Iraq`s security forces, driving them out and storming military bases, police stations and the provincial governor`s headquarters.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Calgary's housing market making a dramatic comeback





The Calgary housing market is so hot that an economist reported Tuesday that only 15 condominiums in the city remained built and unsold last month.





It`s been a dramatic comeback for the oilpatch`s housing market which saw prices peak in 2007 with that high only recently reached again.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta economic growth forecast to lead other provinces





CALGARY - Alberta`s economy is in a class by itself and head and shoulders above the other provinces, says a new report released Wednesday by RBC Economics.





The Provincial Outlook said strong gains in various sectors will propel Alberta`s economy to the top of provincial growth rankings in 2014 with real GDP growth of 3.7 per cent - the same rate of growth the province experienced in 2013.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Average rent rises 5.5% in Calgary as vacancy rate remains low





CALGARY - The tight rental market in Alberta`s urban centres has eased this year but the overall vacancy rate still remains low.





The Spring Rental Market survey, released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. on Wednesday, said the rental apartment vacancy rate was 1.8 per cent in April compared with 1.5 per cent in April 2013.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Calgarians snapping up condos in extremely tight housing market





Buyers in Calgary`s housing market are contending with a limited supply of new homes.





`Thinking of moving to Calgary`s red hot, job-spinning economy and settling right into a brand spanking new home?` asks Bank of Montreal economist Sal Guatieri. `Good luck. The available supply of completed new units dropped below 500 for only the third time on record (back to 1992) in April, and only 15 new condos were on the market.`





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
BMO on Canada's economy: 'There's Alberta, then there's everyone else'





As Bank of Montreal puts it, there`s Alberta and then the ROC where the economy`s concerned.





Everyone knows that the province`s economy is on fire, and that`s its forecast to stay that way, but BMO economists today have fresh numbers to back up a research note titled `There`s Alberta, then there`s everyone else.`





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
No more neighbourhoods of single-family homes? Changing Edmonton residential zoning to stir debate





EDMONTON - There`s a statistic that Coun. Michael Walters likes to mention as he talks about the need for more housing units in core neighbourhoods.





`Since 1971, our mature neighbourhoods have lost 114,000 people under the age of 40,` he said. `If we think about the kinds of population and density we need in older neighbourhoods for them to be sustainable, then we have to start looking at ways of making it easier for the development community, builders, and buyers to be successful in mature neighbourhoods.`





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
St. Albert real estate market strong





In May, St. Albert and Sherwood Park were the most active and costly cities for residential sales in the Edmonton census metropolitan area, the Realtors Association of Edmonton reported in their monthly housing bulletin.





The two communities respectively sold 103 and 102 single-family homes, representing about 14 per cent of all sales in the region.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Spring 2014 Alberta rental market





CALGARY, ALBERTA`(Marketwired ` June 11, 2014) -
The rental apartment vacancy rate(1) in Alberta`s urban centres(2) was 1.8 per cent in April 2014 compared to 1.5 per cent in April 2013, according to the Spring Rental Market survey released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.





`Rising demand in recent years has encouraged new rental construction in Alberta, which has added to the supply of rental apartments. These additions helped to offset increased rental demand through net migration, resulting in a stable vacancy rate in April 2014,` said Lai Sing Louie, Regional Economist for the Prairie and Territories Region.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Potential homebuyers to sign written service agreements with realtors





CALGARY - The Real Estate Council of Alberta is introducing a new regulation that will affect how consumers buy homes through a licenced real estate professional in the province.





Effective July 1, consumers who are buying or selling residential property and are clients of Alberta real estate professionals will be asked by their real estate professional to sign a written service agreement. While this has long been the standard practice for sellers of residential real estate, it will mark a significant change for buyers who have not often been asked to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement, said the council, which says the new rule will enhance consumer protection.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
New $600 million runway takes off in Calgary





There is perhaps no better way to show off the sheer size and scale of an airport runway than by inviting people to experience it on foot.





At nearly five kilometres long and over a metre thick, Calgary International Airport`s new runway requires a good 20 to 30 minutes of brisk jogging to traverse. And if you`re walking it with kids in tow ` stopping at displays and maybe grabbing a bite to eat along the way ` then getting from one end to the other can take all morning.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Oil stays steady as Iraq turmoil intensifies





The price of oil finished marginally lower Monday as fears of widening instability in Iraq, a key energy producer, were tempered by views that its oil exports would not be affected for now.





Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery closed down one cent at US$106.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after having risen as high as US$107.54.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta to post job growth this year and next





CALGARY - Alberta`s economy this year is expected to grow by more than three per cent for the fifth consecutive year, according to the Conference Board of Canada`s Provincial Outlook: Spring 2014 report released on Tuesday.





The conference board is forecasting Alberta`s economy will grow by 3.5 per cent in 2014, which is the best in the country. And the forecast is for 3.1 per cent growth in 2015 - also topping all provinces.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Development plans for Calgary North Hill Sears location





CALGARY - Sears Canada Inc. announced Monday it has entered into a binding agreement with Concord Pacific Group of Companies to pursue the development of the 12-acre Sears site at the North Hill Shopping Centre in Calgary.





Closing under the agreement is conditional upon satisfaction of conditions such as site investigations and obtaining the approval from the City of Calgary for the project, which are expected to take some time, said Sears in a news release.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta GDP growth expected to lead Canada





CALGARY - Alberta`s economy this year is expected to grow by more than three per cent for the fifth consecutive year, according to the Conference Board of Canada.





The conference board is forecasting Alberta`s economy will grow by 3.5 per cent in 2014, which is the best in the country. And the forecast is for 3.1 per cent growth in 2015 - also topping all provinces.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta job vacancy rate highest in Canada





CALGARY - Alberta had the highest job vacancy rate in the country in March, according to Statistics Canada.





The federal agency reported Tuesday that the province`s job vacancy rate was 2.3 per cent in March, down from 2.5 per cent in March 2013.





Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta population growth fastest in Canada





Alberta`s population continues to grow at a rate far faster than the national average. According to new estimates released this morning by Statistics Canada, the province`s population on the first day of April this year was 4,111,509. Canada`s total population was 35,427,524.






Over the last year, Alberta`s population increased by 3.25 per cent`nearly triple the national average (+1.1 per cent) and almost double that of the second-fastest growing province, Saskatchewan. British Columbia and Manitoba come in third and fourth, respectively, making the western provinces the four fastest growing populations in the country. Three of the Atlantic provinces lost population, and Ontario and Quebec continue to grow at less than 1.0 per cent annually.





Read the full article here.
 
Top Bottom