March 2012 B.C. Economic Fundamentals
- Thread starter Ally
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Seaspan expects spillover from Coast Guard contract
If you`ve taken a recent ride on the SeaBus or looked across from Vancouver to the North Shore waterfront, there`s a good chance you`ve seen one of the world`s most unusual ships.
Commercial satellite launch command ship Sea Launch is making its first appearance at Seaspan`s Vancouver Drydock since 2004, when the 22,000-tonne, 200-metre-long, 32-metre-wide Panamax-class vessel last dropped into Vancouver harbour for maintenance.
Read the full article here.
If you`ve taken a recent ride on the SeaBus or looked across from Vancouver to the North Shore waterfront, there`s a good chance you`ve seen one of the world`s most unusual ships.
Commercial satellite launch command ship Sea Launch is making its first appearance at Seaspan`s Vancouver Drydock since 2004, when the 22,000-tonne, 200-metre-long, 32-metre-wide Panamax-class vessel last dropped into Vancouver harbour for maintenance.
Read the full article here.
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Labour shortage at Mount Milligan mine pushes up development costs
Construction costs at Thompson Creek Minerals` $1.3 billion Mount Milligan copper-gold project have surged 10 to 20 per cent because of a shortage of skilled labour, Thompson Creek chief executive officer Kevin Loughrey said Tuesday.
`It is going to cost us between 10 and 20 per cent more than we originally had planned. While this is unfortunate it is, in fact, what is happening in the mining community right now. We haven`t seen any projects get done at the numbers people have projected,` Loughrey said in a telephone interview.
Read the full article here.
Construction costs at Thompson Creek Minerals` $1.3 billion Mount Milligan copper-gold project have surged 10 to 20 per cent because of a shortage of skilled labour, Thompson Creek chief executive officer Kevin Loughrey said Tuesday.
`It is going to cost us between 10 and 20 per cent more than we originally had planned. While this is unfortunate it is, in fact, what is happening in the mining community right now. We haven`t seen any projects get done at the numbers people have projected,` Loughrey said in a telephone interview.
Read the full article here.
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BC Realtor fined $258,000 for selling a home twice
A B.C. real estate agent was fined $258,000 when he unilaterally cancelled a contract to sell a home and resold it to a second buyer for a higher amount.
Hwang Soo Lee of Surrey, B.C., ended up having to compensate his first buyer for behaviour described by a judge as `high-handed and outrageous.` The lesson is that sellers who think they can change their mind and get out of a deal, should a better offer arise, must beware of the consequences.
Read the full article here.
A B.C. real estate agent was fined $258,000 when he unilaterally cancelled a contract to sell a home and resold it to a second buyer for a higher amount.
Hwang Soo Lee of Surrey, B.C., ended up having to compensate his first buyer for behaviour described by a judge as `high-handed and outrageous.` The lesson is that sellers who think they can change their mind and get out of a deal, should a better offer arise, must beware of the consequences.
Read the full article here.
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Business investment could drive BC growth
Strong business investment could be the driver of the British Columbia economy this year and next as the real estate market and government spending weaken, and consumer demand stays modest, says Craig Alexander, chief economist at TD Bank Financial Group.
Consumers have already racked up enormous amounts of debt, employment growth is only about one per cent and average hourly wages across the country have only just kept up with inflation, said Alexander, who will be speaking to the Vancouver Board of Trade on Wednesday.
Read the full article here.
Strong business investment could be the driver of the British Columbia economy this year and next as the real estate market and government spending weaken, and consumer demand stays modest, says Craig Alexander, chief economist at TD Bank Financial Group.
Consumers have already racked up enormous amounts of debt, employment growth is only about one per cent and average hourly wages across the country have only just kept up with inflation, said Alexander, who will be speaking to the Vancouver Board of Trade on Wednesday.
Read the full article here.
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20,000 workers needed to keep pace with BC's booming construction industry
British Columbia`s construction industry will need to recruit more than 20,000 workers over the next 10 years to keep pace with a projected rise in industry demand, according to a new forecast of labour supply and demand by the Construction Sector Council.
The report, released Tuesday, estimates the province`s construction workforce will grow by 11,000 positions from 2012 to 2020 ` driven mainly by mining, pipeline, industrial and utility projects in the northern region.
At the same time, about 33,200 workers spanning a variety of trades are expected to retire.
Read the full article here.
British Columbia`s construction industry will need to recruit more than 20,000 workers over the next 10 years to keep pace with a projected rise in industry demand, according to a new forecast of labour supply and demand by the Construction Sector Council.
The report, released Tuesday, estimates the province`s construction workforce will grow by 11,000 positions from 2012 to 2020 ` driven mainly by mining, pipeline, industrial and utility projects in the northern region.
At the same time, about 33,200 workers spanning a variety of trades are expected to retire.
Read the full article here.
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Northern BC companies look south for workers
Northern B.C. construction contractors were part of a group of companies that hosted a job fair in downtown Vancouver last week to attract skilled workers from the Lower Mainland.
`There was so much interest in the job fair and it was truly a great start,` said Mellissa Jaegar, the regional manager for Northern B.C. with the Skilled Trades Employment Program (STEP).
`So many people want to move up here to get a job. The official numbers are not in, but we believe there were about 950 people in attendance.`
Read the full article here.
Northern B.C. construction contractors were part of a group of companies that hosted a job fair in downtown Vancouver last week to attract skilled workers from the Lower Mainland.
`There was so much interest in the job fair and it was truly a great start,` said Mellissa Jaegar, the regional manager for Northern B.C. with the Skilled Trades Employment Program (STEP).
`So many people want to move up here to get a job. The official numbers are not in, but we believe there were about 950 people in attendance.`
Read the full article here.
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TD economist predicts moderate growth for Kelowna in 2012
Kelowna's economy is expected to grow this year.
Speaking in Kelowna Tuesday, TD Chief Economist, Craig Alexander says the city should see about 2 per cent growth and moderate job creation, with the unemployment rate going from 8 per cent to 7.5 per cent.
Alexander says the real estate market is expected to be flat in 2012.
Read the full article here.
Kelowna's economy is expected to grow this year.
Speaking in Kelowna Tuesday, TD Chief Economist, Craig Alexander says the city should see about 2 per cent growth and moderate job creation, with the unemployment rate going from 8 per cent to 7.5 per cent.
Alexander says the real estate market is expected to be flat in 2012.
Read the full article here.
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B.C. home affordability eases slightly, but remains highest in Canada: RBC
Despite registering the country`s most significant reductions in home-ownership costs in the final stretch of 2011, B.C.`s housing market remained the priciest in Canada, according to the latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report issued today by RBC Economics Research.
`Steady job creation, which spurred income gains and a further reversal of earlier significant spikes in home prices, alleviated a small amount of pressure on homebuyers in the province, but just barely,` said Robert Hogue, RBC senior economist.
Read the full article here.
Despite registering the country`s most significant reductions in home-ownership costs in the final stretch of 2011, B.C.`s housing market remained the priciest in Canada, according to the latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report issued today by RBC Economics Research.
`Steady job creation, which spurred income gains and a further reversal of earlier significant spikes in home prices, alleviated a small amount of pressure on homebuyers in the province, but just barely,` said Robert Hogue, RBC senior economist.
Read the full article here.
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Vancouver's demographic time bomb
During a lecture last fall, I asked my 200 undergraduate students to raise their hands if they believed they would someday own a home. Only about one in 10 thought they would.
My reaction at that moment was shame. I am one of the lucky ones. Born in the great baby boom glut of the '50s and '60s, I and most of my peers own a home.
But I fear this will not be the case for my students. Confronted with salaries that have stagnated for almost 20 years, they are faced with a housing market where the real cost of owning a home has increased by 300 per cent during the same time span.
Read the full article here.
During a lecture last fall, I asked my 200 undergraduate students to raise their hands if they believed they would someday own a home. Only about one in 10 thought they would.
My reaction at that moment was shame. I am one of the lucky ones. Born in the great baby boom glut of the '50s and '60s, I and most of my peers own a home.
But I fear this will not be the case for my students. Confronted with salaries that have stagnated for almost 20 years, they are faced with a housing market where the real cost of owning a home has increased by 300 per cent during the same time span.
Read the full article here.
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BC home prices forecast to drop sharply this year
B.C. home prices are headed south this year before rising slightly in 2013, according to a quarterly forecast by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The forecast average drop of four per cent - the biggest decline in the country and far steeper than the 1.1-per-cent forecast drop nationally - will bring the average price of a residential B.C. property down to $539,100 from $561,300 in 2011.
However, the average price is expected to rise 0.5 per cent to $541,800 in 2013.
Read the full article here.
B.C. home prices are headed south this year before rising slightly in 2013, according to a quarterly forecast by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The forecast average drop of four per cent - the biggest decline in the country and far steeper than the 1.1-per-cent forecast drop nationally - will bring the average price of a residential B.C. property down to $539,100 from $561,300 in 2011.
However, the average price is expected to rise 0.5 per cent to $541,800 in 2013.
Read the full article here.
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Encana partners with Mitsubishi on Montney play
It`s taken eight months, but Encana Corp. has found a new, deep-pocketed Asian partner to help it develop its tight gas assets in northeastern British Columbia`s Montney play.
In a press conference held Friday in Vancouver, Encana announced it has struck a partnership with the Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corporation. Mitsubishi will pay $2.9 billion for a 40 per cent interest in the partnership, which Encana says includes about 409,000 acres of undeveloped Montney land in its Cutbank Ridge resource play in northeastern B.C. `This brings a world-class partnership to a world-class asset,` Mike McCallister, Encana`s executive vice-president and acting vice-president of Encana`s Canadian division, said during the press conference.
Read the full article here.
It`s taken eight months, but Encana Corp. has found a new, deep-pocketed Asian partner to help it develop its tight gas assets in northeastern British Columbia`s Montney play.
In a press conference held Friday in Vancouver, Encana announced it has struck a partnership with the Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corporation. Mitsubishi will pay $2.9 billion for a 40 per cent interest in the partnership, which Encana says includes about 409,000 acres of undeveloped Montney land in its Cutbank Ridge resource play in northeastern B.C. `This brings a world-class partnership to a world-class asset,` Mike McCallister, Encana`s executive vice-president and acting vice-president of Encana`s Canadian division, said during the press conference.
Read the full article here.
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Mitsubishi to invest $2.9 billion in Ecana's Cutbank Ridge gas play
Encana Corp. announced Friday it has reached an agreement with Mitsubishi Corp. to sell a 40 per cent stake in its Cutbank Ridge gas assets in northeastern British Columbia for $2.9 billion.
Mitsubishi`s investment in the Cutbank Ridge Partnership provides Encana with the needed investment to develop and deliver natural gas to markets, the two companies said at a news conference in Richmond.
Rising demand for natural gas in Japan after last year`s Fukushima nuclear disaster were cited by Mitsubishi vice-president Junichi Iseda as one of the factors in the Japanese conglomerate`s decision to invest in B.C.
Read the full article here.
Encana Corp. announced Friday it has reached an agreement with Mitsubishi Corp. to sell a 40 per cent stake in its Cutbank Ridge gas assets in northeastern British Columbia for $2.9 billion.
Mitsubishi`s investment in the Cutbank Ridge Partnership provides Encana with the needed investment to develop and deliver natural gas to markets, the two companies said at a news conference in Richmond.
Rising demand for natural gas in Japan after last year`s Fukushima nuclear disaster were cited by Mitsubishi vice-president Junichi Iseda as one of the factors in the Japanese conglomerate`s decision to invest in B.C.
Read the full article here.
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BC gains 9,000 jobs over previous month
B.C.'s unemployment rate stayed locked at 6.9 per cent in February while gaining 9,100 jobs over the previous month, Statistics Canada said Friday.
The increase in employment was matched by an expansion of the labour pool, as more people sought work.
Full time employment increased by nearly 22,000 jobs, but that surge was tempered by a loss of roughly 13,000 part time positions ` a reversal from what happened in January.
Read the full article here.
B.C.'s unemployment rate stayed locked at 6.9 per cent in February while gaining 9,100 jobs over the previous month, Statistics Canada said Friday.
The increase in employment was matched by an expansion of the labour pool, as more people sought work.
Full time employment increased by nearly 22,000 jobs, but that surge was tempered by a loss of roughly 13,000 part time positions ` a reversal from what happened in January.
Read the full article here.
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House prices drive away employees in Vancouver
The house-price blues have claimed two of Randy Wong's mechanics. Over the past year, Greater Vancouver housing costs have driven two mechanics at Wong's auto repair shop in Burnaby to move to cheaper parts of northern B.C. and Alberta.
Wong, who employs 17 people at Goodyear Ultimate Source Automotive on Lougheed Highway, says the region's housing costs make it hard to find and keep good people behind the counter and beneath the hood.
Read the full article here.
The house-price blues have claimed two of Randy Wong's mechanics. Over the past year, Greater Vancouver housing costs have driven two mechanics at Wong's auto repair shop in Burnaby to move to cheaper parts of northern B.C. and Alberta.
Wong, who employs 17 people at Goodyear Ultimate Source Automotive on Lougheed Highway, says the region's housing costs make it hard to find and keep good people behind the counter and beneath the hood.
Read the full article here.
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Vancouver East Side real estate market heats up
According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), MLS home sales last month were up more than 60 per cent from January. Not surprisingly, they were down nearly 18 per cent from last February, when the market was smoking hot. Overall, the market is balanced as we move into what is traditionally the busiest part of the year.
REBGV president Rosario Setticasi summed it up saying, "Region-wide we've seen relative stability in home prices over the last six months, but it's important to do your homework and consult your realtor because pricing can vary considerably depending on the neighbourhood and property type."
Read the full article here.
According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), MLS home sales last month were up more than 60 per cent from January. Not surprisingly, they were down nearly 18 per cent from last February, when the market was smoking hot. Overall, the market is balanced as we move into what is traditionally the busiest part of the year.
REBGV president Rosario Setticasi summed it up saying, "Region-wide we've seen relative stability in home prices over the last six months, but it's important to do your homework and consult your realtor because pricing can vary considerably depending on the neighbourhood and property type."
Read the full article here.
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Region doesn't share BC job growth, figures show
B.C.`s labour minister pointed Friday to the creation of thousands more jobs in the province last month, even as the employment rate remained static and the rest of Canada lost ground.
`We had over 9,000 jobs added to the economy in the last month, and within the last year, about 40,000 jobs were added to the economy,` Margaret MacDiarmid said in a media conference call.
Job statistics for the southern Interior suggest this region isn`t benefiting from the economic rebound, though.
`That`s true, and specifically in the Thompson-Okanagan, what it`s showing is a job loss since January.`
Read the full article here.
B.C.`s labour minister pointed Friday to the creation of thousands more jobs in the province last month, even as the employment rate remained static and the rest of Canada lost ground.
`We had over 9,000 jobs added to the economy in the last month, and within the last year, about 40,000 jobs were added to the economy,` Margaret MacDiarmid said in a media conference call.
Job statistics for the southern Interior suggest this region isn`t benefiting from the economic rebound, though.
`That`s true, and specifically in the Thompson-Okanagan, what it`s showing is a job loss since January.`
Read the full article here.
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Victoria area adds 6,100 jobs in one month
Greater Victoria's job market powered up in February with 6,100 new positions, a surge that cut the unemployment rate to 5.3 per cent, from 5.7 per cent in January.
The capital region accounted for two-thirds of the gain in the province's jobs last month, according to Statistics Canada's labour market report released Friday.
B.C.'s unemployment rate was unchanged in February from January, remaining at 6.9 per cent, but it gained 9,100 jobs month to month, matching a rising labour pool.
Read the full article here.
Greater Victoria's job market powered up in February with 6,100 new positions, a surge that cut the unemployment rate to 5.3 per cent, from 5.7 per cent in January.
The capital region accounted for two-thirds of the gain in the province's jobs last month, according to Statistics Canada's labour market report released Friday.
B.C.'s unemployment rate was unchanged in February from January, remaining at 6.9 per cent, but it gained 9,100 jobs month to month, matching a rising labour pool.
Read the full article here.
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Transition measures support new homebuyers, builders
New housing transition measures give certainty to an important economic sector and help to keep taxes equitable throughout the transition as the province returns to the PST, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon announced today.
B.C. will return to the PST on April 1, 2013, meeting the Province`s commitment to return to the PST as quickly and responsibly as possible, while ensuring businesses can plan their training and systems switch-over effectively to apply the sales tax correctly.
Government is announcing new relief measures that will benefit purchasers and builders of new homes. The B.C. new housing rebate threshold will be increased to $850,000, effective April 1, 2012, meaning more than 90 per cent of newly built homes will now be eligible for a provincial HST rebate of up to $42,500. It is important to note that the HST does not apply to resale housing.
Read the full article here.
New housing transition measures give certainty to an important economic sector and help to keep taxes equitable throughout the transition as the province returns to the PST, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon announced today.
B.C. will return to the PST on April 1, 2013, meeting the Province`s commitment to return to the PST as quickly and responsibly as possible, while ensuring businesses can plan their training and systems switch-over effectively to apply the sales tax correctly.
Government is announcing new relief measures that will benefit purchasers and builders of new homes. The B.C. new housing rebate threshold will be increased to $850,000, effective April 1, 2012, meaning more than 90 per cent of newly built homes will now be eligible for a provincial HST rebate of up to $42,500. It is important to note that the HST does not apply to resale housing.
Read the full article here.
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10 things to love about a rather "New" Westminster
Just over a decade ago my wife and I decided to leave Vancouver and move out to New Westminster. We found a well-priced heritage home built in 1911 that needed a bit of TLC`and the rest is history.
I readily admit to having a number of misgivings about giving up my Vancouver postal code in exchange for a Royal City address. Back then there were countless stories on the 6 o'clock news about drug deals near the SkyTrain stations and a community in decay.
If you visited British Columbia's former capital today, it's clear that something is changing. Not long ago the downtown core was once a wasteland of brides-to-be frequenting one of the many bridal salons along Columbia Street catering to their every need. While many of those shops remain, they have been joined by new coffee shops, restaurants, art galleries and other interesting enterprises.
Read the full article here.
Just over a decade ago my wife and I decided to leave Vancouver and move out to New Westminster. We found a well-priced heritage home built in 1911 that needed a bit of TLC`and the rest is history.
I readily admit to having a number of misgivings about giving up my Vancouver postal code in exchange for a Royal City address. Back then there were countless stories on the 6 o'clock news about drug deals near the SkyTrain stations and a community in decay.
If you visited British Columbia's former capital today, it's clear that something is changing. Not long ago the downtown core was once a wasteland of brides-to-be frequenting one of the many bridal salons along Columbia Street catering to their every need. While many of those shops remain, they have been joined by new coffee shops, restaurants, art galleries and other interesting enterprises.
Read the full article here.