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March 2013 B.C. Economic Fundamentals

Ally

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Easing BC fears about the Northern Gateway




The Harper government is pulling out all the stops in an environmental push to help Alberta clear the way for the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline to Kitimat, BC.




Opposition to Northern Gateway, needed to get oil sands crude to asian markets, led by BC Premier Christy Clark has all but stopped the pipeline on the drawing board. Today, the Harper government will announce creation of a "world class" oil spill prevention program. Ottawa hopes establishing a system to address tanker safety, especially on the northern BC coast, will meet some of Premier Clark's demands.





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Tips and tricks to help first time homebuyers




Did you know that two out of three Canadian families own a house? That is one of the highest rates of home ownership in the world. And for good reason . Real estate is a great investment.




And with increasing housing prices, it's all the more important for first-time buyers to get a foot on the first rung of the property ladder. If you want to make it big, about 80 per cent of millionaires made their first million in real estate!





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A conversation with Surrey City Development Corporation's president





Today we`re buzzing with Jim Cox, president and CEO of Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC), a development company wholly owned by the City of Surrey.



Jim has had nearly a 40-year career in the real estate and development industry, including stints with BCR Properties, Vancity Enterprises, the Port of Vancouver, Moodie Consultants and Marathon Realty where he was involved in the massive redevelopment of Vancouver`s waterfront near Stanley Park in the 1990s.





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Record set for commercial real estate investment in BC




A record level investment of $2.35 billion was made in commercial real estate in B.C. in 2012, according to a new Avison Young (AY) report.










Investors seeking safe havens from political and economic uncertainty elsewhere in the world is cited as one of the driving forces behind the $2.35 billion in sales in 2012.





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Little chance of correction in the Vancouver real estate market





VANCOUVER, BC, Mar. 18, 2013/ Troy Media/ ` Will the Vancouver housing market crash? Should I be waiting for a major drop in prices before buying a home in Vancouver? Should I sell my Vancouver home, rent for a while and then be able to buy an equivalent home for a lot less money? The answer to all of them is a resounding NO.



First let me clarify that I am using `Vancouver` as the greater Vancouver area, sometimes referred to as Metro. Second, a crash is a large and sudden price decline where prices do not recover to previous levels in the short to medium term. Housing prices did crash in the 1980`s but a major difference is that at that time many homes had been bought by speculators on very small margins and interest rates soared well into double digit levels.





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PST will make the purchase of pricier homes cheaper




Most B.C. residents will reap no tax savings if they postpone buying a home until the provincial government officially eliminates the harmonized sales tax and reinstitutes a provincial sales tax (PST) on April 1.










Homebuilders are hammering away at this message in an attempt to eliminate confusion among consumers, who wrongly believe that they will save tax if they wait to buy a new home.





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B.C. should seriously consider David Black's proposed Kitimat oil refinery





CALGARY, Alberta ` A new refinery planned to refine Canadian oil sands crude sent to a Pacific port by Enbridge Inc`s controversial Northern Gateway pipeline would be economically viable and should be seriously considered by British Columbia, according to a new report.




The report, carried out by Navigant Consulting for the government of British Columbia, said the refinery could be built at a cost of $13-billion, well below the $16-billion price tag placed on the project by David Black, the press baron backing the concept.





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How does foreign ownership impact Vancouver housing costs?




This is one of the hot questions that will be explored at Simon Fraser University this Wednesday, March 20th, between 7 and 9 p.m.




Here`s another question: What are the facts regarding foreign ownership in Metro Vancouver`s expensive housing market? It`s harder to find out that one would expect





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Surrey eyes federal budget dollars for infrastructure as funding source for light rail



Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts is hoping some of the billions of federal dollars earmarked in Thursday`s budget to help provinces and communities meet water, transportation and other infrastructure needs will go toward building a light rail system in her city.





`I haven`t drilled down on all of the details. We`ll get down through that over the next number of days as we do an analysis of the budget, but certainly we will be looking to that (federal) fund for infrastructure dollars for light rail,` Watts said.




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PCL picked to build largest wood building in Prince George




PRINCE GEORGE - Work will begin in the next few weeks on the tallest wood building in North America as the winning bidder to construct the long-awaited Wood Innovation and Design Centre was announced Friday.




With the project first announced in the February 2009 throne speech, Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Pat Bell expressed relief at seeing the proposal now so close to going ahead.



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Kitimat attracts attention as B.C.'s next potential boom town




VANCOUVER ` These days, when the phone rings at ReMax Kitimat Realty, there`s a good chance there`s an Albertan on the line.




Cited by Census Canada in 2007 as the community with the greatest population decline in Canada, the coastal city of Kitimat is now at the forefront of B.C.`s energy boom. House prices are rising, residential assessments are up 25 to 30 per cent, and investors are noticing.



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Foreign ownership debate demands data




Fear and resentment simmer just below the surface for most Metro Vancouverites. Yet the issue that worries so many has mostly come up against public silence. Until now.




A recent survey by the respected Vancouver Foundation found three out of four Metro Vancouver residents who had an opinion agreed with the statement: "There is too much foreign ownership of real estate here."





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Sparwood vacancy rates at all-time low




If you are looking for a place to rent in Sparwood, it`s not going to be easy. The District`s vacancy rate currently sits at 2.42 per cent, the lowest ever recorded.










Every year, Sparwood`s planning department talks to local apartment owners, seniors` housing, and mobile home park managers to find out how many vacancies are available at their properties. The informal survey was conducted this year between February and March and found just 11 units in the entire community available for rent.



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How much foreign ownership in Vancouver? Media has no clue




Journalists are as clueless as everyone else about how much foreign ownership there is in Metro Vancouver real estate. They`re also revealing they know next to nothing about a related issue ` the proportion of Metro condos and houses that sit empty.




Metro Vancouver journalists have been forced to quote a variety of sources who are all over map. Those sources have said the proportion of foreign buying in Metro Vancouver ranges anywhere from less than one per cent throughout the city to 25 per cent.





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Credit union predicts housing sales will pick up in B.C., but at a snail's pace






The Central 1 Credit Union is predicting that the British Columbia housing market slump will pick up later this year but economists caution not to expect a swift recovery.




In its annual forecast released Wednesday, the credit union predicts home sales in the province will gather a bit of strength this fall and hold steady for the rest of the year, but notes a return to better days will be slow and weak.





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Most in Metro Vancouver would choose big house, big lot in the suburbs over luxury apartment




VANCOUVER - If I had a million dollars ... I`d buy you a house (And a new survey suggests I would probably buy you that house with big yard in the suburbs.)




When asked what type of housing they`d buy if given $1 million, 34 per cent of renters and property owners in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley surveyed would rather have a large house and property in a suburban setting, compared with just 12 per cent who would opt for a luxury apartment in the city, according to a Mustel Research Group poll.





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B.C. credit report suggests change in 'fiscal direction' if NDP win provincial election




VICTORIA ` The country`s largest credit agency has confirmed British Columbia`s credit rating at AA high, but the bond rating agency cautions the upcoming provincial election could mean a change in fiscal direction.




The Dominion Bond Rating Service issued a report Tuesday confirming the long- and short-term debt rating, saying all trends are stable, despite weak economic output.





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Vancouver ranks 15th of world's leading financial centres




This will come as a surprise to many, Vancouver ranked number 15 in latest edition of The Global Financial Centres Index, released yesterday. How could it be that `resort town` Vancouver could be ahead of both Montreal and Calgary and just behind Washington, D.C.? There must be more to Vancouver than just pretty scenery and great restaurants.




London, NYC, Hong Kong and Singapore and Zurich were the top five global financial centres in the world.







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