May 2013 Canadian Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Look out realtors, Rogers Communications wants a piece of your cut




Rogers Communications Inc. subsidiary Zoocasa plans a further incursion into the territory of organized real estate.




Zoocasa said it will roll out a new platform that will allow consumers to sign up with agents through its website and ultimately get a rebate on their commission.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadians are paying off mortgages quickly - so is Ottawa's crackdown really necessary




Canadians end up paying off their mortgages in about two-thirds of the time originally intended, according to a new survey which questions whether Ottawa`s crackdown on the real estate market is needed.





The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals predicts Toronto faces an especially big slowdown, with construction to drop off more than 50%





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Real estate site Zoocasa ads MLS listings, agent recommendations




Zoocasa, an upstart real estate company owned by Rogers Communications, has launched a revamped website that aims to compete with Realtor.ca, Canada`s dominant listings site, by presenting property listings in a more user-friendly format and connecting clients with realtors from major agencies.





Zoocasa launched the new service for the Toronto area on Wednesday and is hoping to expand it to Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton and other cities by the summer.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Ottawa's mortgage rules to hurt economy




Ottawa's last attempt to apply the brakes to the country's booming real estate market will have a dramatic negative impact in the coming years, according to a report from the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP).




The group estimates that the government-induced slowdown in the housing market will result in a 25 to 30-percent drop in housing starts in Canada over the next two years. Housing starts averaged about 205,000 units per year during 2011 and 2012, but have recently fallen to an annualized rate of 175,000, the report says.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Flaherty sees no sign of Canadian housing bubble




As far as Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is concerned, talk of a Canadian housing bubble is overdone.




With Canadian housing cooling, some prominent U.S. hedge fund investors say Canadian government policy has created a bubble in the country`s housing market that`s ripe for some short-selling.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Wow, Americans are a lot more miserable about the economy than Canadians





Canada's unemployment rate is only a smidge better than America's, and its GDP is growing slightly slower. So how come our northerly neighbors seem so much pleased with their economy?




A big new study from Pew Research Center on international attitudes toward the economy includes this head-to-head chart comparing Canadian and U.S. sentiment -- and man, does it make us look despondent. Fifty-five percent of Canadians are satisfied with their country, and 67 percent believe their economy is in good shape. Less than a third of Americans feel the same. Canadians also seem to be happier about their personal finances and less worried about rising prices, unemployment, public debt, or having enough money to pay for basic necessities.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Top 10 headaches Bank of Canada's new chief faces right off the bat




Here are new central banker`s top 10 challenges:




1) Slow economic growth: Porter says next week`s GDP data will likely show the economy picked up a bit in the first quarter, but he doesn`t expect growth for the full year to get above a `mediocre` 1.6%. That would be the slowest growth rate in the past 20 years, apart from the recession, and `barely strong enough to keep the unemployment rate in check.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Carney praises Canada, but warns of 'a tougher world'




Mark Carney is not about to reflect just yet on his legacy at the Bank of Canada through financial crisis and recession.




`It was busy. It was a very intense period for a very long period of time ` that`s the truth,` says the outgoing Bank of Canada governor.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Low interest rates keep home affordability in Canada stable




OTTAWA ` A new analysis from the Royal Bank finds home ownership in Canada remains largely affordable, even if there are signs of mild financial stress among indebted families.




The RBC says its latest affordability report shows household financial conditions relative to home ownership were relatively unchanged in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the fourth quarter of 2012.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Location, location, location - and other timeless real estate principles




They may sound like clichÃs at this point but some of the best known quotations about real estate can turn out to be true.




Some are more famous than others, some can`t even be traced to one person. But people often swear by them.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The great Canadian takeover




What's the Great Canadian Take Over? Canadian real estate investor Victor Menasce and I met through friends in New York City last week. Victor is a charming author who instantly learned of my abiding interest in Northern Ontario. And, we're into a nonstop chinwag about Canadian and American real estate.




"Almost anyone can generate wealth from real estate, regardless of how much capital you have, or where you live," Victor said. "After I spent 25 years in the Canadian telecom industry, I moved full-time into real estate investment. I'm fascinated every day as I keep learning how to amass properties in the U.S. spanning three time zones, from my office in Ontario. Bonnie, I put it all together in my best selling new book, The Great Canadian Take Over, to show others how to do it. The time is now."





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Should homebuyers be warned about a property's dark past?




Want to know if that property you`re eyeing might have been the site of a murder or suicide? Be prepared to do your own digging, real-estate experts say.




While laws and regulations require sellers and realtors to disclose physical defects of a property that may be hidden from view, there is nothing that legally requires them to disclose so-called `stigmas` attached to a property. Same goes for landlords when dealing with prospective renters.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada's outsourcing epidemic




If you had to pick one word that is pivotal in every political campaign, there`s no contest: it`s `jobs.`










Prime Minister Stephen Harper can`t open his mouth without saying `jobs, growth, prosperity.` Christy Clark won her stunning election victory chanting `jobs, jobs, jobs.` Thousands of soft NDP voters scrambled to the BC Liberals out of fear of losing their jobs, or losing their children`s jobs, or losing a chance at a better job in the future. And yet the new job market ` even if all the new projects on Premier Clark`s long wish list came true ` offers far fewer opportunities to British Columbians than it did in the past. There are three reasons for this, none of which was even mentioned in the provincial election campaign, none of which is easy to fix.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Getting real with real estate - where and when to buy





want to invest in real estate but I don't know how to get started. How do I determine what and where to buy?



Answer:




This is a very complex question, so you should consult with a variety of different people, including a realtor that focuses on investment property, an accountant, a mortgage professional, and perhaps a lawyer.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada's natural gas industry will generate $940B over 24 years and support 260,000 jobs a year



The Role of Natural Gas in Powering Canada`s Economy report examines the economic contribution that natural gas exploration, production, transportation, distribution, and consumption will make to Canada`s economy between 2012 and 2035.







Demand for Canadian natural gas will double between 2012 and 2035, driven by production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for Asian export markets and increased use of natural gas within Canada to produce electricity and to produce bitumen in the oil sands.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Carney expected to leave rate hike decision for successor





There will be no dramatic gesture from Mark Carney on Wednesday as he's likely to maintain the status quo on interest rates for his swan song as the head of the Bank of Canada.



But doing so means that Carney's repeated warnings to indebted Canadian households that the Bank of Canada is ready to hike interest rates ` making it more expensive to maintain high debt levels ` will now fall to his successor, Stephen Poloz, who takes over next month.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Maximizing the potential of Canada's newcomers




With national unemployment levels at a four-year low, a number of Canadian industries and regions are experiencing labour shortages, and they expect the problem to worsen in the years to come. A recent Canadian Chamber of Commerce report judged a lack of skilled workers in some sectors ` including construction, oil and gas, manufacturing and nursing ` as the single biggest barrier threatening Canadian competitiveness in the near future. In December, CIBC released a study claiming 30% of all Canadian businesses have trouble finding the employees they need.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Home sales expected to stabilize amid steady job growth




The Canadian housing market is calming rather than crashing, as the impact of tougher mortgage rules and cooling credit is partly offset by the supportive influence of low interest rates and continued income growth, according to a new report from BMO Economics.




`House prices have hit record highs in most regions across Canada, though the rate of appreciation has slowed,` said Sal Guatieri, Senior Economist, BMO Capital Markets.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Pipeline plans tied to west's growing clout




OTTAWA ` Canada is undergoing a seismic power shift as economic and political influence moves west, according to two recent books. And some analysts argue the muscular arms of this emerging regional force are the three proposed pipeline megaprojects that would stretch from Alberta`s vast oilsands to the Gulf of Mexico and B.C.`s coast.




Without these pipelines, Canada can`t fully tap an estimated $1.5 trillion in oilsands wealth ` the equivalent of $44,000 for every Canadian, according to University of Calgary economist Robert Mansell.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Energy trade key to Canada's economy




We are a nation whose economy is buoyed by its exports.




Resource commodities such as oil, gas, lumber, copper and coal travel beyond our borders by rail, by road, by sea, by air, and by pipeline ` supporting a large number of well-paying jobs and delivering revenue to government.





Read the full article here.