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September 2013 BC Economic Fundamentals

Amber

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Condo owners face selling Snare



Lack of complete permits could affect thousands of B.C. residents






A B.C. condo owners association will petition municipalities to adopt a new measure to ensure owners don't get caught with incomplete occupancy permits that can undermine their ability to sell.






The change is a simple one: it would require municipalities to notify strata corporations within the first year of occupancy whether the permit is complete, says Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condo Home Owners Association of B.C. If the requirements under the permit have not been met, a strata corporation will have an opportunity to file legal action while developer bonding is still in place. That will ensure there is money that can be used to complete work needed to get the occupancy permit, said Gioventu.






The issue was raised this month when residents at a Surrey condominium complex discovered they couldn't sell their units because the site didn't have a final occupancy permit.



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No bugs, rats or shared beds Students try to stretch their limited dollars in Vancouver's pricy rental market



Hannah Blazer's checklist is pretty straightforward. "No bugs, rats, mould, disrepair, crumbling ceilings."


For the 24-year-old who starts classes at Langara College next week, cleanliness and safety are the biggest dealbreakers. But her budget, $500 to $600, puts her perilously close to living in a pit.






"You really can't find anything cheaper that isn't a shithole," she says.






In the last few weeks she's seen at least 20 places. "That's just the people that get back to you and the place is still available."






Blazer is just one of the nearly 300,000 post-secondary students who will be hitting the books this fall in the Lower Mainland. For those that haven't snagged a spot in residence or, like Blazer, choose to live off-campus, the quest for affordable housing in Metro Vancouver can be daunting.



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Northwest B.C. economy surging on big-ticket natural resource projects







Billions of dollars of industrial projects planned, or already under constructio
n




Northwest B.C. boasts it has a slate of prospective industrial projects totalling $60 billion.






While that may be more salesmanship than reality, there is little doubt a collection of mining, power, transportation and potential liquefied natural gas projects is priming the economy in a region that until a few years ago had lived through an unsettling decade in which its major forestry manufacturing plants shut down.






Among the casualties were sawmills in Terrace and Hazelton, a linerboard plant in Kitimat, and a pulp mill in Prince Rupert.






The economic resurgence started with Rio Tinto`s announcement in 2011 that it was moving ahead with a $2.7-billion modernization of its aluminum smelter in Kitimat. That secured 1,000 permanent jobs, and has provided more than 2,000 construction jobs at its peak.





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New container inspection facilities for BC




DELTA, British Columbia`Canada`s largest container terminal will be part of a multimillion-dollar expansion to include new facilities for inspection of offshore cargo arriving at two Vancouver-area ports.






Besides the Roberts Bank coal terminal at the Deltaport causeway on First Nations land in Delta, British Columbia, Port Metro Vancouver will also build a new inspection facility at its Burrard Inlet terminal in Vancouver.






The $106 million project will include nearly $50 million from the federal government.






International trade minister Ed Fast said the marine container examination facilities will improve security and help to increase exports to new markets by reducing processing times.






He said the joint Canada-US cargo security strategy will facilitate the movement of shipments between Canada and its neighbour to the south, the country`s biggest trading partner.





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Mortgage rates, price dips making housing more affordable




The second quarter of 2013 saw a slight increase in affordability in Metro Vancouver, due to slight drops in interest rates and in average prices, statistical analysis provided to The Vancouver Sun shows.




Affordability improved in the Outer Metro region, but is basically unchanged for Vancouver proper, where less than 32 per cent of residents can afford to buy a home in the city.





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Industry predicts bright future for B.C. coal




Coal, unloved by environmentalists and battered by a global market glut that has ravaged corporate profits, is still likely to see its production and exports double from Western Canada over the next decade.




`Western Canada produces mainly metallurgical coal for the steel industry and it`s got a lot of things going for it,` said Gerard McCloskey, moderator for the Coal Association of Canada`s annual conference that is in Vancouver this week.





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Metro housing market depends on strong resource economy





There is a political conversation that currently exists among local government, and some provincial politicians, on the direction of British Columbia's future economic growth. In this conversation, the importance of resource industries is often neglected in favour of what is viewed as the more "sustainable" industries such as tourism, film and hightech.






While each of these industries are exceptionally important, this political favouritism tends to ignore the continued social and economic importance of more "traditional" industries. A strong diversity of industry in the province, including extractive industries and more urban-focused industries such as high-tech, are inherently also connected with the fundamentals of a strong Vancouver housing market.




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BC home sales continue to surge




VANCOUVER ` After staying out of the housing market for most of last year waiting for home prices to drop, homebuyers appear to be rushing back to lock in low mortgage rates, according to the British Columbia Real Estate Association.




The association recorded a 29-per-cent increase in home sales across the province in August, with 6,863 transactions cleared through the Multiple Listing Service compared with 5,337 in the same month a year ago.





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Kamloops real estate on rebound, stats show




Real estate figures released Monday offered long-awaited reassurance that there is substance behind the economic rebound, even if results for Kamloops are mixed.




`It`s been fairly active, more than last year for sure,` said Ingrid Pfeiffer, vice-president of Kamloops and District Real Estate Association. `The market has been quite brisk with sales activity.`





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Harper government helps manufacturers create jobs and growth in Richmond






RICHMOND, BC, Sept. 18, 2013 /CNW/ ` The Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors), today participated in a cross-country series of events led by the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, highlighting the Government`s support for Canadian manufacturers to create jobs and growth, both at the national and local levels.




Minister Wong spoke at VanGear in Richmond, British Columbia, to highlight the local benefits of the temporary accelerated capital cost allowance, as did her colleagues at manufacturing facilities in Winnipeg; Calgary; and Brampton, Ontario.





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