April 2011 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Real estate analyst says Edmonton on the verge of a boom




EDMONTON - Edmonton is on the verge of another real estate boom, says real estate expert Don Campbell.




Robust growth in the region`s gross domestic product and labour market will set off a chain of events over the next few months that will heat up housing again, said Campbell, president of Real Estate Investment Network and the author of the best-selling 97 Tips for Canadian Real Estate Investors. (He donates his royalties to Habitat for Humanity.)




`Alberta is uniquely positioned in the world to be a stable, consistent and growing source of the four things that the world is going to need over the next decade ` food, fuel, fertilizer and forestry,` Campbell said during a stop Monday in Edmonton.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada must diversify oil markets: Enbridge





CALGARY - Amid growing calls in the United States to curb or even restrict imports of oilsands crude, a leading proponent of a new export pipeline to the West Coast said in Calgary Monday that Canada needs to reduce its reliance on a single customer or risk being held hostage to the whims of a single buyer.




`There is a risk with having one customer,` John Carruthers, the president of Enbridge Northern Gateway, told a Canadian Energy Research Institute oil conference. `There`s strong value in having market diversification.`




The proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway would open markets for Alberta`s growing oilsands production in countries such as Japan, South Korea and especially China.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Katz hits new level of arena weirdness




EDMONTON - Daryl Katz is clearly a shrewd guy. After all, you don't get to be a billionaire by making dumb mistakes.




But Katz's bumbling, fumbling approach to the proposed downtown arena project has many people scratching their heads, including me.




The Oilers owner's latest PR gaffe - a letter to Mayor Stephen Mandel, indicating that Katz is not yet willing to back a ticket tax to help fund the project - is bizarre.




As my colleague Paula Simons wrote in The Journal's Edmonton Commons blog Monday, it's a little late in the day for Katz to pour cold water on the ticket tax idea, which has been kicked around for months.




Without it, the funding model for the $450-million arena project has more holes in it than a brick of Swiss cheese.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary commercial real estate spectacular: CB Richard Ellis






CALGARY ` Leasing activity in the Calgary commercial real estate market in the first quarter of this year has been described as `spectacular` in a report by CB Richard Ellis Ltd.




First quarter overall office vacancy fell from 15.0 per cent in 2010 to 12.0 per cent in 2011.




Sublets as a percentage of vacant office space fell to 20.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 from 37.6 per cent in the same period of 2010. The industrial availability rate in Calgary also fell significantly, from 5.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 to 4.1 per cent.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Foreshadowing the real estate boom





The real estate market went from boom to bust to status quo in our city. But where are we at right now? Canadian real estate investment guru Don Campbell joins us with his views.





Listen to the audio clip here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary building permit value drops in March



CALGARY ` The estimated construction value of building permit applications in March for the City of Calgary decreased by 11 per cent to $307 million compared with a year ago.





The city, in releasing its March data on Thursday, also said it was down seven per cent compared with the five-year average of $331 million and down seven per cent compared with the 10-year average of $331 million.





But David Watson, general manager of planning, development and assessment for the city, said March was busy with 46 new projects valued over $1 million `ranging in everything from office improvements to new fire halls, manufacturing, warehousing, apartments and townhouse projects.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alpine Access virtual call centres expand operations to Calgary




CALGARY ` Alpine Access, the largest provider of virtual call centre outsourcing services in the United States, is expanding into Canada for the first time, using Calgary as its home base.




The move will create 600 new jobs across the country.




Calgary Economic Development said the company`s international expansion is the result of the accelerated adoption of the at-home call centre model, as well as the recent signing of a multi-year contract to support the wireless operations of a major Canadian communications provider, whose identity is not being released at this time.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

U.S. president Obama cites 'destructive' Canadian oilsands, hints at withholding approval of Keystone pipeline




WASHINGTON ` President Barack Obama on Wednesday said concerns in the United States about the potentially "destructive" nature of the Canadian oilsands need to be answered before his administration decides whether to approve the construction of Calgary-based TransCanada's controversial Keystone XL pipeline.




Speaking publicly for the first time about the Keystone XL project, Obama referred to Alberta's bitumen deposits as "tarsands" ` the term favoured by environmentalists ` but refused to offer an opinion about whether the 3,200-kilometre pipeline should be approved.




"I will make this general point, which is that, first of all, importing oil from countries that are stable and friendly is a good thing," Obama said, essentially repeating comments he made last week in a major speech on U.S. energy security.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Edmonton council gives green light to downtown arena plan




EDMONTON - The proposed downtown arena took a major step closer to reality Wednesday night when city council approved the terms of a deal it wants to negotiate to build the project.




A 17-part motion calls for a maximum cost of $450 million, with the Oilers owner Katz Group putting in $100 million and another $125 million coming from a ticket tax.




The total city contribution would still be $125 million, but in a major change most of that money would come from taxes on businesses in the facility, redirected subsidies now going to Rexall Place or higher parking revenues.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary unemployment rate falls in March




CALGARY ` Calgary`s unemployment rate dipped in March as more jobs were created in the city.




Statistics Canada reported Friday that the unemployment rate in the Calgary census metropolitan area fell to 6.1 per cent from 6.3 per cent in February.




The federal agency said employment rose by 5,900 on a month-over-month basis while there were 9,900 more jobs in the Calgary region than a year ago.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Downtown Edmonton site of new RAM




EDMONTON - A world-class Royal Alberta Museum is set to rise up in downtown Edmonton with links to the LRT and Churchill Square.




The 36,000-square metre museum, projected to open by 2015, will feature twice as much gallery space and, be linked to classrooms and curators across the world.




It will be able to welcome international exhibits previously turned down ` such as Body Worlds or Indiana Jones and the Adventures of Archeology ` because of cramped space in the 44-year-old current facility in Glenora.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary house prices headed for peak levels: Analyst




CALGARY ` Average house prices in Calgary could flirt with record levels within the next two years due to a commodity boom in the province, says a real estate industry analyst.




Don Campbell, president of the Real Estate Investment Network, said house prices could increase five to seven per cent this year and another five to seven per cent in 2012.




`And then after that, we`re going to be back in a bit of a frenzy,` said Campbell. `A frenzy as in a seller`s market. Now I hope it`s not as hot as it was in 2007 and 2006 but I`m telling you by looking at the job market and the population growth expectations I wouldn`t be surprised if it was in the double digits in two years.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Premier Stelmach invitation to Barack Obama: Come see oilsands for yourself




EDMONTON - Premier Ed Stelmach would like the U.S. president to come visit Alberta`s oilsands to help ease Barack Obama`s mind about environmental concerns surrounding the contentious Keystone XL pipeline.




`All I can say to the President and any of the staff that were giving the president advice, I would suggest come and visit. Come see for yourself,` Stelmach said. `It gives us an opportunity to tell the Alberta story.`




He said such a visit in 2010 helped Hollywood movie director James Cameron get a more positive impression of northern Alberta`s vast oil industry. Many U.S. senators and more recently a large group from Bavaria have also flown over the oilsands and were surprised at the vastness of Alberta, since they previously thought the oilsands were minutes outside Edmonton, Stelmach said.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta urges Obama to 'sign bloody order' on pipeline




CALGARY` U.S. President Barack Obama should stop sending mixed messages on oilsands and `sign the bloody order` approving the Keystone XL pipeline, Alberta Energy Minister Ron Liepert said Thursday.




`Frankly, I wish he`d get on with action,` Mr. Liepert said when asked to respond to remarks by Mr. Obama in Washington on Wednesday.




`I saw where he said they need to study the science. I don`t know what they`re studying. We could give him all the briefing he needs and it would take him 15 minutes to read about it, so I just he`d sign the bloody order and get on with it.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Brent crude hits 32-month high as funds rush in





NEW YORK . Oil prices surged the most in three weeks Friday, with Brent jumping US$4 a barrel to a 32-month high as a sinking U.S. dollar triggered a fresh rush of fund buying across the commodities spectrum.




U.S. crude topped US$113 but trailed Brent, which closed out its best weekly gain since February. Deepening violence in Libya and concerns about unrest in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria lent new impetus to a rally that is threatening to crimp global growth and add to growing inflation concerns.




Analysts said Friday's sharp gains in oil, wheat, copper and gold -while stocks slipped -stemmed from a big wave of second-quarter investment. Oil drew extra support from fears that the war in Libya was starting to inflict lasting damage on the oil sector.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Edmonton real estate on verge of new boom, analyst says




Edmonton is on the verge of another real estate boom, says expert Don Campbell.




Robust growth in the region's gross domestic product and labour market will set off a chain of events over the next few months that will heat up housing again, said Campbell, president of Real Estate Investment Network and author of the bestselling 97 Tips for Canadian Real Estate Investors. (He donates his royalties to Habitat for Humanity.) "Alberta is uniquely positioned in the world to be a stable, consistent and growing source of the four things that the world is going to need over the next decade -food, fuel, fertilizer and forestry," Campbell said during a stop Monday in Edmonton.




Jobs will attract more people to Edmonton from across Canada. That will push vacancies down and drive rents up.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Power bills going up: Forecast




First Energy Capital says power prices are up and they aren't coming down.




In a significant revision of its power price outlook for Alberta on Monday, the Calgary analyst firm now expects the average wholesale price to average $66.77 per megawatt hour for the year, compared with its previous estimate of $45.11.




That will mean higher bills for customers. And in fact the regulated rate for April has risen to 11.763 cents per kilowatt hour, compared with the March price of 7.093 cents per kWh for people not under a contract with firms such as Enmax or Direct Energy.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta's Liepert urges U.S. to 'sign the bloody order' on oilsands pipeline




Calgary ` U.S. President Barack Obama should stop sending mixed messages on oilsands and `sign the bloody order` approving the Keystone XL pipeline, Alberta Energy Minister Ron Liepert charged Thursday.




`Frankly, I wish he`d get on with action,` Liepert said when asked to respond to remarks by Obama in Washington on Wednesday.




`I saw where he said they need to study the science; I don`t know what they`re studying. We could give him all the briefing he needs and it would take him 15 minutes to read about it, so I just wish he`d sign the bloody order and get on with it.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Edmonton, St. Albert among the best places to live in Canada




MoneySense Magazine`s annual study of best places to live in Canada graded 180 cities with populations over 10,000 on 17 criteria including crime rates, population growth, weather and housing. Edmonton rated eighth, while St. Albert was fifth.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta's job count slips in March




EDMONTON - Edmonton`s unemployment rate held steady in March, but more jobs were created in the city.




Statistics Canada said the jobless rate for the Edmonton census metropolitan area remained flat at 5.8 per cent, compared to February. A year earlier, the unemployment rate was 7.3 per cent.




The federal agency said employment increased by 2,000 jobs in the Edmonton area over February. But compared to a year ago, there were a whopping 36,900 more jobs in Edmonton.




Edmonton was ranked fourth among all Canadian census metropolitan areas, while Calgary, at 6.1 per cent, was sixth.





Read the full article here.