April 2013 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Multi-family housing on the rise in GP




In a city such as Grande Prairie where demand for housing far outweighs supply, the latest numbers released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation suggest help could be on the way.




According to CMHC, numbers are up across the board in Grande Prairie after the first quarter of 2013, with the biggest increases happening in multi-family complexes (which includes semi-detached, row and apartment units.)





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[Ally]

Government approved teenage tenant destroys rental suite




A Calgary landlord is calling his experience with a teenage tenant `disgusting, destructive and devastating` as he continues to clean up after the rented suite was trashed.




Kius Pahlavan was talked into renting his suite to the teen by the government and, when the suite was severely damaged by the tenant, the government turned a blind eye.





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[Ally]

Calgary industrial real estate market sees declining vacancy




CALGARY ` The Calgary industrial real estate market has shown a strong start to 2013 with overall vacancy dropping, according to a new report by Colliers International.




The report said vacancy has dropped to 4.72 per cent in March from 5.05 per cent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012.



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[Ally]

New home prices on the rise in Calgary region




CALGARY ` The Calgary region had the second highest rate of year-over-year growth in new home prices in February, according to Statistics Canada.




The federal agency reported Thursday that the New Housing Price Index was up 4.3 per cent on an annual basis in the Calgary census metropolitan area.





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[Ally]

What happened to the expected Alberta real estate boom?




CALGARY ` Several `market influencers` have kept the reins on the expected Alberta real estate boom, says a new report on the housing market.




The report, by Don Campbell, senior analyst and founding partner of the Real Estate Investment Network, said debate is raging about why the market isn`t booming like it did in 2006 and 2007 when the job market and population in the province were growing at the same rates as they are today.





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[Ally]

U-Haul names Calgary as top 2012 Canadian destination city




CALGARY ` Calgary was the top Canadian destination city in 2012, according to a report released Friday by U-Haul International Inc.




The annual report, U-Haul National Migration Trend Report titled `The U-Haul 2012 Top 25 Canadian Destination Cities,` looked at moving data.





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[Ally]

Alberta manufacturing sales rise slowly




CALGARY ` Manufacturing sales in Alberta rose slightly in February, at a pace behind the rest of the country, according to Statistics Canada.




The federal agency reported Tuesday that sales in the province reached $6.4 billion, up 0.7 per cent from January and an increase of 1.4 per cent year-over-year.





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[Ally]

Stoney Industrial Centre in Calgary has four completed





CALGARY ` The Stoney Industrial Centre in northeast Calgary has completed four warehouse/distribution buildings with two more under construction scheduled to be finished in the coming months.




The project, at the northwest corner of Deerfoot Trail and Country Hills Boulevard N.E., is being developed by WAM Development Group, in partnership with Alberta Investment Management Corporation.




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[Ally]

Calgary one of Canada's most robust luxury home markets




CALGARY ` Calgary is one of Canada`s most robust markets for luxury homes and the baseline entry point for a luxury single-family home is $2 million, which is in line with that of Toronto, says a report by Sotheby`s International Realty Canada.




The Top Tier Trends Report: A Comparative Survey of Canada`s Luxury Real Estate Market said the features and amenities in Calgary reflect a distinctive western Canadian lifestyle.





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[Ally]

Alberta urged to upgrade crude before exporting it




A group of Alberta municipal politicians and energy companies is urging that more oil and gas be processed in the province, reviving a long-simmering debate on how best to leverage the Alberta boom.




The launch of the campaign, dubbed Alberta Plus, on Tuesday included the release of a report by Ronald Schlenker, a senior instructor in economics at the University of Calgary. His report argues that upgrading and refining more of Alberta`s petroleum products before exporting them ` known as a `value-added` approach ` could create 18,000 new jobs and boost the provincial gross domestic product by billions of dollars.



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[Ally]

Parkland Institute warns of another Alberta boom




A report by the Parkland Institute says provincial policies are sending Alberta on the path toward another out-of-control boom fuelled by rapid oilsands development ` and it calls on the Redford government to take action to prevent `past mistakes.`




The study released Wednesday by the University of Alberta institutehttp://http://parklandinstitute.ca/media/comments/taking_the_reins/ says that from a public policy perspective, the government`s `blinkered promotion of ramped up tarsands activity is unfortunate.`




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[Ally]

Off the beaten track: Beyond Fort McMurray





The urban service area of Fort McMurray is situated within the Municpality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta in the heart of Canada's oil sands. Although technically not a city, it is the largest populated area in the region and it provides amenities, accommodation and cultural activities for the many oil workers who reside in the surrounding areas.







Many Fort McMurray apartments, hotels, bars, restaurants and other amenities were creates solely for the purpose of accommodating the thousands of oil workers who relocate to the region every year in search of highly paid oil jobs. Although more often than not the shifts patterns and the remote areas in which much of the work is carried out can cause restrictions as to when workers are able to visit the urban service area for social and recreational reasons, many do find the time to come and take advantage of the many activities and events on offer.







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[Ally]

More people commuting to downtown Edmonton




EDMONTON - Growing numbers of people are going downtown to study, work or unwind, but fewer of them are taking a car, a city transportation study shows.




About 49,600 commuters stayed in Edmonton`s core during a typical weekday last September, up 24 per cent from a similar study done in 2009, according to the central business district cordon count released last month.





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[Ally]

Calgary tops global list for real estate performance




CALGARY ` Calgary`s commercial real estate market was the best performing one in 2012 among 32 cities analyzed in a report by the Investment Property Databank.




Calgary`s total annual return on investment was 19.0 per cent, outperforming San Francisco (18.0 per cent), Houston (16.0 per cent) and Perth (13.7 per cent).





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[Ally]

Calgary International Airport hits record year for passengers




CALGARY ` For the first time in its history, the Calgary Airport Authority is reporting annual revenue exceeding $300 million in 2012 as a record was also set for the most passengers ever through the facility.




The Calgary International Airport saw 13.6 million passengers last year or 37,000 a day, the authority announced Thursday at its annual general meeting.





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[Ally]

Natural gas a ray of sunshine for Alberta amid commodity gloom




EDMONTON - For commodity investors, April has been a major downer: gold has lost its lustre, copper has tanked and oil has plunged.




With economic growth in China ` the world`s top commodity consumer ` lower than expected, Toronto`s resource-heavy stock market has taken it on the chin.





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[Ally]

Edmonton housing market strong, powered by economic stability






Home sales were up in Edmonton in March and it was the only large urban market in Canada that surpassed last year's numbers, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.






House prices also rose when compared to a year ago, with an all-residential average home price being $354,759 in Edmonton, the Realtors Association of Edmonton said in a report.





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[Ally]

Report finds Calgary a luxury home mecca




Calgary is one of Canada's most robust markets for luxury homes, says a report by Sotheby's International Realty Canada.




The baseline entry point for a luxury single-family home in Calgary is $2 million - in line with the Toronto market - says Sotheby's Top Tier Trends Report.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary industrial real estate market active




CALGARY ` All signs are indicating that the Calgary industrial real estate market will continue to thrive and grow this year, says a new report by Cushman & Wakefield.




The company said overall vacancy in the sector was 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, up from 6.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2012. Net asking rents have jumped to $8.63 per square foot per year from $7.89 last year.





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[Ally]

Office supply tightens in Calgary




Office space in downtown Calgary will be even harder to find in 2013 and early 2014, predicts Colliers International.




The commercial real estate giant is predicting in its recent Calgary downtown update that the office vacancy rate in the core of Alberta's largest city will fall further in 2013, to only 2.4 per cent, reflecting both pent-up demand for space and the lack of any large new projects coming on stream in 2013.





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