August 2012 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Alberta new motor vehicle sales growth tops Canadian average in June





CALGARY ` Year-over-year sales growth for new motor vehicles in Alberta topped the national average in June, according to Statistics Canada.




The federal agency reported Wednesday that 23,502 vehicles were sold during the month in the province, which was up 5.8 per cent from June 2011.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Avison Young Edmonton Rental Market Report





R







obust job growth and rising migration contributed to a strong demand for rental accommodation across the province of Alberta in 2012. In the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) this led to a dramatic decrease in the overall vacancy rate which declined this spring year-over-year to 2.7%, down from 4.7% the previous spring.







Read the full report here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary's housing market stays hot




Home sales in Calgary outperformed the national average during the first half of 2012, but the growth is expected to slow for the rest of the year, say local realtors.




The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) Wednesday released growth figures for the first seven months of the year, showing the Calgary market has done better than expected




CREB said the 2,502 transactions so far this year are up 26.7% from July 2011, in stark contrast to the average across Canada, which saw home sales rising by only 3.3% to 40,863 units.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Oil sands producers could feel squeeze in crowded market




Alberta`s oil sands producers have some very ambitious output forecasts that could see them producing about a sixth of what OPEC now pumps out on a daily basis by the end of the decade.




But there are some potentially nasty roadblocks that could force the Canadian producers to slash millions of barrels per day from those targets, not the least of which is transportation.







`Oil sands companies that are making big capital allocation decisions have to be that much more confident in the macro environment to hit the button,` Andrew Potter, managing director, institutional equity research at CIBC World Markets Inc., told the Financial Post.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary and Alberta annual inflation rate lower than Canadian average







CALGARY ` Alberta`s inflation rate was lower in July than the rest of Canada, according to Statistics Canada.




The federal agency reported Friday that consumer prices in the province rose 0.9 per cent in the 12 months to July compared with 1.3 per cent across the country.




On a monthly basis, prices were down 0.1 per cent in Alberta and in Canada.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

CIBC forecasts huge crude oil production growth







CALGARY ` Oil production in both Canada and the United States is set to soar by much higher levels in coming years than estimated by other industry forecasts, according to a report by CIBC researchers.




The 270-page `bottoms-up` industry update says estimates of conventional oil and oilsands crude growth in Canada are too low, implying that the need for further take-away pipeline capacity may be greater and become critical sooner than estimated.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Rising oil production to fuel Alberta economic growth





CALGARY ` Fuelled by rising oil production, Alberta will lead Canada in economic growth this year and employment in Calgary and Edmonton is expected to strengthen through 2016 with the addition of 120,000 new jobs, according to a special report released Friday by BMO Capital Markets Economics.




The BMO report ` Calgary and Edmonton: Partners in Economic Growth ` said the spillover effect of rising oil production extends across various sectors in both Calgary and Edmonton, including manufacturing of products for oil exploration and extraction, transportation, warehousing and retail trade.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Tax could be pipeline powerplay





Public opinion is growing increasingly hostile to building oilsands pipelines across British Columbia and shipping it in large, fragile tankers down the treacherous waters of Douglas Channel, or though busy Burrard Inlet and Georgia Strait. Many in B.C. think that, with enough political will, the provincial government can stop these projects. I am not so sure, and it`s time to look at how they could be stopped and at what cost.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Mulcair touts oilsands as important resource





NDP leader Thomas Mulcair is touting the benefits of Canada`s `important` oil resources, but he said the federal government needs to work hard on supporting spinoff jobs and ensuring proper environmental protection.




In a radio interview Saturday, Mulcair suggested that efforts to add new refining jobs in Canada would become a `win-win` situation for the oilsands industry and the rest of the country.




`But I think that overall, the idea of adding the value in Canada, developing, upgrading, processing, refining, our own natural resources is a good one,` Mulcair told the CBC`s weekly politics show, The House.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta to add 120,000 jobs





Want to find work? You've come to the right place.




Growing oil production will see Alberta lead Canada's economic growth this year with employment in Calgary and Edmonton strengthening through 2016 with the addition of 120,000 new jobs, according to a special report from BMO Capital Markets Economics.




The report - Calgary and Edmonton: Partners in Economic Growth - said the spillover effect of rising oil production extends across various sectors in both cities, including manufacturing of products for oil exploration and extraction, transportation, warehousing and retail trade.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Derelict housing blight spans all of Edmonton





Apparently the weather beaten eyesores that blight our inner-city neighbourhood are far from rare.




In response to Thursday's column - in which I highlighted a pair of shoddy homes on our street that have sat empty and

largely untended for 10-plus years - many Journal readers offered similar tales of woe.




It seems the subject of derelict homes and vacant, longundeveloped lots around the core is a hot-button issue for many city residents. Like me, they're frustrated that North America's least-dense, sprawlingest metropolis allows so many unused properties in mature areas to rot in place year after year, while new, ever-more-distant suburbs continually expand the city's footprint.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta job vacancy rate highest in Canada





CALGARY ` Alberta has the highest job vacancy rate in the country, according to Statistics Canada.




The federal agency reported Monday that Alberta businesses had on average 63,600 job vacancies in the three-month-period ending in May and a job vacancy rate of 3.4 per cent.




Statistics Canada said the job vacancy rate is the number of job vacancies or vacant positions on the last business day of the month as a percentage of labour demand ` occupied positions or vacant positions.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

AB employees to see highest pay increases in 2013





CALGARY ` Alberta employees will see the largest average salary increase in the country in 2013, according to a survey of top employers by the Hay Group.




A report released Monday said Albertans will see an average salary increase of 3.6 per cent next year compared to the national average of 2.9 per cent.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Why oil bulls may get burned





FORTUNE -- Wall Street money managers betting on a pop in oil prices could be in for a rude awakening.



This summer, the 22% spike in WTI and 30% spike in Brent, the two most actively traded crude price benchmarks, seem to be based more on fear and speculation than logic and fact. Indeed, it is not unusual to see such rallies in a volatile commodity like crude. The elasticity of the product means that if you don't have it when you need it prices will instantly go through the roof. Anxiety over supply tends to push prices way beyond where they should be, and then the pendulum always swings back, crushing bulls in spectacular fashion.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary homes taking less time to sell




It`s taking less time these days to sell a home in Calgary compared with last year.




According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, so far this month from August 1 to August 20, the average days on market to sell an MLS residential property in the city is 43. That`s a drop of 12.24 per cent from the same period a year ago when it took an average of 49 days to sell.




Each housing category has seen a decline in average days on market.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta set to top the Prairies






Construction starts of homes of all kinds in Alberta are expected to rise 23 per cent this year compared to 2011, says a federal agency.




Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. expects shovels in the ground on 31,800 homes by the end of this year ` the highest total of the prairie provinces.




By the end of the year, construction starts of detached single-family homes are expected to climb 15 per cent to 17,600 new units, while starts of multi-family homes are expected to increase by 35 per cent to 14,200 units.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

New MLS listings drop in Calgary




The amount of new MLS listings in Calgary so far this month has dropped substantially when compared with the same period a year ago.




From August 1 to August 21, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board, there were 1,740 new listings in the city, down 15.98 per cent from last year.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Year-over-year retail sales growth in Alberta highest in Canada





CALGARY ` Calgary`s retail vacancy rate continues to decline as consumer spending in the province remains higher than year-ago levels.




Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that Alberta retail sales reached $5.6 billion in June, up 6.6 per cent from a year ago and the highest annual growth rate in the country. But sales dipped by 1.3 per cent from the previous month.




At the national level, sales of $38.7 billion were up 1.7 per cent from a year ago but down 0.4 per cent on a monthly basis.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

How rising well costs are reshaping the oil patch





What`s the biggest generational shift in the oil and gas industry?




Don`t feel bad if you guessed either hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling or drilling multiple wells from the same location (pad drilling). Asian investment or rising production from the oil sands would be impressive choices. However, the answer lies where the bit hits the ground hardest - the capital cost of drilling a well.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Hot market watch shifts to Alberta






CALGARY, AB - The bright lights of the `Canadian real estate market` are dimming in Toronto and Vancouver and focusing on Alberta`s two largest cities, says an economic research paper from Laurentian Bank Securities.




The markets in Canada`s two largest cities have been red hot in the last several years; so hot, new mortgage regulations introduced last month were designed specifically to cool them down for fear of a housing bubble bursting.




Since the onslaught of the recession, Calgary and Edmonton have experienced a minor bubble burst.





Read the full article here.