August 2013 Ontario Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Can't afford to buy? The sorrows of young renters




Tired of high real-estate prices in Toronto? Ready to rent, are you? I don`t want to burst your bubble, but rental properties are flying off the market these days`that Kijiji ad touting a renovated two-bedroom unit off Danforth Avenue for $1,800 a month will probably attract 30 suitors in the first week alone. Bracing for competition is just part of the home-finding game now, whether you`re searching for student housing or grown-up digs to settle down in.




To wit, a couple years back, a former client was interested in an $1,850-per-month unit in Queen West`s Chocolate Factory Lofts. The listing agent said, `I already have seven offers. Please do not send me an eighth.` Of course, I sent him one anyway: a respectable $1,900 with six months rent up front, a handwritten letter from my client to the landlord, and a copy of her bank statement showing a healthy chunk of `family money.` Suffice it to say, we got the property.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Ontario launches the path to jobs and growth




The Ontario government has launched the province's path to jobs and growth to balance the budget, seeking input from the people of Ontario.




The consultations started today in Toronto at a meeting with the Minister of Finance's Economic Advisory Panel. The Minister will meet with individuals, organizations, associations and other groups to seek input from across the province on creating the right conditions for job creation and economic growth, the future of public services and the way forward to balance the budget.





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[Ally]

Battle of the manufacturing titans




When people think of Canada`s manufacturing sector, it`s often the industrial heartland of southern Ontario that comes to mind. However, proportional to its population, Alberta`s manufacturing industry is only slightly smaller. The composition of what`s being manufactured in each province, however, is very different.




In the last 12 months, Ontario`s manufacturing shipments totalled $270 billion, or about $19,800 per person. Alberta manufacturers racked up $70 billion in sales, or about $18,400 per person.





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[Ally]

Ottawa housing wants to raise the rent by provincial maximum




Ottawa Community Housing wants to raise rents by the provincial maximum in 2014, affecting about 1,600 tenants.




The province has set the maximum increase at 0.8%.




The rate hike would only affect OCH tenants who pay market rent or basic rent.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Toronto, Hamilton lead real estate recovery







Canadian home resale prices increased in July, boosted by strong gains in Hamilton and Toronto.






According to the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which is a weighted index of 11 cities across Canada, prices increased 1.9 per cent last month from a year earlier.






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[Ally]

As Canadian unemployment rises, Durham jobs grow





DURHAM -- As Canada`s jobless rate rose to 7.2 per cent in July, Durham continued to defy the larger trend, posting job gains and an unemployment rate below the national average. The Statistics Canada announcement on Aug. 9, which pegged the unemployment rate across the country at 7.2 per cent after the economy lost 39,400 net jobs in July, offered little hope to those looking for employment, but Durham seems to be bucking the trend, with unemployment rates decreasing locally. Numbers from the Durham Workforce Authority show a decrease in the unemployment rate from 8.8 per cent in July 2012 to 6.4 per cent in July 2013 for the Oshawa census metropolitan area, which includes Oshawa, Clarington and Whitby. From April 2013 to July, the rate dropped from 8.2 per to its current low of 6.4, putting it below the national average







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[Ally]

GTA realtors release mid-month resale figures




TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 16, 2013) - Greater Toronto Area REALTORSÂ reported 3,359 sales through the TorontoMLS system during the first two weeks of August 2013. This result represented a 22 per cent increase compared to 2,743 sales in August 2012. Sales were up on a year-over-year basis for all home types. Total new listings were up over the same period, but by a much lesser rate than sales.




"The strong annual sales growth experienced in July was sustained in the first two weeks of August. The fact that sales were up for all major home types in the City of Toronto and surrounding regions suggests that a wide range of buyers are active in the marketplace today - from first-time buyers through to existing home owners whose housing needs have changed," said Toronto Real Estate Board President Dianne Usher.





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[Ally]

Toronto condo prices have likely fallen sharply




Condo prices in Toronto may have fallen steeply from their peak when you take into account incentives being offered to buyers, a Toronto developer has reportedly said.




The Globe and Mail reported Monday that a developer `who declined to be named` estimates the actual prices of condos have fallen by about 15 per cent.





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[Ally]

Rents jump 4% despite surge of condos on market





Rental demand remains unrelenting across the GTA, and especially in the downtown core, with a record 5,315 condo apartments listed for rent via the MLS system in the second quarter of this year, up 20 per cent from the same time last year, according to research firm Urbanation.






Even that surge of listings couldn`t keep up with demand ` much of it from young professionals ` and rents climbed 4.1 per cent during the same period to a record $2.35 per square foot.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

BlackBerry lays off another 100 employees




BlackBerry Ltd. has laid off another 100 employees at the smartphone maker`s hub in Waterloo, Ont.




The latest cuts come in addition to the 250 employees that were laid off in July, the Financial Post has learned.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Oshawa economy to grow by 2%




Oshawa`s economy will expand by two per cent this year, thanks to all the construction seen throughout the city, says the Conference Board of Canada.




The board`s summer edition of its Metropolitan Outlook report scaled back its earlier prediction the Oshawa census metropolitan area`s (CMA) economy would grow by 2.6 per cent, but still kept its projections fairly sunny. Clarington and Whitby are also included in the CMA.





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[Ally]

Condo prices falling while low-rise homes continue to soar





A housing crash based on the type of home you have? Is that really possible?


It certainly didn`t happen that way in the early 1990s. When the real estate market crashed in Toronto, the entire housing sector saw prices plunge. Even commercial real estate tanked in the high-interest rate environment.





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[Ally]

Fewer people are visiting and staying in Orillia








ORILLIA - Tourism in Orillia is on the decline, says the general manager of Orillia`s two Best Western hotels.




`We`ve been down the past few years, but we`re even down another 5% from last year,` Craig Musil said Wednesday.






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[Ally]

Students living off-campus cautioned to take fire prevention measures






ORILLIA - With a new school year just around the corner, the Orillia Fire Department and local post-s

secondary institutions want to make sure students are living in safe accommodations.




Fires in student-housing units happen more often than the fire department would like to see, said fire prevention officer Dave Baker.





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[Ally]

Toronto condos luring more renters, driving up rents




An increasing proportion of people are choosing to rent condos in Toronto rather than buy them, driving up rents while sales slide and prices stall.




But the large number of new condos that are coming on stream is weighing on the rise in rents in the city`s inner core.




The number of condo rental leases that were signed in the Toronto area topped 5,000 for the first time during the latest quarter, coming in at 5,315, according to data to be released by research firm Urbanation on Monday. That`s up 20 per cent from 4,439 during the second quarter last year.


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[Ally]

Average rental price for Toronto condos hits new high





The second quarter of the year saw a significant surge in Toronto`s condo rental market. Urbanation`s latest report points to a record high of 5,315 for condos rented on MLS, a 20 per cent climb from the year before.



Demand is pushing up prices with the average rent for a Toronto condo now sitting at $1,847 per month ($2.35 per square foot), a 4.1 per cent hike from the same time last year.





Read the full article here.