Some Canmore restaurants are being forced to cut back on services or cut their hours because of a staff shortage.
Tavern 1883 recently cancelled plans for a weekend brunch because of a staff shortage. At least two other local restaurants are now closed two days a week.
Calgary housing starts expected to dip in 2015 after significant growth this year
CALGARY - Housing starts in the Calgary region are forecast to rise by 24 per cent in 2014 from last year but then dip by 7.7 per cent in 2015, according to a new report released Wednesday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The agency`s housing outlook says starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area will increase from 12,584 in 2013 to 15,600 this year but then fall to 14,400 next year.
Calgary condo prices forecasted to rise by 6.6% this year
CALGARY - Calgary will lead the nation in price growth this year for the resale condo market.
In a report released Wednesday by the Conference Board of Canada, and commissioned by Genworth Canada, the median resale condo price in Calgary is forecast to rise by 6.6 per cent in 2014 to $271,413. And it will see further growth of 3.5 per cent in 2015 to $280,975, which will be the second best annual growth rate in the country behind Victoria`s 4.0 per cent.
Edmonton posts strong housing numbers - just not as strong as they used to be
New stats on housing starts in Edmonton show developers are still building, just not at the rate they were earlier this year.
Developers have backed off from multi-family homes, especially apartments compared to what they did a year ago. But with 780 single family homes that sector of the market is still going strong said city economist John Rose.
The oilsands sector has been under siege from environmentalists, some liberal-leaning politicians, aboriginals and others, but there are few who debate the economic benefits flowing to Alberta and Canada from the industry.
The studies about the industry's macroeconomic impact abound.
CALGARY - Calgary continues to far outstrip the rest of the country when it comes to annual price gains in the resale housing market.
The MLS Home Price Index, released Friday by the Canadian Real Estate Association, said prices in the Calgary area in July were up by a whopping 10.48 per cent compared with a year ago. Meanwhile, the national aggregate, comprising 11 centres, saw a year-over-year hike of 5.33 per cent as sales rose to their highest level since March 2010.
Annual resale home prices in Calgary continued to soar in July, growing at twice the national rate, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Its MLS Home Price index, which measures benchmark or typical home sales, said July prices were 10.5 per cent higher than a year earlier. The national aggregate of 11 major centres produced a 5.3 per cent yearover-year gain as overall sales rose to their highest level since March 2010. The closest city to Calgary's annual increase was Toronto, where prices rose 7.9 per cent.
Ann-Marie Lurie, the Calgary Real Estate Board's chief economist, said local price growth is actually levelling offbut remains elevated overall due to big gains posted in the first half of 2014.
This is the worst summer yet for family homelessness in Calgary.
`I would say this is by far the worst summer to date,` says Inn from the Cold Executive Director Linda Mclean. `We`ve certainly had times in the past where our capacity was exceeded, but now it`s every night.`
CALGARY - First-time homebuyers have accounted for roughly half of home sales in recent years and continue to be a strong part of the Canadian housing market, according to a new report.
The report from the Altus Group said that on average first-time buyers purchase homes that are below the overall average selling price - about 10 per cent less for purchases between 2009-2013 in Calgary and for Canada on a whole.
Tunnel could spare Calgary $882 million in flood damage
A proposed tunnel diverting water from the Glenmore Reservoir to the Bow River could prevent almost $900 million in property damage and lost business during a 100-year flood, according to a recently released report.
Engineering firm Hatch Mott MacDonald was commissioned by the city earlier this year to consider the viability and implication of building a diversion tunnel.
Edmonton councillors go for skinny homes and garden suites in single-family neighbourhoods
EDMONTON - City councillors voted to allow twin skinny homes and garage or garden suites in all single-family neighbourhoods.
They also voted to start work on a wholesale revamp of the entire zoning code after hearing from developers and residents at a lengthy executive committee meeting Tuesday.
The value of sales by Alberta wholesalers topped $7 billion in June, according to the latest numbers released this morning from Statistics Canada. Wholesale trade was a record $7.14 billion in June, adjusted for seasonality. That represents the sixth consecutive month of increase. Over the last twelve months, total wholesale activity is up by 4.9 per cent compared to the previous twelve months. Wholesale trade in Alberta joins a series of other economic indicators, including retail sales, manufacturing, and food and beverage purchases, that have been reaching record highs this year. All of these point towards a strong and vibrant provincial economy.
Several local experts say residents looking to rent in the city are likely to have a tough time.
`It has been at least a year that it has been very tight on the rental market and rent has been going through the roof if you can find anything at all,` said area REALTOR Matt Carre.
And he doesn`t think the situation will improve anytime soon.
CALGARY - Calgary`s resale condo market is booming these days with the annual growth in transactions far outstripping the pace in the single-family sector.
That is also sparking what could be a record year for new construction in the multi-family segment of the housing market.
Calgary homebuilders responding to high level of new construction
CALGARY - Calgary`s homebuilding industry is on pace to register its busiest year since 2006 while at the same time meeting the challenges of a labour shortage in the city.
Wayne Copeland, president of the Canadian Home Builders Association-Calgary Region, said that despite the high level of activity, combined with a current labour shortage, the industry is responding well to the increased housing demand.
Move from P.E.I. to Alberta doubles earnings of family
With two full-time jobs, no mortgage and the kids out of the nest, Kim Bradshaw Ellsworth and her husband could have easily stayed on P.E.I., but they decided it was time to seek opportunities elsewhere.
"I think something had to give. The economy was definitely playing havoc with my business. I'm self employed," Bradshaw Ellsworth, who ran a Montessori school in Summerside, told CBC News.
Prices of existing houses in Alberta forecast to increase faster than rest of country
CALGARY - Alberta will lead the country for the next two years with the best annual price growth in the resale housing market, said a report released Wednesday by RBC Economics.
The Canadian Housing Forecast predicted prices in the province will grow by 6.4 per cent this year to $375,500 and by 3.9 per cent in 2015 to $390,000.
CALGARY - Alberta retail sales reached a record level in June as the province had the highest annual growth rate in the country among all provinces, according to Statistics Canada.
The federal agency reported Friday that retail sales in Alberta of $6.6 billion were up 8.8 per cent year-over-year.
It also said a 1.7 per cent monthly advance in Alberta `was largely attributable to higher sales at new car dealers and other general merchandise stores.`
