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January 2012 Prairie Economic Fundamentals

Ally

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News articles for January 2012.
 

Ally

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Saskatchewan is the shining light on the prairies




Saskatchewan stands at an opportune time in its history.




Outside its borders, globalization means there are more people who want to buy what we have and also more people willing to sell us what we want in return. More demand for Saskatchewan`s food and energy-based products in tandem with more supply of the finished goods that its people buy could raise standards of living in Saskatchewan to levels never before seen anywhere. Inside the province`s borders, politics have matured, making it easier than ever to do business.




A deeper theme is that public policy matters. Throughout history, no factor has impacted on the quality of the lives people live more than the quality of their public policies. Many other explanations are given for prosperity, but none of them stand up to scrutiny. If natural resources were the key to prosperity, Nigeria would be rich and Singapore poor. If large populations mattered, Russia would be wealthier than Switzerland. If prosperity was the preserve of older countries, then Greece would be wealthier than Hong Kong. If it was a matter of past prosperity then Argentina would still be the world`s most prosperous country, as it was at the beginning of the 20th Century. If being close to world markets was essential, then Central American countries should be more prosperous than Australia and New Zealand.





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Saskatchewan: Not enough room during the boom






Saskatchewan may be the place to be - that is, if you can find a place to stay.




The province is in the midst of an economic boom that has seen its population exceed one million.




According to the old English proverb, "abundance maketh poor."




Such is the case here in the province, when it comes to the current housing crisis facing many Saskatchewan residents.






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Melfort looks long-term for vacancy rate solutions




The issue of lack of rental housing is being addressed in various ways by groups including the City of Melfort which is developing an overall housing strategy for the community.




Recently the city council and stakeholders each had separate housing forums with Lokken Business Consulting wherein they came up with ideas regarding housing in Melfort.




Rick Lokken of Lokken Consulting, who helped to run the workshop, explained that the final report is not expected to be finished until March 2012.





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Estevan vacancy rate drops again





In what is really just a confirmation of something many in the city already knew, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says there are fewer properties to rent in Estevan and those few available are costing more than ever before.







The CMHC report, which was released Dec. 13, says the vacancy rate in the city has dropped to 1.3 per cent. That is down from 1.5 per cent in October 2010.







Complicating matters further is the price renters are paying. Estevan leads the way in Saskatchewan for average rent prices by a substantial margin and is among the leaders in the four categories tracked by the CMHC.







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Another strong year for Regina home sales forecast





REGINA ` Regina`s real estate market had a banner year in 2011, setting records for sales volume and average prices and posting the second-highest number of sales all-time, according to the Association of Regina Realtors.




And 2012 is shaping up to be another strong year, says the executive officer of the association in his annual year-end review and forecast.




`All of the forecasts for the province and the city I`ve seen (predict) we`re going to at or near the top of the growth lists,`` said Gord Archibald, executive officer of the association. `Assuming that`s the case and assuming the economy generates jobs, population and household growth, we`ll continue to see the levels of demand we`ve seen in the new market.``




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Saskatchewan should see strong growth again in 2012





REGINA ` After posting a strong year in 2011, Saskatchewan`s economy is expected to outperform again next year ` albeit at a lower rate ` with most private-sector forecasters predicting real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of three per cent, second-highest among the provinces.





In 2011, the province set records for investment and exports, and led the nation in growth in retail sales, wholesale trade, building permits and housing starts. Based on the average of seven private-sector forecasts, the province`s economy is projected to grow 3.8 per cent this year, second only to Newfoundland and Labrador.





Private and public investment is expected to reach $17 billion in 2011, a record for the province. Exports for the first 10 months were up 25 per cent $24.6 billion, another record. In the first 10 months, retail sales were up 8.1 per cent to $13.3 billion, while building permits increased 27.2 per cent to $2.2 billion ` both records.






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Save these Regina apartments





The Leader-Post's selection of Regina's housing crisis as one of the top 10 stories of the year is an apt one. So many of the city's residents are adversely affected by the unavailability of affordable housing.




Hardest hit are those on low and fixed incomes: seniors, minimum wage workers, social assistance recipients. But Regina's dire housing situation is also impacting students, job-seekers, new residents, and young people just entering the labour force. Many of the latter are now living with their parents into their thirties because they cannot find a place to rent or buy that is affordable.




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Saskjobs.ca sets record for postings, visits in 2011





REGINA -- Saskjobs.ca, the provincial government`s career website, had a record number of job postings in 2011, with more than 150,000 jobs listed, an increase of 39,000 from the previous year.




The site also hosted a record 9.8 million visits in 2011 compared to 8.9 million visits in 2010.




`In 2011, the site served more employers and received more visitors than ever before,` Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister Rob Norris said in a press release Thursday.




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Regina posts best housing starts since 1983





REGINA ` In 2011, Regina and Saskatoon both reported 26-per-cent gains in residential construction activity over the previous year, posting 1,694 and 2,994 housing starts, respectively ` the highest number of starts since the early 1980s ` Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) said Tuesday`Saskatchewan`s expanding economy and labour market continued to attract elevated numbers of migrants into the province`s centres,` Michael Fabiyi, senior market analyst for CMHC in Saskatchewan, said in a press release. `This bolstered housing demand in 2011 and fuelled a pace of starts rarely seen across the province.`Last year, Regina builders started 736 multi-family units, which consist of semi-detached units, rows, and apartments, up 15 per cent from 639 in 2010, while single-detached starts reached 958 units, up 35 per cent from 708 in 2010.






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Regina expected to see biggest jump in home prices




Regina will see the highest increase in home prices among Canada's major cities in 2012, according to a new forecast by Royal LePage.




The real-estate services company expects average home prices in Regina to rise five per cent to $291,900 by the end of 2012.





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Manitoba economy ends year on a positive note




WINNIPEG ` The Manitoba economy ended 2011 on a positive note, gaining 1,800 more jobs than it lost in December.




Statistics Canada figures released today show that while the Manitoba economy shed about 2,400 part-time positions during the month, it also created about 4,200 new full-time ones.




The net gain was enough to nudge the provincial unemployment rate down by one tenth of one percentage point to 5.4 per cent ` the third lowest jobless rate in the country after Alberta`s 4.9 per cent and Saskatchewan`s 5.2 per cent.





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Regina city council passes condo conversion policy





Regina's City council has changed its condominium conversion policy.







The previous plan meant apartment building owners could apply to change over their suites if the vacancy rate was above three per cent. They could also get it approved if they made a series of concessions or changes.







Now they'll only be approved if the rental vacancy rate is over two per cent for a full year across the city and in the area the building is located. That's only happened a few times in the last 15 years or so.







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Saskatchewan leads Canada in job vacancies



Saskatchewan, which had the lowest residential and office vacancy rates in the country, had the highest job vacancy rate in Canada (along with Alberta) at 2.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2011, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday





The job vacancy rate is defined as the number of vacant positions divided by total labour demand. Nationally, the job vacancy rate in the third quarter was 1.7 per cent.






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Put Saskatchewan events into perspective





Looking at recent economic and population growth rates that rank Saskatoon near the top among Canadian cities, it's easy to get caught up in the optimism that has civic officials projecting a population of 500,000 within 30 years.




Their positive thinking and the desire to plan ahead to ensure that Saskatoon can avoid the kind of urban issues that have bedevilled Toronto and Calgary as a result of expansion is certainly laudable.




However, it's perhaps also time to pause to consider some other factors that may have a considerable impact on "the draw of our community and the power of compound interest," that city manager Murray Totland suggests will contribute to making ours a city of half a million souls in his lifetime.




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