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June 2015 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

Ally

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Even within a city market,there are sub markets performing at different levels. That is why the headline 'average' numbers will always lead you to making below average investment decisions

Alberta has the highest rate of first-time homebuyers in the country, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals.

The report, A Profile of Home Buying in Canada, found that 55 per cent of Alberta homes purchased in the past 27 months were by first-time buyers compared with the national average of 45 per cent.

Read the full article here.
 

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Scary. Simply Scary

Tough questions for new energy minister
Marg McCuaig-Boyd is facing questions over her chief of staff , a former lobbyist

Watch the video here.
 

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Now is not the time to experiment with Alberta's job market

Every year at about this time, my company brings a bright new group of young people into the Hudsons Tap House family — as many as 200 for our summer season.

For many, it’s their very first job. It’s great to see them learn new skills and grow in confidence as the weeks go by. A lot of them are here to earn money for college or university, but many others are here to build a career in hospitality. As their skills and experience increase, so does their hourly wage.

Read the full article here.
 

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St. Albert has the highest residential property taxes in the area

The June 30 deadline for paying property taxes is looming, and once again the amount owed by residents across the capital region varies widely.

Taxes are highest in St. Albert, where a relatively small industrial tax base means homeowners carry more of the burden, according to an informal Journal survey of 11 municipalities in the area.

Read the full article here.
 

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Saskatchewan energy minister warns Alberta premier Notley about royalty review

ill Boyd was talking up Saskatchewan to the folks with money ready to make more money when he was in Calgary this week.

But Saskatchewan’s energy minister was also in the warning business.

Warning Albertans in advance of the promised review of royalties in this province.

Hoping Premier Notley learns from history and doesn’t fiddle too fiercely with those royalties.

So far all the Notley NDP government has announced is there will be a royalty review.

Read the full article here.
 

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Calgary's apartment vacancy rate more than doubled from year-ago levels April, but monthly rent prices rose too

Apartment vacancies — and prices — were both on the rise this spring in the Calgary area.

In its spring rental market survey, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the vacancy rate in the Calgary area was 3.2 per cent this April, up from 1.4 per cent in April 2014.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

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Why Calgary will not become Detroit on the Bow

Burned out buildings. Abandoned neighbourhoods. Whole blocks of urban terrain, bulldozed and turned over to nature. Could this be Calgary in 30 years?

Read the full article here.
 

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Calgary housing prices continue to slide

Price increases in Calgary’s housing market continued to slow in May, according the Canadian Real Estate Association’s monthly MLS report.

The body’s home price index, which tracks the sale of typical properties in a market, rose 1.2 per cent for the month.

Read the full article here.
 

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What Alberta can learn from BC's brush with death

Dear Alberta,

As you may be aware, there’s a province in our Dominion whose reliance on a single resource industry has made it rich beyond measure. Thanks to this industry, which accounts for a huge proportion of the GDP and workforce, the province has vacuumed residents from every other Canadian locale while making its citizens much wealthier than other Canadians and in fact among the wealthiest in the world. True, the industry has rendered the province a little too sensitive to economic cycles and has turned it into something of an environmental pariah, but those are trade-offs that almost everyone has been willing to make. Indeed, this is a very happy place–except that, uh-oh, that industry has just fallen off a cliff and is about to take the province with it.

Read the full article here.
 

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Edmonton apartments easier to find, but more expensive

EDMONTON - Edmonton’s tight market for rental apartments has eased somewhat, according to a spring housing survey released Monday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

The vacancy rate in the Edmonton census metropolitan area (CMA) rose to 2.4 per cent in April 2015 from 1.4 per cent in April 2014, the CMHC said.

Rental apartments grew at a faster pace than demand. More than 1,800 purpose-built apartment units were added to the market during that time while a decline in migration into the Edmonton CMA slowed the growth rate of demand for rental housing, the agency said.

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Alberta crude prices perk up as lower loonie offers a bust

EDMONTON - To all you readers who have sent me angry or perplexed emails over the years, wondering why the Journal only quotes U.S. oil prices each day rather than Alberta crude prices, this is for you.

It’s true. Forgive us. We have been wicked. Today, at long last, I wish to make amends for this blatant oversight.

Read the full article here.
 

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Oil slump leads to more apartment vacancies in Alberta, Saskatchewan

It was a lot easier to rent an apartment in the oil-producing provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in April, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported Monday.

According to CMHC's spring rental market survey, the rental apartment vacancy rate in Alberta's urban centres almost doubled to 3.4 per cent, compared to 1.8 per cent in April 2014.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

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Apartment vacancy rate up 3.2% in Calgary

Alberta seems to be on its way to a renter’s market.

Canada Mortgage and Housing says it’s a combination of the weaker economy, slower migration to Alberta and an increase in supply.
The province’s apartment vacancy rate sat at 3.4% in April, up from 1.8% just a year ago.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

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Proof that headline numbers are just that “Numbers for Headlines”, when we peeling back the layers, you get to see wht is REALLY happening with Alberta specific oil prices – and they differ from the headlines

EDMONTON - To all you readers who have sent me angry or perplexed emails over the years, wondering why the Journal only quotes U.S. oil prices each day rather than Alberta crude prices, this is for you.

It’s true. Forgive us. We have been wicked. Today, at long last, I wish to make amends for this blatant oversight.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

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Calgary has highest average rental rate for seniors' residences in Alberta

The vacancy rate for seniors’ residences in the Calgary region is on the rise and the so is the average rental rate for standard spaces – the highest in the province and well above Edmonton and other major centres.

In its 2015 Seniors’ Housing Report, released on Wednesday, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said the vacancy for standard retirement spaces in the Calgary census metropolitan area went to 6.4 per cent this year from 4.8 per cent last year.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

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Notley's worrisome energy sector silence

In the nearly six weeks since the Alberta NDP upset the 44-year Tory dynasty, I have been asked by half-a-dozen or more New Democrat MLAs and staffers to give their new government a chance.

“Judge us by what we say and do,” one ministerial aide asked in an email. “You might be surprised.”

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

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According to CMHC, Rental vacancies in Fort McMurray have jumped to 20%+. More proof that when you invest in these smaller centers, you must must must create a lot of positive cash flow during the good times to buffer the inevitable slow downs (Grande Prairie is also very similar)

A weak labour market caused by low oil prices is causing a sharp increase of rental vacancy rates in the region.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s rental market survey, the vacancy rate in Wood Buffalo in April stood at 22.3%, up from 7% at the same time last year. CMHC market analyst Braden Batch said that the labour market is affecting rents

Read the full article here.
 

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Alberta NDP spend extra $624 million, but introduce tax hike on the wealthy to pay for it

EDMONTON — The NDP government put its imprint on Alberta’s wallet Thursday, spending $624 million on schools, hospitals, and social care and introducing a bill to increase taxes on large businesses and the wealthy.

The bill, tabled by Finance Minister Joe Ceci, proposes increasing the tax rate on large corporations to 12 per cent from 10 per cent effective July 1.

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Number of Albertans receiving EI climbs by more than 10% in April

CALGARY – April was the fourth consecutive month in which Alberta had Canada’s highest growth in the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

It was the sixth straight month the number of EI beneficiaries has risen in the province.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

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Time for tougher oilsands emissions rules

EDMONTON - It’s nice to feel important. But let’s be honest. It can also dangerously skew one’s perspective.

Alberta is a wonderful place to live and work. But in global terms, it’s just not that big a deal, even when it comes to big issues like climate change policy.

Read the full article here.
 
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