March 2012 Ontario Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Semi-detached: How a shared parking space can lead to extreme vexation




The day Bob (not his real name) moved into his East York semi-detached, his new neighbour was `not friendly` about the parking situation, he says. The home`s previous owner was an elderly woman without a car, and the neighbour had had full use of the shared laneway for years. Now, she found herself forced into an uneasy driveway truce.




The new neighbours struck a joint-custody agreement; one month in the spot, the next month on the street. Immediately, says Bob, the neighbour`s violations began to mount. She would leave her Japanese compact in the spot long into her off-month. If she had a contractor coming, Bob would be woken at 7:30 a.m. by a knock at the door demanding he move his car. Often, during their month Bob`s family would come home `to find some random person parked there unannounced.`





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[Ally]

Toronto suburbs deserve something better than subways - light rail




I have news for the pollsters and politicians: As a longtime resident of Scarborough, subways don`t fit the needs of modern suburbs. We deserve something far better ` a modern light rail system.




This view isn`t about the reliability, speed and capacity of one system against another. Nor is it about asking suburbia to take a solution that is second best. It`s not even a discussion about money, although there is no money for new subways.




Rather, it`s simply figuring out which transit is the best choice for suburbanites. It`s all about what will work best along Sheppard or Eglinton or Finch in the suburbs, what meets residents` needs, plus what supports existing jobs and the suburban quality of life.





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[Ally]

Toronto's towers and life under the Gardiner




If you liked the concrete curtain, you`ll love the glass wall.




Proposals brought before the Toronto Waterfront Design Review Panel last week include a 75-storey mixed-use condo tower at 10 York St., and a little further east, a massive scheme with two 30-plus-storey condos and 70-storey office tower.




The new Southcore Financial Centre is also taking shape. The PwC Tower just opened and two more ` a second office building and a hotel ` are underway.




East of that, by Air Canada Centre, the triple towers of Maple Leaf Square are already established fixtures on the skyline.





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[Ally]

Toronto resale prices up 11% in February




Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) has released their monthly MLSÂ Update. There were 7,032 units sold thorough the Toronto MLSÂ system in the month of February with average prices at $502,508. That is nearly $50,000 higher than the same period last year and over





`With slightly more than two months of inventory in the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) market area, on average, it is not surprising that competition between buyers has exerted very strong upward pressure on the average selling price. Price growth will continue to be very strong until the market becomes better supplied,` said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver.





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[Ally]

New affordable housing units to be added to David Street in Kitchener




KITCHENER ` This city`s provider of not-for-profit affordable housing aims to start construction in July on a new four-storey building with 21-units right next door to 35 David St. ` right across from Victoria Park.




Karen Kwiatkowski, the general manager of Kitchener Housing Inc., said the new building will be identical to the one at 35 David St., but it will have three more units.




The new building will be attached to the existing one. That eliminates the need for a second lobby, another staircase and another elevator, making room for three additional units.





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[Ally]

Waterloo Region approves 5 affordable housing projects




WATERLOO REGION ` An Ayr construction company wants to convert a former church in Wellesley Township into two affordable housing units for large families.






Kitchener-Waterloo Habilitation Serviceshttp://http://www.kwhab.ca/ wants to build a 21-unit supportive housing complex in Kitchener for adults with developmental challenges.




These are two of five projects Waterloo regional council recently approved as it works towards its goal of creating at least 500 new affordable housing units by 2013.





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[Ally]

Cambridge looking to ease rules for basement apartments




CAMBRIDGE ` Cambridge is poised to allow basement apartments right across the city.




Under proposed changes to the city`s official plan, which delegations spoke to this week, this type of secondary residence would no longer require a pricey $5,000 zoning amendment to be allowed in urban areas.




A simple permit would do, providing safety and building standards are followed.




Other criteria aimed at making sure the units fit in with the neighbourhood must be met as well. The permit fees have yet to be set.





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[Ally]

Cambridge tax hike shrinks to 4.15%




CAMBRIDGE ` Even promises of home cooking didn`t convince city council to make substantial cuts to its proposed 2012 budget.




At the end of the second, daylong budget meeting, the city tax hike was 4.15 per cent. That`s $46.50 more on the average home. Councillors came into the meeting facing a five-per-cent tax hike, or $56 more on a home valued at $254,000.




Taxes went down because of found money, not trimming the nearly $117 million spending plan. A provincial cash grant, slightly higher assessment growth and a fatter dividend from Cambridge-North Dumfries Hydro eased the tax hike.





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[Ally]

Cambridge planning chief wants to end incentive




CAMBRIDGE ` It`s time to end expensive incentives for developers in the Preston, Hespeler and Galt core areas, the city`s planning commissioner says.




With the provincial push for more housing in the old downtowns, growth in apartment construction and the city`s budget crunch, the nine-year-old program`s time has passed, said Janet Babcock.




`These incentives have to come to an end, as do most government incentive programs. They have a life to them.`





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[Ally]

Home sales up last month




Sales were up last month for multiple listings in the Sarnia-Lambton real estate market and total dollar volume rose 14% over February 2011.




The latest data released by the local real estate board shows 127 MLS homes with a dollar volume of $24.8 million sold in February, compared to 116 worth $21.8 million in the same month a year ago.




The price range with most sales was between $100,000 and $149,999, with 30 houses falling into that price bracket.





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[Ally]

Niagara - a home in your range






ST. CATHARINES - A growing family needing more room was the push the Roys needed to dive into Niagara`s real estate market.





Last week, they finally moved into their Jefferson Dr. home in north St. Catharines from a nearby bungalow.





`We have two young children and we wanted more space,` said Angela Roy, 31. `And we wanted a big enough house to last us as the kids grow, until we`re ready to downsize again.`





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[Ally]

Ontario economic forecast 2012-2015




TORONTO, ON, 16 February 2012 ` Ontario`s economic prospects for the next three years include moderate growth and continued high unemployment as government spending is cut and businesses expand carefully, according to the Ontario Economic Forecast, 2012-2015, released today by Central 1.




For the first half of this year, Ontario`s economy will grow more slowly than in 2011, but a strengthening U.S. market will help later this year and for the next three years, says a forecast by Helmut Pastrick, chief economist for Central 1 Credit Union, the trade association for credit unions in Ontario and British Columbia.




Pastrick forecasts overall real GDP growth in 2012 of 2.3 per cent, the same as last year, picking up to 2.8 per cent in 2013. Growth eases in 2014 to 2.2 per cent and moves up to 3.2 per cent in 2015.





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[Ally]

OLG to close Fort Erie slots at the end of April






FORT ERIE - The OLG Slots at Fort Erie Race Track is among three gaming facilities that will shut its doors April 30.




Just over an hour before the announcement was made public, 210 employees from the Fort Erie facility were told of the decision Wednesday morning by Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation senior vice president of gaming Larry Flynn that they would soon be out of work.




`The slots do not make money. We've lost money the last three years at this facility,` Flynn said to reporters afterward. `It's a move to address the current market across Ontario. It's about bringing our product to where our customers are.`





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[Ally]

Rug pulled out from under horse racing




It is the end to a way of life.




Yesterday`s announcement of gaming changes in the province of Ontario effectively put a dagger into the heart of both standardbred and thoroughbred racing, but the impact seems to have been missed by many other than the 60,000 people who are involved in the industry in some capacity.




In a very orchestrated presentation, the Liberal party took its 14-year partner in gaming and effectively threw it under the bus. Slot machines at racetracks will carry on in a very limited fashion.





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[Ally]

Ontario's new plan for debt reduction




Ontarians are starting to get a picture of the Liberal government`s strategy for reducing the huge deficit it ran up in its first eight years in office.




It turns out it has little if anything to do with the 362 recommendations offered up in the year-long analysis it commissioned from economist Don Drummond. That report ` much anticipated and released to great fanfare by members of the media who had been fooled into believing the government actually planned to treat it seriously ` has evidently been assigned to some remote shelf deep in the dusty underground storage area used to keep MPs from being infected by good ideas. Instead, Premier Dalton McGuinty and his capable financial henchman in chief, who goes by the alias Dwight Duncan, have concocted their own game plan.





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[Ally]

New Georgina apartment policy in works





Cutting the town`s red tape will provide more room to rent when it comes to accessory apartments in

Georgina.





Proposed amendments to official plan policies and zoning bylaw provisions will make it easier to rent an apartment out of a residential home, according to a planning department report tabled March 5 during a committee of the whole meeting.





Georgina`s application process takes between six to eight months and costs $6,150 for the rezoning application.





It costs residents in Newmarket and Aurora $150 to obtain a building permit during a much shorter two-week application process.





Newmarket and Aurora were two of the 11 municipalities the town`s steering committee used for comparison when contemplating changes to its current system. A key provision is dropping the onerous zoning amendment requirement, which would speed up the process, reduce cost and hopefully prevent people from circumventing the system.





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[Ally]

Sheppard panel picks light rail over subway




The Sheppard advisory panel is overwhelmingly endorsing a light rail line ` not a subway ` for Sheppard Avenue.




The panel`s report is not due for release until Friday, although panel member and former vice-chairman for the TTC Gordon Chong confirmed the results on Thursday night.




`I doubt that anybody would be that surprised by the majority being pro-LRT considering the make-up of the panel,` said Mr. Chong, a subway advocate.





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[Ally]

Homebuyers: Beware market sucker punch




You never want to be the last sucker in before a bubble bursts.




So be cautious, Toronto homebuyers. Don`t be the donkey who `wins` the final bidding war of this long, impressive rally in prices.




One way or another, the rally`s going to end. Sheer lack of affordability may kill it, or the federal government may taser it into submission with more restrictive rules on mortgage lending.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Toronto condo sales rise by 59% from last year




Builders call it `stability` in the housing market but sales in Toronto`s high-rise market, which includes the volatile condominium sector, saw a 59% decline in sales from a year ago.




`After a record-breaking sales year in 2011, it would appear that the [greater Toronto area] new housing market is easing back into stability in early 2012,` says the Building Industry and Land Development Association in a release.





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[Ally]

Sarnia's huge job growth opportunity from oil sands



It is mind boggling to me to think of the cash that is flowing around Alberta`s oil sands project and the huge piece of the pie Sarnia-Lambton could get from it.





I was at a planning session of the Sarnia-Lambton Industrial Association recently where an Alberta entrepreneur outlined just how badly the oil patch needs this area`s expertise. In one project alone, he said, a company imported modules for oil production from Korea. The modules were too big to ship to Alberta once they came across the ocean, so they had to be cut up, shipped and then reassembled in Alberta. The fiasco cost meant the company`s project was $3.5 billion - that`s with a `B` - over budget.





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