Home price growth best in Alberta over next two years
CALGARY - Alberta will lead the country with the highest annual growth rate in prices over the next two years in the resale housing market, says a new report released Monday by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
CREA`s report said average MLS sale prices will climb in the province by 3.9 per cent this year to $396,000 and by another 2.5 per cent in 2015 to $406,000.
EDMONTON - Arlene Billey has lived in her Forest Heights house for almost 60 years.
She raised her children there, she knows her neighbours` kids by name and, in the winter, her partner Herman Vorwerk shovels the walk in front of their postwar bungalow until it`s so smooth you could traverse it in slippers.
The legacy system is so well placed Pembina says it would re-build it in
exactly the same place if it weren`t already there. Instead, it keeps expanding
it and adding infrastructure nearby that offers valuable services to oil
companies that want to focus on drilling.
`When I joined nine years ago, the pipelines as they sat were half full,`
said Mr. Dilger, a 50-year-old chartered accountant with deep experience in
energy infrastructure who stepped into Pembina`s top job in January, replacing
long-time president and CEO Bob Michaleski.
The progressively steeper summer drop in Alberta oil production
It`s not often that two big energy trends can be captured on a single line chart.
Like a Hollywood scandal, the first mega-trend is well recognized: Spectacular growth in North American oil production. But the second trend lurks underground. When seen, it makes a profound statement about the character of all that new North American oil that is coming to market.
Having job market woes in Eastern Canada, why not gain employment in Cold Lake?
In MoneySense`s annual `Canada`s best cities to live in` list unveiled on March 12, 2014, Cold Lake jumped 17 spots this year on to 106, compared to 2013`s ranking of 123.
Calgary calling as Canada seeks to fill skills shortages in key industries
`Our unemployment rate is just 4.7 per cent, so demand for
workers far exceeds the numbers we have. The economy is booming, with billions
of dollars of projects on the table. If we can`t find the talent we need within
Canada, we have to look internationally or these projects will stall.`
The high number of experienced but unemployed tradespeople in Ireland is a
draw for organisations such as Calgary Economic Development, but the Irish
apprenticeship system, which produces highly trained workers with similar
qualifications to Canadian tradesmen, is one of the main reasons why they
concentrate their recruitment efforts here.
Alberta regains top spot in provincial economic growth
March 20, 2014 - Alberta finds itself in an enviable position. Both its
exports and domestic economy are expanding rapidly and the province is expected
to have the fastest growing provincial economy this year, according to The
Conference Board of Canada's Provincial Outlook - Winter 2014.
Natural disasters drive up home insurance premiums
EDMONTON - Alberta property insurance companies are hiking premiums and changing deductibles and coverage limits as they cope with unprecedented increases in claims stemming from flooding, hail and other natural disasters.
`Insurers have been losing money in property (insurance) in Alberta for quite some time,` said Bill Adams, vice-president, Western and Pacific with the Insurance Bureau of Canada. `The renewals that have been going out most recently, many of them have had changes, sometimes significant changes ` both relative to the premium, but also the kinds of coverage that are contained in that.`
CALGARY - A bright outlook for Alberta`s economy is being haunted by pipeline risks, says a new report released Thursday by the Conference Board of Canada.
Alberta`s economy is forecast to grow more quickly than any other province in 2014, said the report, but the lack of pipeline development continues to present a significant downside risk to the forecast.
The 180,000 barrel per day Grand Rapids oil sands project planned by Cenovus Energy Inc, Canada`s No. 2 independent oil producer, received Alberta government approval on Thursday, the province said in an email.
Located 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Edmonton, the project will use solvent-assisted and thermal technology to produce heavy crude. Steam and a solvent are pumped down a well to liquefy the tarry bitumen which is then pumped to the surface through a second well.
Conference Board sees little evidence of housing bubble in Calgary
CALGARY - There is not much cause for alarm about a housing bubble in Calgary despite the sharp growth in prices for the city`s resale market, says a new report released Monday by the Conference Board of Canada.
The board`s initial Housing Briefing: Bubble Fears Overblown report said improvements in energy markets have boosted sales in Calgary`s resale market, and the market is approaching sellers` conditions. Sales have not fallen on a year-over-year basis since April 2011 and price growth accelerated sharply last year.
Oilpatch optimism flowing back into Calgary downtown office market
CALGARY - What a difference a year makes in Calgary`s downtown office market.
A new report by commercial real estate firm CBRE shows a swing in a positive direction for leasing of office space in the core during the first quarter of this year.
CALGARY - Although additional resale housing inventory is expected to hit the Calgary market in the spring, a new real estate report says it will be absorbed by strong consumer demand.
The report by Sotheby`s International Realty Canada, released Tuesday, said the outlook for Calgary`s real estate market is positive based on key economic indicators and demand is being `driven by low interest rates, tight rental and resale real estate markets and strong economic fundamentals.`
Banff has a housing vacancy rate of zero and some of the highest rental costs in Alberta.
That`s according to a newly-released 2013 apartment vacancy and rental cost survey by Alberta Municipal Affairs, which indicates Banff`s vacancy rate was 1.2 per cent in both 2011 and 2012, but dropped to zero for 2013
The closing of a dairy plant in Glenwood, a village of 287 people south of Fort Macleod in southern Alberta, is expected to have a devastating impact on local employment opportunities and corporate tax base.
Alberta`s oil and gas industry is heading into spring breakup again, and workers have the dirty boots to prove it.
Every spring in Alberta, usually in March, frozen ground begins to thaw, prompting road bans and weight limits. Unpaved roads become impassable for heavy vehicles and well sites start to look like mud bogs.
Alberta still a heavyweight when it comes to job creation
The latest employment data for February showed that the oil-rich western province created an impressive 18,800 jobs, largely in construction, mining and oil and gas, while in the rest of the country overall employment fell.
Economists warn against staking too much on any one-month data point, but the February result is no outlier.
