November 2013 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Resale home price growth best in Calgary




CALGARY - Calgary had the best year-over-year price growth for repeat home sales in October, according to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index.




The index, which was released Wednesday, said Calgary prices were up 6.7 per cent from a year ago while the national composite of 11 centres showed an annual increase of 3.1 per cent.





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[Ally]

Construction moving forward at oilsands facility




Royal Dutch Shell is moving forward with the construction of the Carmon Creek oilsands project in northeast Alberta, which will significantly increase production at its Peace River complex.




`I`m pleased we`re moving ahead with this important project,` said Lorraine Mitchelmore, executive vice president heavy oil.





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[Ally]

Calgary, Edmonton lead the country in commercial real estate return




CALGARY - Calgary and Edmonton are outperforming the rest of the country when it comes to the rate of return on commercial real estate investment for the year ending September 30.




The REALpac/IPD Canada Annual Property Index said Calgary`s annual return was 15.4 per cent while in Edmonton it was 14.1 per cent. The national average, for six major markets surveyed, was 12.7 per cent.





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[Ally]

Alberta auto sales climbing


CALGARY - Auto sales in Alberta are continuing to climb, according to a report by Scotiabank.




The Global Auto Report, by the bank`s senior economist and automotive industry expert Carlos Gomes, forecasts sales in the province to reach 259,000 units this year, up from 239,000 in 2012 and 218,000 in 2011.





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[Ally]

Calgary housing boom pushing prices to all-time high




CALGARY - Calgary`s booming housing market is pushing average prices to record levels as single-family home sales so far this year are averaging well above half a million dollars.




`The residential real estate market is holding strong for sellers,` said Grace Yan, a Calgary realtor with RE/MAX Real Estate (Central).





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Developers plan to build outlet mall with 80 stores next to Calway Park



CALGARY - A massive outlet mall is being proposed for an area beside Calaway Park just outside of Calgary`s city limits.





The RioCan/Tanger Outlets at Calaway Park will have 80 stores in nine buildings with about 350,000 square feet of retail space.





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[Ally]

Calgary real estate market keeps humming along



The latest figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association, show house sales and prices in Calgary keep on rising.





Don Campbell, Senior Analyst with the Canadian Real Estate Investment Network tells 660News, he`s not surprised by the figures.





Campbell says there are two things driving activity here; people are selling and buying again following the flood, plus the Calgary economy continues to attract workers to the city who need places to live.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Housing outlook good for Calgary


A positive outlook for housing from the Conference Board of Canada.




In its autumn forecast, the board predicts solid economic activity will help fuel sale and price growth over the next few years.




Income gains are expected to help Canadians cover any increase in mortgage rates which are expected to rise in the not too distant future.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary leads as real estate returns top 13%





Canadian commercial real estate posted an average return for investors of 13.1 per cent during the first quarter of this year, according to the REALpac/IPD Canada Annual Property Index.






Over the past 12 months, real estate outperformed public equities, at 5.9 per cent; bonds at 4 per cent, and inflation, at 1 per cent, the index shows. And, since 2000, the year ending March 31, 2013 posted the sixth highest annual return, according to Simon Fairchild, IPD managing director.




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[Ally]

Oshawa unemployment is on the rise




Oshawa saw its unemployment rate tick upward last month, with the number of people looking for work decreasing.




Statistics Canada`s latest labour survey found the unemployment rate for the Oshawa census metropolitan area (CMA), which includes Clarington and Whitby, rose from 6.3 to 6.6 per cent in October. Even with the increase, the unemployment rate was three per cent lower than what it was last December, and 2.7 per cent lower than where it was in October 2012.





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[Ally]

Highest rate of unfilled jobs in Alberta




CALGARY - Alberta has the highest rate of unfilled jobs in Canada, according to new numbers released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday.




For every 100 employment positions in the province, almost three of them are waiting to be filled. The rate has fallen somewhat. A year ago, the job vacancy rate in Alberta was 3.2 per cent. Today, it sits at 2.7 per cent, said Todd Hirsch, chief economist at ATB Financial.





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[Ally]

Calgary resale home average prices balloon to more than have a million dollars



CALGARY - The average price for a resale home in Calgary will balloon to more than half a million dollars by 2017, according to a new real estate report released Tuesday.





The Conference Board of Canada`s Autumn Metropolitan Housing Outlook, commissioned by Genworth Canada, said the average price for all residential property in Calgary will grow from $431,760 this year to $517,016 in 2017.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Over 300 NFH homes now successfully remediated



With the `Not Fit for Habitation` designation now reversed on over 300 houses through their program, Tervita is looking to the final stages of the home remediation project in High River.





There are now just over 100 NFH-designated homes awaiting work, demolition or decisions from the province and homeowner, said Stuart Carver of Tervita in a presentation to council at their most recent meeting last week.





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[Ally]

Alberta boom a labour-intensive process



EDMONTON - If history proves anything, it`s that people will go where there is more opportunity to better their lives. In fact, that`s how Canada was built ` through successive waves of new immigrants.





My father`s ancestors moved to this country from Ireland in the 1830s. In the early 20th century, my mother`s mother, then just 18, arrived from England. A few years after the Second World War ended, my wife`s parents moved to Ontario from Italy. As their families grew and prospered, they spread out across the continent and beyond, wherever job opportunities took them.





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[Ally]

Why the 'refine it here' mantra is nothing more than wishful thinking





It is a grandiose idea: Imagine if local processing of Alberta`s bitumen and conventional oil could increase to the point where it lessened the need for environmentally-disruptive takeaway pipeline infrastructure. The downstream diversification of the industry into the more value-added production of goods like diesel fuel and petrochemical products would generate significant economic benefits.







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[Ally]

Strong economy to help fuel Calgary real estate demand



A clearly positive forecast for Calgary`s real estate market is being given by a federal agency.





`Up, up, up,` is how senior market analyst Richard Cho characterized predictions at the recent 2013 Alberta Housing Outlook Conference by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp





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[Ally]

Alberta economy attracting more people



CALGARY - Alberta`s demographic growth in 2012/2013 was almost three times higher than the national average, says Statistics Canada.





Alberta grew by 34.45 people per 1,000 on an annual basis while Canada`s growth rate was 11.56 per 1,000.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

In Calgary, home prices are booming - and so is the infill business



The business of tearing down southwest Calgary homes and building new ones is booming ` so much so that Calgary realtor Thomas Ferianec couldn`t resist diving in.





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[Ally]

Unfilled jobs in Alberta above national average



CALGARY - Alberta`s rate of unfilled private sector jobs continued to be above the national average in the third quarter of this year, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.





In its Help Wanted report, which was released Tuesday, the CFIB said there were about 287,400 full and part-time positions unfilled or 2.4 per cent across the country.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta budget benefits by spike in oil revenues but flood repairs eat surplus



CALGARY ` Buoyed by an unexpected spike in bitumen royalties, the Alberta government is hoping for a balanced operating budget by the end of fiscal 2014 (ending March 31), although disaster recovery, a return of the oil price differential and growing debt for capital spending may make it hard to reach that goal.





On the plus side are Alberta`s status as the fastest-growing economy in Canada and coffers flush with oil cash





Read the full article here.