October 2011 Ontario Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Ottawa jobless rate nudges up





The jobless rate for Ottawa-Gatineau increased in September for the first time in seven months, albeit marginally, thanks to a decline of 2,900 jobs. Nevertheless, the region's 5.3 per cent unemployment rate for September remained well below the national jobless rate of 7.1 per cent, adjusted for seasonal influences.




The rise in unemployment regionally came despite a decline in the size of the labour force, which slipped to 732,400 in September compared to 734,600 in August. It's the third straight month that the number of people looking for work decreased.




Job losses in Ottawa-Gatineau were led by the retail and wholesale sector, where employment slipped to 81,400 in September compared to 86,000 in August. Since these numbers are unadjusted for seasonal influences, they likely reflect the return to school of many students.






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[Ally]

Strong construction in September could signal overbuilding: Economists



TORONTO - Stronger than expected home construction in September drove third-quarter housing starts to their highest peak since 2008, leading some economists to suggest there are signs of overbuilding in Canada's housing market.





Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Tuesday that housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 205,900 units in September on strength in the Atlantic region, Quebec and British Columbia.





Economists, on average, had expected the rate to come in at about 190,000 units.





The increase was driven by an uptick in the number of apartments and condos being built in urban areas, where starts rose by eight per cent to 185,900 units. Multiple-unit urban starts increased 14.2 per cent to 118,000 units, while urban single starts decreased by 1.5 per cent to 67,900 units.





"Although the momentum in housing construction cannot be denied, it is being driven increasingly by multiples construction, the segment of the market where newly completed inventory levels are at historically high levels," said David Madani of Capital Economics.





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[Ally]

Sudbury 'sitting in the sweet spot'




Sudbury is enjoying an economic "sweet spot" as employment rose for the second straight month in September, a Laurentian University economist says.




According to figures released Friday by Statistics Canada, the number of jobs in Sudbury rose by 1,100, Prof. David Robinson wrote in an analysis posted on the Institute of Northern Ontario Research and Development website.




"Sudbury is outperforming Canada, as might be expected of a metal producing region, but the city is also an exporter of manufactured goods and Canadian manufactured exports are also up despite the strong Canadian dollar," Robinson said.





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[Ally]

Development spikes in Severn




"I know when water and sewers were first brought in there was a lot of opposition towards it," Severn Township Mayor Mike Burkett said.




"But this is what happens when you bring water and sewers to a rural community."




The Brailey Line facility, which officially opened in 2006, met resistance from West Shore residents who didn't want to dole out thousands of dollars to hook up their homes.




However, septic systems were becoming overloaded and shallow wells were becoming contaminated.





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[Ally]

Royal Bank of Canada to move headquarters




The Royal Bank of Canada, which moved its headquarters from Montreal`s Place Ville Marie to Toronto in the late `70s, will move 4,000 staffers to a new national HQ building on the north side of Queen`s Quay between Bay and York late in 2014.




The 30-storey tower with 930,000 square feet of leasable space and to be called WaterPark Place is a 50-50 project of Oxford Properties Group, the real estate arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the national public pension plan`s money manager.





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[Ally]

Average Toronto house price jumps to $465,369




Realtor Whitney Jorgensen felt the cool winds of change start blowing across Toronto`s hot housing market a few weeks ago.




After months of successfully under listing properties to create bidding wars that had been pushing prices well above market values, Jorgensen noticed more buyers opting to stand on the sidelines instead.




While Toronto continues to lead the country in terms of house sales ` sales were up 5.2 per cent in September over August, more than double the 2.7 per cent national average ` `the general sentiment is that the market is beginning to slow and prices are stabilizing,` says Jorgensen.





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[Ally]

Your home's sale price is private information



A few years ago, the federal Privacy Commissioner ruled a home`s sale price is personal information and cannot be advertised or disclosed without the permission of the buyer and the seller.





This is what privacy legislation is all about ` protecting your personal information. The lesson is that if you do not want to see your home`s sale price advertised after closing, then don`t agree to it.





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[Ally]

Toronto condo market seen as overheated




The Toronto condo market appears to be overheating and could soon be flooded with excess supply, says a new report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research.




The report is a rare warning in a condo market that most analysts say will continue to be supported by low rental vacancy rates and strong investor demand.




The market for condominiums in Canada's biggest city could undergo a significant correction and stagnant construction over the next several years, economists Ryan Bohren and Sheryl King say in the report.





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[Ally]

Toronto's condo boom about to bust: Report




The Toronto condo market appears to be overheating and could soon be flooded with excess supply, says a new report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research.




The report is a rare warning in a condo market that most analysts say will continue to be supported by low rental vacancy rates and strong investor demand.




The market for condominiums in Canada`s biggest city could undergo a significant correction and stagnant construction over the next several years, economists Ryan Bohren and Sheryl King say in the report.




`We think investors are underestimating the wall of inventory about to come on the market in the next 12-24 months, which could dampen price appreciation and investor returns,` the authors said, adding Toronto could follow the path set by a recent overbuild in Kelowna, B.C.





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[Ally]

Maple Leaf Foods closing Kitchener's Schneider's plant, 1,200 jobs to be lost



KITCHENER ` Schneider Foods, one of the last big traditional manufacturing plants in Kitchener, is closing ` a move that will cost 1,200 local jobs.





Workers at the sprawling Courtland Avenue meat processing plant learned Wednesday their employment will end by late 2014. It`s a deep blow both to the city`s struggling manufacturing base and to a landmark company that was part of the very economic fabric of Kitchener, with local roots going back to 1890.





That was the year founder John Metz Schneider opened his butcher shop, across the street from his house. Current owner Maple Leaf Foods bought Schneider Foods in 2003, and many have long feared the old plant`s days were numbered.





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[Ally]

Honda cranks up output as auto sector sees comeback




The engine of the Ontario economy is starting to hum again, propelled mainly by a return to full production at Japanese auto makers` plants.






Honda of Canada Manufacturing (HMC-N) in Alliston, Ont., said Wednesday that it will begin cranking out 1,600 vehicles a day in November, more than two years after it cut production during the recession and about eight months after it slashed output because of disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake in Japan.





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[Ally]

Bylaw proposing to charge landlords for tenants' shouting in Ottawa




The city`s bylaw department plans to ask for another `tool in the toolkit` next spring, with a proposal to charge landlords when their tenants are caught shouting.




Bylaw enforcement manager Craig Calder said nuisance shouting usually happens late at night within a group of people, so it`s hard to pinpoint exactly who is making the noise.




`It`s a technicality that both the police and bylaw have lost in court, so we`re trying to get the particular section amended for shouting. We`re trying to get the wording changed so we can charge the owner for the actions of their tenants,` he said. Bylaw can already charge landlords for a tenants` loud music, but Calder said the bylaw department gets more complaints for shouting than for music.



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[Ally]

UAW members approve 4-year Ford pact





Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. hourly workers voted 63 percent in favor of a four-year contract that creates 12,000 new jobs and gives each as much as $10,000 in payments this year, according to the United Auto Workers.







Ford workers voted 22,031 to 12.957 in favor of the agreement in voting over the last two weeks, the UAW said in a statement today. Approvals at two large Ford factories in Kentucky and one in Ohio yesterday completed the voting that began after the UAW and the automaker reached a tentative agreement Oct. 4. The agreement may spur credit-ratings upgrades and a resumption of Ford's dividend.






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[Ally]

Housing starts rise last month across country, CMHC reports, Ontario bucks trend, sees urban starts drop slightly





EMC News The seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of housing starts was 205,900 units in September, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This is up from 191,900 units in August 2011.







"Housing starts picked up in September due to an increase in multiple starts in the Atlantic region, Quebec and in British Columbia," said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "Multiple housing starts are expected to move back towards levels consistent with demographic fundamentals in the near term."







The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 8.0 per cent to 185,900 units in September. Multiple urban starts were up by 14.2 per cent to 118,000 units, while urban single starts decreased by 1.5 per cent in September to 67,900 units.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Rotating layoffs for Chrysler Windsor plant




Chrysler will begin rotating layoffs next week at its minivan plant in Windsor, Ont., as it reacts to a supply problem with its new engines, the company said Friday.




The auto maker said production of the Pentastar 3.7-litre V-6 engine has slowed at a plant in Trenton, Mich.




A Chrysler spokeswoman said the company continues to monitor the situation, and hopes the problem will be resolved in about a month.





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[Ally]

What you need to know about the Hamilton Maple Leaf plant




Rick Young, executive vice-president of Maple Leaf Foods, said Hamilton had the space, the very skilled workforce, and had agreed to extend public transit to the Red Hill Business Park. The ease of access to the Red Hill Valley Parkway through a non-residential area to the QEW, and key markets in Toronto and Ontario, were some of the reasons why Maple Leaf chose Hamilton. Numerous elements make a good site and Hamilton had many of them.




The company and the city also forged a solid relationship during the development of the Canada Bread facility.





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[Ally]

 

[Ally]

Barrie residents against new skyscraper





BARRIE - Marty McCrone is against a new condo tower proposal, but says it`s not because it`ll block his

waterfront view.





`I`m going to lose my view anyway,` said McCrone, who lives along Poyntz Street.





He`s speaking out against The West development on Dunlop Street after developer B. E. Groupe asked the city for an extra 16 metres of height on the water`s edge.





He says the request goes against the city`s vision for the waterfront.





`Whether it`s 30 metres or 46 metres, I`m not fighting for a view,` he said. `I don`t want Barrie residents to say where did our waterfront go in years to come.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Most Ontarians not prepared for a rainy day: RBC Canadian consumer outlook





TORONTO, Oct. 26, 2011 /CNW/ - More than half (58 per cent) of Ontario residents do not have any money set aside in a rainy day fund and 33 per cent have had to use savings to help pay for every day expenses or an emergency, according to the October RBC Canadian Consumer Outlook Index (RBC CCO). This compares to 57 per cent and 30 per cent nationally.



Ontarians do have a number of other actions in mind to help manage their finances over the upcoming year: one-third plan to focus on reducing debt, 32 per cent intend to spend less, 22 per cent want to save or invest more and 20 per cent say they will take all of these actions.




"Ontario consumers are taking positive steps to balance paying their monthly bills with setting aside savings for future goals," said Jeff Boyd, regional president, Ontario North and East, RBC. "Our financial planners bring money-saving opportunities to the attention of our clients to help them find that balance, so they can not only manage their debts but also build up their savings."





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Ottawa condo market booming



Condos are edging out apartment buildings when it comes to construction in Ottawa, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.





`On average, we`ve seen a lot more condos being built than rentals,` said CMHC senior market analyst Sandra Perez. `Builders are responding to housing demand.`





Housing starts from January to September 2011 show a steep decline in apartment rental units: 83 were constructed, versus 917 condo units.





Compare that to 2010, when 323 rentals and 1,536 condos were built.





Read the full article here.