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September 2013 Ontario Economic Fundamentals

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Ottawa sits, while Sault acts on rental housing ` MILLS




If Canada`s economy was functioning as well as advertised by the Conservative government, cities like Sault Ste. Marie wouldn`t have to take local action to try to fix a national problem.






There would be no need for the Sault to introduce tax breaks for new rental housing, as it did this week, if the federal government were devoting as much attention to the country`s rental housing crisis as it does to lowering corporate tax rates and patting itself on the back over the GDP.






Instead we see a city government forced into action to mitigate a problem created higher up the political food chain.






Faced with a vacancy rate of 1.4%, less than half of the `healthy` rate of 3%, the Sault will offer tax rebates to encourage development of apartments containing at least four units.





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GTA REALTORS(R) Release Second Quarter Condo Market Report




TORONTO, ONTARIO`(Marketwired ` July 16, 2013) ` Greater Toronto Area REALTORSÂ reported 5,984 condominium apartment transactions through the TorontoMLS system in the second quarter of 2013. This result was down by approximately six per cent in comparison to the second quarter of 2012. The number of active listings at the end of the second quarter was up year-over-year by less than 2.5 per cent, while new listings were down by slightly more than four per cent.






`The GTA condominium apartment market has been the subject of much discussion recently, due in large part to the number of new units completed over the past two years and the number of units that remain under construction. With this in mind, it is important to point out that the condo market has fared quite well. Even with sales down and the number of active listings up, the average selling price has found support at current levels,` said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Dianne Usher.



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GTA REALTORS(R) Release Rental Market Report




TORONTO, ONTARIO`(Marketwired ` July 16, 2013) ` Greater Toronto Area REALTORSÂ reported 5,853 condominium apartments rented through the TorontoMLS system in the second quarter of 2013. This result was up by approximately 23 per cent in comparison to the second quarter of 2012. The number of condominium apartments listed for rent was up by over 15 per cent to 10,284.






`Condominium apartments rented out by investors have become an increasingly important part of the overall rental stock in the GTA, given that very few purpose-built rental properties have been completed over the last decade,` said Toronto Real Estate Board President Dianne Usher.



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September Fixed Mortgage Rates To Remain Steep As Bond Yields Climb




An autumn crispness may be creeping into the air but there`s no cooldown anticipated for bond yields, the main driver of fixed mortgage rates. The new highs hit during the month of August are anticipated to continue throughout September as investors react to a potential withdrawal of U.S. economic stimulus. This will prompt lenders to respond with a hike to their fixed rate offerings. Variable rates, however, are to remain unchanged as Canadian economic growth remains below the benchmarks required to raise interest rates.






Fixed Mortgage Rates: Up:
Global bond investors continue to react negatively to the possibility of a quantitative easing scale back in the U.S. This has impacted Canadian bond yields in turn, which hit new highs in the month of August, and are not anticipated to moderate in the short term. This will prompt lenders to increase the price of their fixed mortgage rates.



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Sold! How a hot real estate market is changing Hamilton




For seven years, 446 Dundurn St. S. didn't get much love.






It's a large brick house built in the early 1960s, a former duplex in the Kirkendall neighbourhood. It went on the market a couple of times in the past decade, sometimes for as low as $105,000. And still, no one bit.






Last year, developer Greg Hart bought it for around $200,000. Today, the house that sat vacant for seven years is expected to go for about $600,000.






Such is the strength of Hamilton's booming real estate market. Ten years ago, houses in this quiet neighbourhood near trendy Locke Street sold for an average of $186,267. Today, the average sale price has nearly doubled to $317,089.







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Sold! housing boom brings radical changes to a new Waterdown









Town struggles with traffic, a cultural divide and nowhere for seniors to live




It's 3 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, and the Waterdown where Judi Partridge sits is not the Waterdown of 10 years ago.






Cars line up and snarl traffic at stoplights nearby. A few kilometres away, noisy equipment digs into the dusty ground, working on eight developments that are expected to double the town's population of 18,000 in the next five years.






But Partridge, a councillor for Ward 15 in Flamborough, is optimistic.






`Come to Waterdown!` she says. `It's a great place to live and it's going to get better.`







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Canada auto sales track for record







August sales climb another 6.5 per cent




Canada`s auto industry is poised for a record-setting year amid a 6.5-per-cent increase in new vehicle sales in August compared to the same period last year.






Dealers sold 159,004 units sold last month, which continues a year-to-date trend of monthly vehicle sales exceeding the historical five-year average for monthly sales, according to the Global Automakers of Canada. The five-year historical average for August auto sales was 141,612 units.






`Unless the fourth quarter is a complete washout, it would appear that Canada is on its way to having record new vehicle sales in 2013,` said David Adams, president of the Global Automakers. `After a minor dip in consumer confidence in July ` when we had record sales for the month ` the Conference Board of Canada has reported that consumer confidence increased 2.2 points in August. Improved consumer confidence combined with the start of model year clear out programs has really energized sales in August,` added Adams.





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GTA REALTORS(R) Report Monthly Resale Housing Market
Figures







TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 09/05/13 -- Greater Toronto Area
REALTORS reported 7,569 residential transactions through the TorontoMLS system
in August 2013. This represented a 21 per cent increase compared to 6,249 sales
in August 2012.









"Sales were up strongly this past August for all major home types compared to
last year. Many households have accounted for the added costs brought on by
stricter mortgage lending guidelines and have reactivated their search for a
home. These households have found that a diversity of affordable ownership
options exist throughout the GTA," said Toronto Real Estate Board President
Dianne Usher.





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Toronto agents go online to reach Chinese buyers




How many people in Canada have the dosh to spend $1.95-million for a two-bedroom suite at the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences in Yorkville?






Not enough for Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd.`s Victoria Boscariol, who was convinced she needed to get her listing in the five-star tower in front of the legions of wealthy buyers who live in mainland China.





Many agents in Toronto are looking for ways to reach members of the swelling middle and upper classes in China. Ms. Boscariol has affiliations in the global luxury market but she doesn`t speak Mandarin or Cantonese and she felt that her connections hadn`t made sufficiently deep inroads into the Chinese market.





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Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area shoot up 21% in August: realtors




TORONTO - Realtors say home sales in the Greater Toronto Area shot up 21 per cent in August compared with last year, with strength in all major housing categories.






The Toronto Real Estate Board says 7,569 residential transactions went through its MLS system last month, compared with 66,249 sales in August 2012.






The average selling price for August 2013 was $503,094 ` up almost 5.5 per cent from $477,170 in August 2012.







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Ottawa resale market on the up and
up.




Ottawa, September 5, 2013
-
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold
1,219 residential properties in August through the Board`s Multiple Listing
Service system, compared with 1,145 in August 2012, an increase of 6.5 per
cent. The five-year average for August sales is 1,202.









`It has been one year since the Canadian
Government introduced the new mortgage rules, and although the Ottawa
market has been slow-moving since the beginning of the year, this month`s
numbers are quite the opposite,` says Tim Lee, President of the
Ottawa Real Estate Board. `With both residential and condo units sold up a
respectable amount since last year, it breaks the downward cycle. In addition,
average sale prices evened out in August, creating a welcomed lull in inflating
property prices.`










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Mortgage fears drive up Canadian home sales




Fears of higher mortgage rates are driving strong sales in a housing market that was on the ropes just a year ago.






August sales numbers hint at a Canadian market that has `shades of taking flight again,` said Bank of Montreal economist Sal Guatieri. But observers suspect the upward trajectory will ultimately be flattened by rising rates, which have prompted many buyers to jump in sooner than they otherwise would have.



The Toronto area saw a 21-per-cent jump in the number of existing homes that changed hands last month, compared with a year earlier; Vancouver a 52.5-per-cent surge; Calgary 27.5 per cent; Victoria 20.7 per cent; and Edmonton 9.9 per cent.





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Toronto real estate prices jump with condos helping rise in sales





It`s been a surprisingly hot summer for real estate across the GTA, with sales up 21 per cent in August over a year earlier, according to figures released by the Toronto Real Estate Board Thursday.







It`s been a surprisingly hot summer for real estate across the GTA, with sales up 21 per cent in August over a year earlier, according to figures released by the Toronto Real Estate Board Thursday.








Prices have also rebounded, in defiance of naysayers who, for more than a year now, have been anticipating a market crash. The average GTA sale price in August was $503,094, up almost 5.5 per cent from a year ago.








Even Vancouver, which suffered the brunt of the slowdown that started in spring of 2012 and accelerated when tougher mortgage lending rules were imposed by Ottawa a few weeks later, saw a dramatic surge in sales.







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Ottawa`s newest landlords





It wasn`t so long ago that local firms owned most of Ottawa`s commercial real estate. That`s all changed now with the influx of out-of-town companies hoping to get in on the action.






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`It`s really taken a move towards some of the top markets globally, certainly in North America, where we have investors from all over the globe looking towards Ottawa,` said Nathan Smith, senior vice-president for the capital markets group of real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.






Mr. Smith said the Ottawa market has two main features luring potential investors: stable returns, thanks to the federal government taking up so much office space, and high liquidity, meaning there are always opportunities for landlords to sell.



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Metrolinx studies relief line to ease TTC crowding





There`s no money to pay for a `downtown relief line` yet. But Metrolinx will begin public consultations this fall as part of a preliminary study to be released in the spring on options for alleviating crowding on the Yonge subway.






A `long list of alternatives` will be presented to the public next summer.






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Ottawa's newest landlords




`It`s really taken a move towards some of the top markets globally, certainly in North America, where we have investors from all over the globe looking towards Ottawa,` said Nathan Smith, senior vice-president for the capital markets group of real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.




Mr. Smith said the Ottawa market has two main features luring potential investors: stable returns, thanks to the federal government taking up so much office space, and high liquidity, meaning there are always opportunities for landlords to sell.





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Metrolinx studies relief line to ease TTC crowding





There`s no money to pay for a `downtown relief line` yet. But Metrolinx will begin public consultations this fall as part of a preliminary study to be released in the spring on options for alleviating crowding on the Yonge subway.








A `long list of alternatives` will be presented to the public next summer.








Among the alternatives being considered will be whether GO trains can take some of the burden off the TTC.








Although a report before the Metrolinx board on Tuesday suggests there`s no additional room on GO during the rush hours, either, off-peak capacity bears more study, said a Metrolinx spokeswoman.








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Hamilton again tops in corporate construction



Our economic diversification index is the best in Canada






Hamilton has topped the country in corporate construction projects for the second year in a row.






The city logged 35 corporate projects between April 2012 and March 2013, which edged out Quebec City with 34 and handily outdistanced Toronto and Edmonton, which tied for third at 22.






The rankings were produced by Site Selection magazine in its Canada's Best to Invest report. The Atlanta, Ga. publication is aimed at about 44,000 corporate site selectors.






Hamilton also topped the rankings in 2011-2012 and was in second place behind Toronto in 2010-2011.






"I think this shows the whole community is pulling in the same direction," said Neil Everson, the city's director of economic development.







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Pace of housing starts slows everywhere but Ontario in August



OTTAWA ` Housing starts fell for the third consecutive month in August as developers scaled back the number of new condo and apartment buildings in urban areas, according to new data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.





The monthly seasonally adjusted rate fell to 180,291 units last month, down from 193,021 in July and 193,797 in June.





August's seasonally adjusted rate is the lowest since April, when there were 175,922 units.





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