July 2015 Canadian Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Yukon's June unemployment rate double last year's rate

Yukon's unemployment rate reached 8.3 per cent in June, more than double what it was a year earlier, according to new figures from Statistics Canada.

The territory's unemployment rate — the number of adults looking for work but who can't find jobs — was 3.9 per cent in June 2014.

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[Ally]

Average prices across the country

Living in a city with a hot real estate market is great for your retirement.

So, tough luck to the baby boomer residents of Fredericton, Lethbridge, Alta., and other smaller communities with quiet or weak real estate markets. There’s not much of a retirement windfall waiting for you in the years ahead when you sell and downsize.

Income inequity in Canada has been growing, but it hasn’t become a big issue because it’s hidden. We may see people living large, but we don’t know if it’s because they’re getting richer or just using their lines of credit. But there’s a manifestation of income inequity that may be more tangible – real estate.


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[Ally]

Labour market boosts Canadian real estate in the second quarter

TORONTO , July 14, 2015 /CNW/ - Against the backdrop of mixed economic signals at home and abroad, Canada's real estate market remained healthy in the second quarter of 2015, with solid national average price appreciation across housing segments. Furthermore, the combination of high sales volumes and vigorous price appreciation inCanada's largest cities has put the national residential real estate market on track for a record year in terms of total sales. With most Canadian real estate markets across the country advancing modestly, and some rapidly, Royal LePage advises that a further interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada could over-stimulate markets such as greaterToronto and Vancouver .

According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast released today, the average price of a home in Canada rose between 3.9 per cent and 7.5 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter. The detached bungalow segment had the highest national increase, rising 7.5 per cent year-over-year to $438,938 , while standard two-storey homes appreciated 6.8 per cent to $471,002 . During the same period, the average price of a condominium rose 3.9 per cent to $268,583 . Looking ahead, Royal LePage forecasts that the average price of a home in Canada will increase 6.1 per cent for the full year when compared to 2014.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Some housing prices fall in Calgary, Montreal, and Winnipeg; national average

The Vancouver market was also strong with double-digit price increases for two-storey homes and detached bungalows, although condo prices were up a more moderate six per cent.

But prices were down for some types of residential property in Montreal, Calgary and Winnipeg.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Toronto, Vancouver real estate markets still hot

Toronto had the hottest real estate market in the country during the second quarter, with double-digit increases in all types of housing, finds Royal LePage. The Vancouver market was also strong with double-digit price increases for two-storey homes and detached bungalows, although condo prices were up a more moderate 6%.

But prices were down for some types of residential property in Montreal, Calgary and Winnipeg.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Bank of Canada cuts benchmark interest rate to 0.5%

Canada's central bank today lowered its benchmark interest rate to 0.5 per cent, the second time this year it has dropped the rate to stimulate the economy, after holding it steady for about four years.

"The bank's estimate of growth in Canada in 2015 has been marked down considerably from its April projection," the bank said in a statement announcing the news Wednesday.

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[Ally]

Toronto, Vancouver see double-digit growth in housing sales, other cities fall

TORONTO — Figures from Royal LePage suggest that Toronto had the hottest real estate market in the country during the second quarter, with double-digit increases in all types of housing.

The Vancouver market was also strong with double-digit price increases for two-storey homes and detached bungalows, although condo prices were up a more moderate six per cent.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Generation X now called Generation Rent

The generation X or sometimes called the millennials is now called the generation rent because most of the young adults these days are renting their own place.

Realty Biz News says that home ownership rates have decreased since 2005. This fact is ascribed to the Millennials failing to climb on the property ladder. According to the report, Generation X is largely to take the blame.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

A great reality check on current and future of Canadian oil.

The Canadian oil sands will continue to grow in coming years, despite lower crude oil prices and other “headwinds,” says a new report from consultancy IHS Inc.

Oil sands growth will to a large extent be based on a simple fact that is unlikely to change in the near to mid-term: American refineries require almost three million b/d of heavy crude, which in the past was primarily supplied by Venezuela and Nigeria.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada ranked as 'most admired' country in the world

Canada is the "most admired" country with the "best reputation" in the world, according to an annual survey ranking the reputations of developed nations across the globe.

The 2015 report from the Reputation Institute ranked Canada as the most reputable country in the world, based on a variety of environmental, political, and economic factors.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Ottawa eyes tougher new mortgage rules, larger down payments, to curb Canada’s red hot housing market

Sources say that Ottawa has been studying proposals to increase the minimum down payment from five per cent and said the government is looking at adding restrictions for high-priced housing, which would hit hardest in Canada’s two most expensive cities — Toronto and Vancouver.

“They are definitely looking into this but it doesn’t mean that they will do it,” said one source close to the department, who asked not to be identified. Another source confirmed Ottawa is continuing to look at possibilities for increasing the down payment.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada scores big again! Check out our ranking for human capital (preparing our youth for the future) Which country comes top for #skills and #education?

Europe dominates the global league table for skills and education with seven of the top 10 places. There are two representatives from Asia, one from North America, and none from the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean or Sub-Saharan Africa regions.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Mortgage broker and Real Estate Investment Network Member Calum Ross speaks about how the banks should be passing on tom Consumers the full Bank of Canada interest rate drop.

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Mortgage broker Calum Ross thinks Canadian consumers are being short-changed.

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada slashed its overnight rate to 0.5 per cent. That puts the cost of borrowing at an historic low. But so far, banks have only passed on a fraction of this week's savings to frontline consumers.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

40% of employers to hire back full-time staff by the end of the year

At the halfway point in 2015, many Canadian employers and job seekers are feeling positive about their prospects, according to CareerBuilder.ca’s Midyear Job Forecast.

Forty per cent of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent staff over the next six months and 37% plan to hire temporary or contract workers. Meanwhile, 1 in 5 workers plan to change jobs in the next 12 months.

“Despite slower-than-average job growth in the first half of 2015, many Canadian employers continue to add jobs,” said Mark Bania, managing director of CareerBuilder Canada. “Employers are practicing cautious optimism. While they may not be hiring at the pace they have in previous years, they are continuing to add headcount in several areas in order to remain competitive in a slower market.”

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Why you shouldn't panic about Canada's economy

By now, most economists feel confident that the Canadian economy contracted in the second quarter of this year. Following a 0.6% decline in the first, it’s time to accept the fact that we’re—cue the strings from Jaws—in a recession.

By nature, the R-word conjures up a lot of scenarios: job losses, spending cutbacks, falling home prices and stock market corrections, among other things. But so far, no one has seen any of those events occur in a big way. The technical definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of decline, and even though that’s probably what just happened, “it’s about as mild a recession as you could ever imagine,” says Doug Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal.

MORE DOWNTURN THINKING: How to Recession-Proof Your Business »

Indeed, for many businesses, the temptation would be to batten down the hatches, freeze hiring and hope it all blows over quickly. But in this case, that might be an overreaction. There’s evidence to suggest this is “recession lite”—a mild sprinkling of gloom rather than a financial downpour. The best strategy for weathering this rough patch? Don’t panic, stay cautious, and carry on as usual.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Home sales hit records in June

REGINA — Low interest rates have given buyers confidence and pushed the number of monthly sales in May and June to the highest levels in years, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The number of Canadian home resales in June hit a record for the month with 56,839 transactions, up 11 per cent from same month last year, CREA said Wednesday. About two-thirds of all local markets showed increases from a year earlier.The association’s national home price index was up 5.43 per cent in June from the same month last year and the national average price for homes sold in June was $543,560 — up 9.6 per cent from a year earlier.CREA economist Gregory Klump says national sales activity was boosted by a record-high volume of sales in the Toronto area. He says the Toronto-area records would have been even higher if there weren’t a shortage of listings for single family homes.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Tenant demand propels sustainable measures

The more human aspect of sustainability was the focus of a recent discussion on tenant demands for green space, at Toronto’s Green Real Estate Conference on April 23, 2015.

A panel, moderated by Derek Billsman, director of strategic initiatives at Morgaurd Investments Limited, examined the expectation for green features in commercial assets and what landlords and owners need to know in order to support requests from tenants.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Everyone's right, Canada's premiers agree in new energy accord

Canada’s premiers have emerged from their conference in St. John’s with a new Canadian energy strategy, one that promises all things to all people.

Going in, there was some doubt that they’d reach a final agreement on this thing they’ve been working on since 2012, inspired by Alberta’s then-premier Alison Redford. The idea was to set some terms for talking about things like new oil pipelines, which Alberta and Saskatchewan want to move their oil to foreign markets, but that have to cross other provinces that don’t necessarily want them.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Are we in a recession? The answer is much more complex than a simple Yes or No. Try this approach

A debate has broken out on whether or not Canada is now in an official recession (generally defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction). Starting among private sector economists, the debate has now drawn in Finance Minister Joe Oliver and other political leaders. Based on the available evidence, we are having a hard time picking a side—which is good news, because that means we are not looking at a repeat of 2008–09.

Canadian GDP contracted by a slight 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year. More recent indicators are not encouraging either, suggesting that growth in the second quarter is hovering close to zero. The GDP results for the second quarter won’t be available from Statistics Canada until September. If it slips even slightly into negative territory, then a mild “technical” recession will have occurred.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Who speaks for Canada?

A province-by-province approach has been taken to address the issues of carbon emissions — which is the way it should be because a one-size fits all prescription would have been doomed to failure.

No, Alberta doesn’t measure its carbon management on an absolute basis and nor should it. As any economist will point out, as long as intensity per unit of output is decreasing, that’s what counts. The fact the actual units of output are growing, means the economy is expanding — and that benefits all Canadians.

Read the full article here.