Welcome the the Jewel of the North Okanagon. Vernon BC offers more than 100 lakes within a 1 hour drive, along with world class golfing, skiing, beaches, hiking and world-class wineries. This family friendly city is nestled between the rolling green hills in the North Okanagon valley, and is home to a perfect mix of working-class families and aging boomers looking for the perfect spot to retire. There are also a number of lakefront properties and recreational properties attracting wealthy executives and sports stars from the Calgary and Vancouver areas. Only 30 minutes north of Kelowna, Vernon is perfectly poised to become the next "go-to" destination in BC real estate.

Looking ahead, the recent uptrend in commodity prices and improving prospects for global energy demand have caused firms in Alberta’s oil and gas extraction industry to increase their planned spending by over 8% to $25.5 billion in 2010, following a 41% drop to $17 billion in 2009. This pickup in investment should, as it has in the past, lead to a further strengthening of employment in construction and mining and help to stem the net outflow of inter-provincial migrants that escalated sharply in the third quarter of 2009. Stronger population growth, together with low interest rates and strengthening confidence, should also help to reinforce housing demand into 2011. Following a decline of 2.5% in 2009, growth in Alberta should average 3.1% in 2010 and remain in this vicinity in 2011.

Now is the perfect time to get in on the ground floor of an investment in the Edmonton area. Interested in more info? Give us a call at 604-714-1700 and we would be glad to show you what sets these cash flow deals apart. 

Parkdale offers 25 two bedroom condo apartment units between two buildings. The two buildings are a block apart and situated just steps away from the north edge of the river valley, and a few short LRT minutes to downtown. The community of Parkdale, a traditionally low-density family neighbourhood, is changing. Following the expansion of the LRT through Parkdale, the city has set out a general policy in their area redevelopment plan for Parkdale to increase the density within close proximity to the LRT line. With density increases, land prices increase and in turn property prices are pushed upwards. Within close proximity to the downtown core, the community’s traditional low-density landscape, populated primarily by single-family housing, is going through a continued transition by way of major redevelopment plans. The Lancaster Gate building offers 15 brand new units while the Parkdale Terrace building offers 10 units constructed in 2004. Both buildings are identical in design. Our exclusive 2 bedroom units range in size from 680 - 900sqft. Full service Property Management services are available to our buyers, along with optional Rental Program & full 1 year Rental Commitment. The two buildings are in between the Commonwealth Stadium (home of the Edmonton Eskimos), Rexall Place Coliseum (home of the Edmonton Oilers) and right next to the Northlands Expo Centre. Northlands is one of Edmonton’s top employers, making a strong economic impact to the local economy with contributions of $600 million.

When a city has as much going for it as Edmonton, it’s easy to see why the region is enjoying exceptional economic growth, high employment and increasing prosperity. Edmonton’s status as a world centre for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries and supply hub for northern mega-projects has created nearly limitless manufacturing possibilities. Home to Canada’s most diverse metropolitan economy, Edmonton offers an exceptional quality of life, a highly skilled workforce and a cost-competitive business environment making it one of the best places to work and live in the country.

Key Advantages:

· 97% of Alberta’s oil is found in the Greater Edmonton service area

· Supply and service industries drive the energy extraction engine while research develops new technologies and supports expanded value-added processing of Alberta's massive oil, gas and oil sands reserves

· But the city’s riches extend beyond its wealth of natural resources. Manufacturing opportunities in the region are virtually without limit. The demands of sectors including agri-food processing, petro-chemical processing, forestry, the life sciences, and nanotechnology are being met by the highly skilled workforce of more than 585,000 people and leading edge R&D facilities. 10 universities and colleges (150,000+ students)

*Participants from Nunavut, Greenland, Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavik, Sapmi, and Yamal-Nenets will compete against Team Alberta North athletes in 20 sports. These international Games provide northern-based athletes with their own version of the ‘Winter Olympics’ with a variety of different events.*

While the Arctic Winter Games includes traditional winter sports such as alpine skiing and speed skating, there are also unique Indigenous-based competitions like arctic sports, snowshoeing and dog mushing. 

Dual sport athlete Sam Carstairs, from Grande Prairie, will be the flagbearer for Team Alberta North.&nbsp Carstairs’ participation in the Arctic Winter Games tops off his achievements as a competitor in every provincial competition available to him as an amateur athlete in Alberta. Carstairs also earned a bronze medal in the Men’s team wrestling at the 2009 Canada Summer Games in Prince Edward Island.

Volleyball player, Kaitlyn Cordingley of Rycroft, and Snowshoer, Melissa Ross of Slave Lake, will carry the Team Alberta North Banner at the opening ceremonies. These athletes will be part of Team Alberta North consisting of 350 participants who will compete in 20 sports, and represent 40 communities north of the 55th parallel.

The 2010 Arctic Winter Games come to Grande Prairie for the first time and mark the third time Alberta has hosted the Games. Slave Lake hosted the 1994 Arctic Winter Games, and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo held the Games in 2004. Team Alberta North has competed in the Arctic Winter Games since 1986. The 2010 Arctic Winter Games are made possible with the assistance of dozens of corporate sponsors, host municipalities and the Government of Alberta.

For more information on the 2010 Arctic Winter Games and Team Alberta North please visit www.asrpwf.ca or www.teamalberta.org

Media inquiries may be directed to:

Rob Meckling, Media Liaison, Team Alberta North, 780-993-8872

Dan Huang, Communications, Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation, 780-427-1828

To call toll free within Alberta dial 310-0000.

Hal Kvisle, CEO of Calgary pipeline company TransCanada, said in a conference call Tuesday that although much of the recent publicity about the oilsands has been negative, he eventually expects “greater appreciation of energy supply within the continent.”

While U.S. lawmakers are trying to balance energy security with environmental legislation, some observers in Canada have argued it may make sense to at least plan shipping Canadian crude to overseas markets, especially Asia, to lessen the reliance on the U.S.

Kvisle didn’t rule out that TransCanada will eventually ship crude to the coast for export overseas, but he stressed that his company still sees Canada and the U.S. as their main market.

TransCanada is in the middle of a $22-billion capital program that eventually will see oilsands crude shipped to refiners on the U.S. Gulf coast.

You can check out the original post here as it appeared in the Edmonton Sun. 

Article Source: Edmonton Journal Feb 9, 2010

The 577 starts in the Capital Region were 164 more than the same month last year, with single detached homes leading the way.

They accounted for 397 units, compared with 147 in the first month of 2009, and the eighth month in a row builders have started more single units than the previous year.

"We anticipate continued strength in new single detached production in the coming months as the local economic conditions improve," said Richard Goatcher, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s senior Edmonton market analyst.

Multiple dwelling starts decreased 32 per cent year-over-year following two months of improvement, with 180 semi-detached, townhouse and apartment starts, compared with 266 in January 2009.

Improved activity in semi-detached and townhouse construction was countered by a lower number of apartment starts, Goatcher said.

"Despite January's decline, CMHC looks for gradual improvements in multiple starts this year, compared with 2009 levels, as new-unit inventories head lower and rental-apartment vacancies also subside."

Housing starts in Alberta's seven largest centres totalled 1,271 units in January, up 52 per cent from the first month of 2009.

Increased activity in Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Red Deer offset declines in Wood Buffalo, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.

ATB Financial senior analyst Todd Hirsch noted starts in Alberta's urban areas slipped to 21,100 in January, down 17 per cent from December, and the second-consecutive month of loss. 

The cold and snowy January may have had something to do with it, but the market may also be simply correcting from the surge recorded late last year, Hirsch said.

"With fewer new houses coming on to the market, residential prices (both new and existing home) may find a bit of support going into the spring."

The upward trend continued nationally, with starts rising 5.8 per cent to the highest level since October 2008, prompting some to warn that the new supply and future higher lending rates could trip up those gains in the second half of the year.

The seasonally adjusted rate of 186,300 units, up from 176,100 in December, beat the 180,000 units called for by analysts polled by Bloomberg.

"Supply is rapidly coming back into Canada's housing market compared to the extreme shortfalls of last spring through summer, and that should have one increasingly concerned about house prices later this year," Scotia Capital economists Derek Holt and Karen Cordes wrote in a morning note.

"More supply, compared to the extreme tightness over last summer and into the fall, combined with higher future variable-and fixed-rates will combine to cool housing demand and pose downside risks to house prices over the second half of 2010 and into 2011."

However, TD Securities economics strategist Millan Mulraine said the numbers were skewed somewhat by building related to the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

"With part of the uptick in starts likely to be coming as a result of temporary factors, namely the surge in Olympic-related housing in B.C., we believe that this report overstates the true strength of the recovery in residential construction and expect to see a modest pullback next month," Mulraine wrote ina note.

The numbers soared in British Columbia, where the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts rose 19.8 per cent, while in Quebec rates rose 7.3 per cent. In Atlantic Canada rates rose by 2.3, and by 1.5 per cent in Ontario.

Original Article Here: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Edmonton+home+numbers+rise/2537045/story.html 

With Canadian economic growth rebounding from the recession, the unusually severe decline in sales activity in early 2009 is not expected to recur in 2010. Annual activity in 2010 is forecast to be well above the previous year’s level as a result.

CREA forecasts national activity will reach 527,300 units in 2010, up 13.3 per cent from 2009. This would represent a new annual record, standing 1.2 per cent above the previous peak in 2007. Low interest rates are expected to boost housing demand in the first half of the year, resulting in strong annual sales growth in nearly all provinces in 2010, led by British Columbia and Ontario.

National home sales activity is expected to remain strong in the first half of 2010, fuelled by low interest rates and homebuyers motivated to avoid the HST before it comes into effect in Ontario and British Columbia. Over the second half of the year, national activity is expected to trend downward as the last of pent-up demand is exhausted, interest rates begin rising, and the HST comes into effect in Ontario and British Columbia. 

Interest rate increases will contribute to weaker national sales activity in 2011. National home sales activity is forecast to decline 7.1 per cent to 490,100 units in 2011, putting it on par with annual levels reported in 2005 and 2006.

“Although interest rates are expected to rise, they will still be low enough to keep affordability within reach for many homebuyers requiring mortgage financing, and support overall housing demand,” said CREA President Dale Ripplinger.

The national average home price is forecast to climb 5.4 per cent in 2010, reaching a record $337,500, with average price gains forecast in all provinces. The national average price increase will continue to reflect upward skewing from the rebound in activity among Canada’s priciest markets, particularly in British Columbia and Ontario.

The national average price is forecast to ease by 1.5 per cent in 2011. Modest average price gains are forecast for all provinces except British Columbia and Ontario, whose share of national activity is expected to ease. The shift in the contribution made by provinces toward national activity will continue skewing the annual comparison in the national average price in 2011.

The price trend is similar but less dramatic for the weighted national average price, which compensates for changes in provincial sales activity by taking into account provincial proportions of privately owned housing stock. The weighted national average price is forecast to climb 4.8 per cent in 2010, and remain stable in 2011.

“Improved financial market stability and recovering global economic growth mean that home sales activity in 2010 is unlikely to repeat the dive it experienced in late 2008 and early 2009,” said Chief Economist Gregory Klump. 

“Fiscal restraint, a strong Canadian dollar and a subdued inflation outlook point to marginal interest rate increases over the next couple of years, especially if the U.S. economic recovery proves to be weak and protracted,” said Klump.

“The Bank of Canada will need time to gauge the effect of interest rate increases on Canadian economic growth,” Klump said. “It recognizes that consumer debt burdens are running high, so it will want to gauge the impact of interest rate hikes on domestic demand and overall economic growth. Changes in interest rates impact the economy with a lag, so the timing and magnitude of interest rate hikes will be tricky, given that the Bank expects the private sector to lead economic growth once temporary government stimulus spending expires,” he added.

“The decline and subsequent rebound in sales activity for homes in the upper price spectrum in some of Canada’s priciest markets skewed average prices upward in the second half of 2009 and into 2010. This segment of housing activity in Ontario and British Columbia is expected to ease beginning in the second half of 2010, causing average prices to moderate in those provinces,” said Klump.

“A downward trend in national sales activity combined with an increase in listings will result in a more balanced market. Although builders are understandably more upbeat than they were during the depth of the recession, speculative building will likely continue to be held in check. As a result, while the real estate market will become more balanced, Canada will continue to avoid the massive realignment in housing supply and demand experienced in the U.S.”

Source: Resale housing forecast extended to 2011 

Residential sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) of Canadian real estate boards numbered 27,744 units in December 2009. This stands 72 per cent above activity in December 2008, when activity dropped to the lowest level in a decade. New records for the month of December were reported in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland & Labrador.

Seasonally adjusted national home sales totalled 46,805 units in December, capping the strongest fourth quarter period ever. A total of 137,957 homes traded hands on a seasonally adjusted basis in the fourth quarter of 2009. This is up 2.6 per cent from the previous record set in the first quarter of 2007. New quarterly records were set in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.

National sales activity began 2009 on a weak footing. Despite year-over-year increases in the second and third quarters of the year, year-to-date activity was still trailing 2008 levels at the end of September 2009. A 59 per cent year-over-year gain in the fourth quarter of 2009 pushed sales activity above annual levels for 2008.

“Sales activity in 2009 came in like a lamb and went out like a lion,” said CREA President Dale Ripplinger. “The continuation of unusually low interest rates may keep national sales activity near current levels over the coming months, as will a blip in housing demand in Ontario and British Columbia from homebuyers motivated to beat the introduction of the HST.”

Annual activity in 2009 was down 10.7 per cent from the peak reached in 2007. A total of 465,251 homes traded hands through the MLS® systems of real estate boards in Canada in 2009. This is up 7.7 per cent from 2008 levels, and represents the fourth highest level on record for annual activity.

The national residential average price was $337,410 in December, up 19 per cent year-over-year. On an annual basis, average price climbed five per cent to a record $320,333. Average prices set new annual records in a majority of local markets in 2009, and in every province except Alberta.

The large year-over-year increase in the national average price in December reflects the high degree to which it was skewed downward in late 2008 by unusually low activity in Canada’s priciest markets. The national average price was also skewed upward by rebounding activity in the spring and summer months of 2009. The national average price rose to unprecedented heights at that time, despite records having been set in only a small number of local markets.

The contribution of activity by higher priced markets toward the national average price has recently returned to more typical levels. Record level average prices in most regions are now driving the national average price to new heights.

The price trend is similar but less dramatic for the national weighted average price, which compensates for changes in provincial sales activity by taking into account provincial proportions of privately owned housing stock. It climbed 3.6 per cent in 2009 

The residential average price in Canada’s major markets was up 5.5 per cent year-over-year to $348,840 in 2009. As with the national counterpart, the price trend is similar but less dramatic for the major market weighted average price, which rose 2.3 per cent from 2008 levels.

Strong demand and headline average price gains are drawing more sellers to the market. New listings coming onto Board MLS® Systems across Canada rose to the highest level on record for the month of December, with a total of 33,090 residential properties coming on stream. This is up 4.8 per cent from December 2008, the first year-over-year gain in a year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, new listings rose by 4.7 per cent in December 2009 compared to the previous month.

The recent rising trend in new listings has not yet offset the steep decline in the number of new listings during the first half of 2009. As a result, new listings in 2009 were down 12.6 per cent from the annual peak in 2008.

Despite the recent rise in new listings, strong demand for resale housing continues to draw down inventories. There were 154,264 homes listed for sale on Boards’ MLS® Systems in Canada at the end of December 2009, a decline of 22 per cent from levels reported one year ago.

Nationally, there were 4.1 months of inventory in December 2009 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is the lowest level in more than two years.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of months of inventory in December 2009 stood at 5.6 months, the lowest December figure since 2005, and well below the same month in 2008 (12.3 months). Although up slightly from November (five months), an increase is normal at this time of year since demand normally eases relative to supply over autumn and winter months. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

“CREA’s latest statistics will no doubt spark further bubble talk amongst the usual suspects,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “Cooler heads recognize that many of the recent gains reflect temporary factors that could fade by summer.”

“The extraordinary decline in activity one year ago and subsequent rebound, particularly for higher-priced real estate, is stretching current year-over-year comparisons,” he said. “By the second half of 2010, price gains are likely to shrink significantly, since a year will have elapsed since the decline and rebound. Klump added that, “Further expected increases in supply will also take some steam out of the market. A more balanced market will result in smaller price increases in the second half of the year, but a massive decline in demand similar to what we saw in late 2008 and early 2009 seems as unlikely as a massive spike in supply.”

To view the complete release: http://www.crea.ca/public/news_stats/pdfs/media_dec09.pdf