Posted on January 16, 2012 at 10:44:50 AM by Audrey

Vancouver Sun

OTTAWA — Sales of existing homes in Canada rose 1.8 per cent in December from the previous month, and by 4.6 per cent from a year earlier, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday.

For all of 2011, sales were up 2.2 per cent, the industry group said.

Meanwhile, the number of newly listed homes rose three per cent in December from a month earlier, CREA added.

"The momentum in sales activity provides clear evidence that low interest rates continue to draw homebuyers to the housing market," said CREA president Gary Morse.

"While buyers have become increasingly cautious, the hand off for sales activity going into the new year suggests that Canada's housing market will continue to benefit from low interest rates in 2012, and continue making a significant contribution to Canadian economic activity."

BMO Capital Markets said in a morning note "the stampede to lock in (mortgage rates) is expected to pick up."

On Thursday, real estate brokerage firm Royal LePage said that with those low long-term rates in place Canada's housing market will continue to be strong this year.

It forecast prices across to country to rise 2.8 per cent by the end of 2012, after stronger gains last year.

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Posted on October 05, 2011 at 08:51:36 AM by Audrey

Vancouver Sun

OTTAWA — Home prices rose during the third quarter of 2011, but the raw numbers may not be telling the whole story of the Canadian housing market, a new survey says.

The Royal LePage House Price Survey released Wednesday found that the average price of a home in Canada increased between 5.7 and 7.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year.

The average price of a detached bungalow was $349,974, a standard two-storey home was $388,218 and a standard condominium was $239,300, according to the survey.

Royal LePage said that the rise in price defied expectations and suggested that record-low interest rates and a fairly stable Canadian economy have bolstered consumer confidence.

However, the third quarter of 2010 was a relatively weak period for housing prices, which makes the increase this year appear rosier than they are and may mask a decline in prices in the months ahead, it said.

"The strength in Canada's national housing market conceals signs of predictable softening in some regions," Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services, said in a statement.

"A broader slowdown is expected in the months ahead, but fears of a U.S.-style correction are completely unfounded."

Vancouver had the highest priced homes in the country during the third quarter of 2011 and was the only city in the survey where the average bungalow or two-storey home cost more than $1 million.

Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Saint John, N.B., and Ottawa all saw prices increase between 4.4 and 10.4 per cent.

In Alberta, the volume of homes trading hands increased, but prices stayed soft, the survey found: Detached bungalows in Calgary fell one per cent in the third quarter.

Victoria was similarly weak, with detached bungalows and standard two-storey homes falling two and 1.1 per cent respectively.

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Posted on September 29, 2011 at 08:42:01 AM by Audrey

Vancouver Sun

Home resale prices rose in July, their eighth consecutive monthly gain, taking the index to a record high, according to a report on Wednesday.

The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes in six metropolitan areas, showed overall prices were up 1.3 percent in July from June.

Overall prices were up 5.3 percent from a year earlier.

The index tracks home prices over time for repeat sales, so properties with at least two sales are required in the calculations. The report did not provide actual prices.

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Posted on September 27, 2011 at 10:33:45 AM by Audrey

The Vancouver Sun

OTTAWA — Canada's housing market "remains a notable out-performer" in comparison to other countries, where renewed doubts about the strength of the global economy are weakening an already fragile real-estate scene, says a report released Tuesday.

The Bank of Nova Scotia said in an assessment of the global housing market that high unemployment, concerns over the financial health of some European governments, signs the global economic recovery is slowing down and recent stock-market volatility are burdening residential real-estate markets around the world.

For many people, saving money and repaying debt have become bigger priorities than making major purchases, such as homes, the report said.

"We expect global housing demand to remain moribund until the global economic recovery gets back on a firmer footing and some financial market stability returns," said Adrienne Warren, senior economist with Scotia Economics.

Canada is one of just three of the nine developed countries assessed that saw year-to-year price growth, adjusted for inflation, in its housing market in this year's second quarter. There was five per cent price growth, on average, in the April-to-June period.

"Ultra-low interest rates will continue to support affordability in the face of record high prices," Warren said of Canada. "Nonetheless, heightened economic uncertainty, combined with recent signs of a loss of momentum in Canada's jobs market, could keep some potential buyers on the sidelines for the time being.

"On balance, we anticipate a modest slowdown in the volume of sales transactions heading into year end, alongside relatively flat prices."

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Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:37:02 AM by Audrey

Kamloops Daily News

Modernization of the mine mill at Highland Valley Copper will bring an investment of $475 million and 500 construction jobs over the next two years, Teck Resources announced Thursday.

Construction is expected to begin as early as this fall with completion set for 2014, said Mark Freberg, manager of strategic planning at the copper mine.

"This is brand new and just approved by the Teck board yesterday," he said.

The project, which involves construction of a new mill building, will extend the life of the 40-year-old operation to 2026. It is expected to raise mill processing capacity by about 10 per cent and copper recovery rates by two per cent.

"It's a new generation of equipment but it's the same process," Freberg said.

"We have significantly extended the life of the Highland Valley Copper Mine in recent years, and the modernization of the mill makes sense, especially given the expected increases in throughput and copper recoveries," said Don Lindsay, president and CEO of Teck.

The company also announced plans to invest $210 million to increase capacity of an electronic waste recycling operation at the Trail zinc smelter and hydroelectric plant.

Specifically, Teck is building a new furnace at the Trail smelter that will integrate into the lead smelting process. Construction on the project will begin next year with completion scheduled for 2014.

"Last year we recycled just over 13,000 tonnes of e-waste at our Trail Operations, and this project will significantly increase our capacity to recycle end-of-life electronic components, helping to keep them out of landfills and allowing for the recovery and reuse of valuable metals," Lindsay added.

Both moves are intended to improve the viability of two key operations for the company, Canada's largest publicly traded base metals and coal producer.

Teck Ltd. is celebrating the 25th year of operation for Highland Valley Copper, formed in 1986 when Cominco joined assets with Lornex Mining. Two years later, Highmont Mining joined the partnership.

Today the mine is owned by Teck Resources Ltd. (97.5 per cent) and Highmont Mining Co. (2.5 per cent).

In the late 1990s, Highland Valley itself was operating based on a 10-year lifespan. A mine plan stated operations would wrap up in 2010. Then it became 2017. Today the mine is forecast to continue operation until at least 2025.

The longer mine life has also allowed Teck to invest more in the mine to upgrade equipment and facilities. It now has more than 1,200 employees, down from a peak in 1986 of about 1,300 when the partnership formed.

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Posted on September 15, 2011 at 08:56:14 AM by Audrey

Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - Plans to remove the HST and return to a provincial sales tax mixed with the Goods and Services Tax will probably cause some homebuyers in British Columbia to delay purchases until 2013, Central 1 Credit Union forecasts.

The credit union's economist Bryan Yu said in a news release today: “People looking at new homes priced over $525,000 may very well wait until the tax changes lower the 12 per cent hit they face.”

The credit union forecasts that by the end of the year, home sales in British Columbia will have declined less than one per cent from their 2010 mark.

But while resale home transactions are forecast to end the year 4.7 per cent ahead of 2010, new home transactions will lag by 26 per cent.

Total home sales are forecast to reach 88,200 units by the end of this year.

While sales will remain soft, the median price will rise 6.8 per cent to $417,000, Yu said.

“The real estate market will remain stable for the next couple years, weighed down by global economic issues, moderate employment and population growth and changes to mortgage insurance rules,” Yu said.

Central 1 forecasts that next year total home sales are expected to increase by about 3.4 per cent, driven by higher new home sales, while resales of existing homes will decline.

But home sales are unlikely to drop dramatically because mortgage rates remain at record lows, maintaining home affordability, the report says.

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Posted on August 22, 2011 at 08:50:00 AM by Audrey

Vancouver Sun

Housing in Canada became harder to afford in the second quarter, with Vancouver's pricey market playing a major role in the deterioration, according to a report by Royal Bank of Canada on Monday.

It was the second straight quarter in which the bank's quarterly Housing Trends and Affordability Index dropped. The cost of housing rose nationally across all the housing types the index tracks in the second quarter.

The index measures the proportion of pretax household income needed to service the cost of owning a home. A rise in the measure indicates a loss of affordability.

For a detached bungalow, the measure rose 1.7 percentage points to 43.3 percent. For a standard condominium, it edged up 0.8 percentage points to 29.2 percent, and for a standard two-storey home it climbed 1.8 percentage points to 49.3 percent.

Vancouver, which has long seen exceptional growth in home prices compared with other Canadian cities, directly accounted for up to one-third of the deterioration in affordability on the national score, the RBC report said.

"Vancouver's housing market is without a doubt the most stressed in Canada and is facing the highest risk of a downturn," said chief economist Craig Wright.

Other local housing markets were reasonably affordable or at worst, slightly unaffordable, the report showed.

Housing sector observers generally see the overall pace of housing activity, from starts to resales, slowing in the coming months, partly due to tighter mortgage regulations introduced earlier in the year and as pent-up demand gets absorbed.

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Posted on August 11, 2011 at 10:06:25 AM by Audrey

Vancouver Sun

Home sales in British Columbia rose 12.9 per cent to 6,533 units in July compared to July 2010, while the average price climbed 10 per cent to $540,877, the British Columbia Real Estate Associate reported Thursday.

However, sales in the province fell four per cent from June, fueled by “less frenetic buying activity in Vancouver,” Cameron Muir, BCREA chief economist said in a news release.

Housing demand in the near future could be bolstered in the future by low interest rates as investors flock to bonds and bank analysts predict the Bank of Canada will keep its overnight target rate steady in light of the U.S. Federal Reserve saying it expected that an increase in rates would not be warranted, given the state of the U.S. Economy, until 2013.

“The increased affordability and added purchasing power from lower mortgage rates will help bolster housing demand," Muir siad.

Year-to-date, B.C. residential sales dollar volume increased 16.5 per cent to $28.2 billion, compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales increased one per cent to 48,628 units, while the average residential price for houses sold through the multiple listings service rose 15.3 per cent to $579,645, BCREA said.

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Posted on August 09, 2011 at 11:22:52 AM by Audrey

Vancouver Sun

Canadian housing starts unexpectedly climbed 4.3 percent in July, data showed on Tuesday, setting the third quarter off to a strong start in new home construction and maintaining its role as a key support to the economy.

Starts, elevated by a big jump in multi-residential construction, rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 205,100 units, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC) said.

That is up from a downwardly revised 196,600 units in June, which were originally reported at 197,400 units.

The number of starts in July was above the average forecast of analysts who had called for 196,000 starts.

"Detracting slightly from the headline's positive cast, this month's gain was concentrated in the multiples segment, which tends to have a lower valued added," said Peter Buchanan, senior economist at CIBC World Markets.

"Today's report and the recent resilience of both permits and sales suggest housing continues to be one of the economy's strongest sectors, although sentiment among purchasers obviously remains vulnerable to recent market turmoil."

The housing sector has long been a source of support for the Canadian economy, helping draw it out of the recession, while other global economies have suffered at the hands of a weak housing market, particularly in the United States.

But the overall pace of housing activity, from starts to resales, are forecast to slow in the coming months as higher interest rates and tighter mortgage regulations dampen demand.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts was led by a 13 percent jump in multiple urban starts, such as condos, to 120,200 units. CMHC said Ontario, British Columbia and the Atlantic region showed the most strength in the multi-residential sector.

But the closely watched measure of single starts decreased 7.8 percent in July to 65,000 units.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 19,900 units in July.

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Posted on July 15, 2011 at 12:13:59 PM by Audrey

Vancouver Sun

OTTAWA — Home sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.6 per cent in June from the previous month, a sign the housing market is on a "solid footing," the Canadian Real Estate Association said Friday.

Sales activity remained stable in Toronto, with gains recorded in Victoria, Calgary and Montreal, as well as in the Ontario cities of Ottawa, London and Hamilton, CREA said.

However, monthly sales declined in Vancouver and the nearby Fraser Valley.

"The Canadian housing sector remains on a solid footing," said CREA chief economist Gregory Klump. "The rise in monthly home sales activity at the end of the second quarter, upbeat business sentiment and hiring intentions, and signs that the Bank of Canada is in no rush to raise interest rates bode well for home sales activity and prices going into the second half of 2011."

On an unadjusted basis, sales were up 10.8 per cent in June from the same month last year.

On Wednesday, TD Economics said Canada's housing market is set to undergo a "modest" correction, with resale activity poised to drop 15.2 per cent and average prices likely to fall 10.2 per cent over the next two calendar years.

Still, another report this week showed home construction rose more than expected in June, led by a jump in single-unit activity.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 197,400 units last month, up 1.7 per cent from a revised 194,100 units in May.

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