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BLOG / NEWS Updates
Edmonton Real Estate Market
Bill Mah April 5, 2011 edmontonjournal.com EDMONTON - Edmonton is on the verge of another real estate boom, says real estate expert Don Campbell. Robust growth in the region’s gross domestic product and labour market will set off a chain of events over the next few months that will heat up housing again, said Campbell, president of Real Estate Investment Network and the author of the best-selling 97 Tips for Canadian Real Estate Investors. “Alberta is uniquely positioned in the world to be a stable, consistent and growing source of the four things that the world is going to need over the next decade — food, fuel, fertilizer and forestry,” Campbell said during a stop Monday in Edmonton. Jobs will attract more people to Edmonton from across Canada. That will push vacancies down and drive rents up.“The jobs are already starting and the in-migration is already beginning,” Campbell said. “Eighteen to 24 months from now we’re going to see multiple offers. We’re going to see vacancy rates down as low as 2007, we’re going to see rental increases and we’re going to see the market turn back into a seller’s market.“I’ve studied this for 19 years and I have not seen this strong of a perfect storm before.”Campbell didn’t want to forecast prices or rents, saying it would be a guess, but “you can easily see 10- to 12 per cent increases in rents. Rents will go up first and values will go up second.” His tip for homebuyers: “I suggest that you don’t wait until the frenzy is here because then you’ll be frustrated, putting in multiple offers.
Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 ¾ per cent
The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent.
The Bank Rate is correspondingly 2 per cent and the deposit rate is 1 per cent. The global economic expansion continues to moderate, with growth forecast to slow to 3.4 per cent in 2019 from 3.7 per cent in 2018. In particular, growth in the United States remains solid but is expected to slow to a more sustainable pace through 2019. However, there are increasing signs that the US-China trade conflict is weighing on global demand and commodity prices.
Global benchmark prices for oil have been about 25 per cent lower than assumed in the October Monetary Policy Report (MPR). The lower prices primarily reflect sustained increases in US oil supply and, more recently, increased worries about global demand. These worries among market participants have also been reflected in bond and equity markets.
The drop in global oil prices has a material impact on the Canadian outlook, resulting in lower terms of trade and national income. As well, transportation constraints and rising production have combined to push up oil inventories in the west and exert even more downward pressure on Canadian benchmark prices. While price differentials have narrowed in recent weeks following announced mandatory production cuts in Alberta, investment in Canadas oil sector is projected to weaken further.
Largest portions of household budgets go to shelter and transportation
Shelter remained the largest budget item for households in 2017, at 29.2% of their total consumption of goods and services. Spending on transportation, the second-largest expenditure category, accounted for 19.9% of total consumption, followed by food expenditures at 13.4%.
Households spent an average of $18,637 on shelter, up 3.4% from 2016. Included in this total was an average of $16,846 paid for principal residence (which includes rent, mortgage payments, repairs and maintenance costs, property taxes and utilities) and an average of $1,791 for other accommodation, such as hotels and owned secondary residences.
In 2017, two out of every three Canadian households owned their home, and more than half of homeowners had a mortgage. Homeowners with a mortgage spent an average of $25,904 on their principal residence, compared with $9,642 for homeowners without a mortgage and $13,499 for renters.
Canadian households paid $12,707 for transportation in 2017, up 6.7% from 2016. They spent an average of $11,433 on private transportation, which includes the purchase of cars, trucks and vans, as well as their operating costs. Households, on average, spent $2,142 on gasoline and other fuels in 2017, up 9.8% from 2016, reflecting the 11.8% annual average increase in gasoline prices. Spending on public transportation, which covers public transit, taxis, intercity buses, trains and air fares, remained relatively unchanged at $1,274.
In 2017, 84.0% of households owned or leased a vehicle. Vehicle ownership was highest in rural areas (94.9%) and lowest in cities with a population of at least one million residents (79.0%).
