Thursday, August 9, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The other Canadian real estate boom
Sports stadiums and arenas are popping up across the country
There is another boom in Canadian real estate and it’s not in houses or condos; it’s in professional sports facilities. Several football stadiums and hockey arenas are set to sprout up across the country, and like the residential housing boom, they are largely being built on borrowed money.
The city of Regina unanimously approved a deal for a 33,000-seat stadium for the Saskatchewan Roughriders on July 23. The estimated $278-million cost has the team paying $25 million, while the bulk is split between the city and province (to be repaid in property taxes and higher fees attached to ticket prices). Other new CFL stadiums, meanwhile, are in the works for Ottawa, Hamilton and Winnipeg, and all will be funded by provincial and city governments.
Also on the horizon are some ambitious arena projects. Edmonton is pushing for a new home for the Oilers. Quebec City hopes to bring back the Nordiques with a $400-million arena, with the cost shared between the city and province.
The boom is primarily the result of years of neglect: many of the facilities being replaced are old and falling apart. Renovations are no longer enough to keep Winnipeg’s stadium, which was built in 1953, workable. In Ottawa, Lansdowne Park is set for a much-needed overhaul; in 2007, cracks were found in the concrete columns and horizontal beams of the park’s Frank Clair Stadium, former home of the CFL’s Renegades. It is being rebuilt. “We coasted on our infrastructural capital, when it comes to sports, for a long time,” says Glen Hodgson, chief economist for the Conference Board of Canada.
Studies, however, suggest that the long-term economic results of these investments won’t be pretty. One recent report by the Conference Board found that building sports complexes does little to stimulate growth. It might boost civic pride, but can also strain already-burdened government budgets. “Those who think there’s an economic return from investing in sports facilities are probably kidding themselves,” Hodgson says. Still, anyone who has watched a CFL game in Regina in November will no doubt be happy with the new digs.
June Building Permits Fall in Canada
Canada June building permits fall, housing climbs
* Housing permits advance 4.2 pct
* Non-residential permits fall 12.3 pct
OTTAWA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The value of building permits issued in Canada fell 2.5 percent in June from a five-year high in May as a sharp decline in non-residential construction plans outweighed a gain in housing, seasonally adjusted data by Statistics Canada showed on Tuesday.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast, on average, a 3.6 percent drop in building permits amid signs the country's heated housing market is cooling. The decrease only partially eroded the 7.1 percent jump in May, and the C$6.8 billion ($6.8 billion) value of permits in June was the highest since December 2011.
Housing permits rose for the second straight month after four consecutive declines, advancing 4.2 percent following a revised 9.6 percent jump in May.
Permits for single-family units and for multiple-family units both rose in value by 4.2 percent. The central province of Ontario led the gains in both categories.
Non-residential permits fell 12.3 percent following a 3.6 percent increase in May, mainly because of weaker construction plans for government buildings in the Western province of British Columbia and for medical facilities in Alberta.
Those two westernmost provinces saw a drop-off in plans for both housing and non-housing construction projects, Statscan said.
Although Canadian home prices hit a third straight record high in June, extending a steady climb that had triggered fears of a property bubble, a slowdown in the pace of price increases suggested the red-hot housing market is cooling.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
This or that?
This or that?
Don’t follow, lead.
Don’t copy, create.
Don’t start, finish.
or even,
Don't sit still, move.
Don't fit in, stand out.
Don't sit quietly, speak up.
Not all the time, sure, but more often.
.