National home sales in Canada increased by 3.1% from March to April and prices were up 13.1% year on year, the biggest gain since May 2010, the latest index shows. The data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) also shows that actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 10.3% compared to April 2015 while the number of newly listed homes was little changed with a decline of 0.2% from March to April. Sales were up in April compared to the previous month in about 70% of all local markets, led by the National Capital Region and Edmonton. Following small declines the previous month, activity held steady in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and edged lower in Greater Vancouver. ‘National home sales set new monthly records over the past two months, even as activity in Greater Vancouver and the GTA appears to have topped out,’ said CREA president Cliff Iverson. ‘With almost three quarters of all local markets posting sales gains in April, there are plenty of other places where sales are climbing as we head into the busiest time of the year for home buyers,’ he added. CREA chief economist Gregory Klump pointed out that supply shortages and tight housing market conditions have become self-reinforcing in the GTA and the Greater Vancouver Area appears to be heading in that direction too. ‘While significant home price gains may entice some homeowners in these markets to list their home for sale, the issue for many is that the decision to move means they would also be looking to buy while competition for scarce listings is fierce,’ he explained. ‘As a result, many home owners are deciding to stay put and continue accumulating capital gains. That’s keeping listings off the markets at a time when they are already in short supply,’ he added. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity rose 10.3% year on year ago to shatter all previous records for the month of April. It also marked the second highest level for transactions for any single month and stood 16.5% above the 10 year average for the month of April. Activity was up from year-ago levels in about 70% of all local markets, led by a number of markets in British Columbia as well as the GTA and the number of markets where new supply rose and where it fell was fairly evenly split. New listings were up most in Edmonton and on Vancouver Island but fell in the GTA, London and St. Thomas as well as Newfoundland and Labrador. The national sales to new listings ratio rose to 64.5% in April 2016, the ratio’s tightest reading since October 2009. A sales to new listings ratio between 40% and 60% is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings below and above this range indicating buyers’ and sellers’ markets respectively. The ratio was above 60% in about half of all local housing markets in April, virtually all of which are located in British Columbia, the Greater Toronto Area or in Southwestern Ontario.The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. There were 4.7 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of April 2016, the lowest level in more than six years and a reflection of increasingly tighter housing markets in B.C. and Ontario. The number of months of inventory currently sits at or below two months in a growing number of local markets in British Columbia, the GTA and environs and in Southwestern Ontario. For the third consecutive month, year on year price growth accelerated for all property types tracked by the index. Continuing the trend seen in recent months, two storey single family home prices posted the biggest year on year gain at 12.3%, followed by townhouse/row units at 9.8%, one storey single family homes at 9.4% and apartments at 7.9%. While nine of the 11 markets tracked by the index posted year on year price gains in April, price growth among housing markets continues to vary widely. Greater Vancouver, up 25.3%, and the Fraser Valley, up 25.6%, posted the largest gains, followed by Greater Toronto up 12.6%, Victoria up 12% and Vancouver Island up 8.2%. By contrast, home prices fell by 3.5% and 2.4% in Calgary and Saskatoon respectively, which are smaller declines than those posted by these markets in March. Year on year price growth advanced further into positive territory in Regina with growth of 1.9% and was up 1.1% in Ottawa, by 1.3% in Greater Montreal and up 6.6% in Greater Moncton. The national average price continues to be pulled upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s tightest, most active and expensive housing markets. Indeed, if these two housing markets are excluded from calculations, the average is a more modest $369,222 and the year on year gain is reduced to 8.7 %. Even then, the report says this reflects a tug of war between strong average price gains in housing markets around the GTA and in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia versus flat or declining average prices elsewhere in Canada. The average price for Canada net of sales in British Columbia and Ontario in April 2016 was down 1.7% year on year to $301,951. BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)      Source link

UK has ‘fourth highest’ investment in renewables Published:  03 June, 2016 The UK has been ranked the country with the fourth highest investment in renewable energy in a new global report, despite a series of significant cuts to green subsidies over the past year. In 2015, the UK’s solar industry saw a 60% tariff decrease in a year that saw new solar, wind and hydropower sources added at the fastest rate the world has yet seen. In total, about 147 gigawatts (GW) of capacity were added in 2015, according to the Renewables Global Status Report. China, the US, Japan, the UK and India added the largest share of green power, despite the fact that prices of fossil fuels have fallen significantly. The costs of renewables have also fallen. The report also revealed 2015 was the first time that emerging economies spent more than developed economies on renewable power and fuels, in a year that also saw a new peak for global spend on renewables. John Thompson, chief executive at the Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors (APHC) said: “We welcome the news of these statistics, however, it must be stressed that the UK’s high position on the renewables table has been achieved in spite of ever-increasing cuts to renewables subsidies. We would urge government to ensure these are not taken any further to avoid causing further adverse impact on the UK renewables job market, and a significant dent in our positioning in dealing with the renewables agenda on the world stage.”   Source link

3 October 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal The demand for regional offices has returned to pre-recession levels over the past three years as strong economic growth has driven increased letting activity, according to a report by Bilfinger GVA.   While the traditional sectors of financial and professional services still provide the largest share of demand the strongest growth can be found in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors, says the report, which analyses office take-up trends across the UK’s main regional office markets.   A key trend in the demand for offices is continued changing working methods and technology, it adds.   While flexible working means desk space is being occupied more densely, collaborative working and informal meeting spaces means that this is not necessarily leading to a reduction in the overall requirement for office space, the research reveals.    Ian Stringer, a senior director at Bilfinger GVA, said: “The total regional office demand from tech companies in the past five years has increased from 8 per cent in 2009 to 20 per cent in 2015. In quantum terms an increase of 240 per cent”.   Offices: Who needs them? Source link