Canadian Funding Corp. Reviews CMHC Statistics

With a gradually strengthening job market and still favourable financing conditions, the housing market situation in the Sherbrooke census
metropolitan area (CMA) will be somewhat different this year1. After having stagnated in 2009, existing home sales registered through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)® will rise by 4 per cent next year. Housing starts, for their part, will fall by 14 per cent in 2010. This decline will result from the level of housing activity in 2009, and not from the deterioration of economic conditions.

Employment to increase slightly in 2010 In 2009, the Sherbrooke area was spared by the slowdown in economic activity that affected all industrialized countries. During the first six months of the year, the average number of jobs2 in the area declined by 2 per cent, with losses registered in both part-time and full-time employment. However, the situation improved somewhat from July to September, as the number of jobs rose by 1.5 per cent. While this rise was entirely attributable to the gains recorded in part-time employment, full-time job losses are moderating more and more, suggesting that increases could occur shortly. Thanks to this renewed economic activity, the Sherbrooke CMA will end the year with 83,000 jobs, or the same level as in 2008.

Alberta Venture has put together an accessible database of Alberta communities slanted for the business folks considering, “location, location, location.”
As reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO.

A great resource for real estate investors performing their due-diligence, the info is laid out well, and in a glance you can wrap your head around the key information.

The #1 recommended community to locate your business is the Edmonton International Region – being the area around the airport (Leduc & Nisku are the hubs). The rest of the top ten includes Edmonton, Strathcona County, Camrose, Airdrie, Calgary, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Red Deer and Strathmore.

One item to note, is that the pricing for serviced industrial land is consistently on the low side. For example, serviced industrial land in Strathcona County for $300,000 per acre? $500,000 would be a safer “average”.

Real estate investors take note: this type of information shows trends for yesterday & today, but does not forecast tomorrow. A decision by city council, or the unexpected fall of a commodity price can quickly change the tides for a community. If you are not an informed citizen of the community you are investing in, there is no substitute for an unbiased, on-the-ground local expert to give you an inside scoop, and assist in taking a calculated risk to capture the biggest upside tomorrow.

Well done, Alberta Venture, a useful tool which I think many will utilize.

http://www.albertaventure.com/?p=3293

The following defitions, quoted by Marty Lapedus, are used in the CMHC statistical reports. They are all in accordance with the Canadian Census.

The definitions of types of dwellings, used in the Surveys, are in accordance with those in the Census.

A “single-detached” dwelling is a building containing only one dwelling unit, which is completely separated on all sides from any other dwelling or structure.

A “semi-detached” dwelling is one of two dwellings located side-by-side in a building, adjoining no other structure and separated by a common or party wall extending from ground to roof.

A “row” dwelling is a ground-oriented dwelling attached to two or more similar units so that the resulting row structure contains three or more units.

An “apartment and other” dwelling includes all dwellings other than those described above, including structures commonly referred to as duplexes, triplexes, double duplexes and row duplexes.

Other Census Definitions:

Census metropolitan area (CMA) and census agglomeration (CA) – 2006 Census

The general concept of these standard units is one of an urban core, and the adjacent urban and rural areas that have a high degree of social and economic integration with that urban core, as measured by commuting flows derived from Census of Population data on place of work.

Census metropolitan area (CMA)

To form a census metropolitan area (CMA), the urban core must have a population of at least 50,000 and the area (CMA) must have a population of at least 100,000. Once an area becomes a CMA, it is retained as a CMA even if the population of its urban core declines below 50,000.

Census agglomeration (CA)

To form a census agglomeration (CA), the urban core must have a population of at least 10,000. If the population of the urban core of a CA declines below 10,000, the CA is retired.

As of March 2003, CAs are no longer required to have an urban core population count of 100,000 to be promoted to the status of a CMA. Instead, CAs will assume the status of a CMA if they have attained a total population of at least 100,000 and an urban core of 50,000 or more.

Census subdivision (CSD) – 2006 Census

Census subdivision is a general term for municipalities as determined by provincial or territorial
legislation, or areas treated as municipal equivalents for statistical purposes. Municipalities are units of  local government.