Keeping a weathered eye on this event. The ship building contracts fate is intertwined with Halifax and Nova Scotia commerce;
"Canada's chief shipbuilding official has announced an update, nearly a year after the federal government chose the Halifax Shipyard to build warships and arctic patrol vessels worth more than $25 billion. The Irving Shipyard will start the project by building between six and eight arctic patrol vessels. It is still in what is known as the "project definition" stage. Commodore Patrick Finn, director of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy Office, told participants at the Canadian Defense Security and Aerospace Conference Friday he realizes people think the government should be moving faster on contracts to design ships, so that materials can be ordered and workers trained. The first steel isn't scheduled to be cut for another three years. "If we were cutting steel right now it would not be a good thing because we would be cutting it against an incomplete design," said Finn, "and that's pretty much a guarantee for waste and rework." How many arctic vessels get built will depend on the cost and final design. Irving engineers are now reviewing the government's preliminary design as part of a process to avoid skyrocketing cost overruns plaguing projects like the Cyclone helicopters. Getting the patrol vessels started will require another contract to finalize the design and drawings from which the ships will be built. "Right now our broad target would be to have the more detailed definition contract in place next year," said Finn. As for the second set of ships — the 21 combat vessels — Finn said Ottawa is in the early boarding stages of determining how big the ships will be and what type of equipment they will carry. Reported by CBC news" A great article which features a interview with my broker at Royal Lepage Atlantic. It's always great to know you work with the best.
2012 Halifax house prices forecast to increase 5.2 per cent compared to 2011 HALIFAX, July 10, 2012 /CNW/ - The Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast released today showed strong year-over-year price appreciation across all housing types surveyed in Halifax, while additional price gains are expected throughout the remainder of the year. The average price of detached bungalows in Halifax increased by 7.3 per cent to $285,833 over the second quarter of last year, while the average price for standard two-storey homes was up 5.1 per cent to $317,167. Standard condominiums average price increased 5.1 per cent to $205,500. "Similar to last year, young professionals and investors continue to fuel Halifax's real estate market," states Matt Honsberger, broker of Royal LePage Atlantic. "Market activity is most active in the city's core as many buyers are looking to purchase a property that's close to city amenities." According to Honsberger, inventory levels are down approximately 10 per cent year-over-year, which has been putting upward pressure on average house prices and reducing average days on market. "Despite this dip, inventory levels in the resale condo market remain healthy as buyer demand is also being met by several new construction projects taking place throughout the area." Honsberger also notes that low interest rates and strong employment levels continue to play a major role in Halifax's market and will be a vital driving force for the remainder of the year. Nationally, in the second quarter, standard two-storey homes rose 4.7 per cent year-over-year to $408,423, while detached bungalows increased 5.5 per cent to $376,311. Average prices for standard condominiums increased 3.3 per cent to $245,825. During this period, signs from across the country clearly indicated that the national housing market was at a turning point, with some major regions continuing to grow unabated while others peaked and began to pull back for the first time in three years. "We have had three years of solid house price appreciation in almost all regions of the country," said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. "Confidence in Canada's real estate market is sound, but home prices cannot grow faster than salaries and the underlying economy indefinitely. Some regions have reached or perhaps even exceeded the current upper level of price resistance as buyers have embraced an era of historically low mortgage rates." The first-time buyer segment of the population, which represents up to half or all transactions and where activity strongly correlates to low interest rates, is expected to be slowed by recent regulatory changes that will reduce access to insured mortgages. "The most recent set of mortgage changes, the fourth in four years, is also the most aggressive. The cumulative impact of these new regulations has created a significantly higher hurdle for young buyers seeking their first home and comes at a time when the market was slowing of its own accord. The timing of this intervention was unfortunate," added Soper. About the Royal LePage House Price Survey The Royal LePage House Price Survey is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind in Canada, with information on seven types of housing in over 250 neighbourhoods from coast to coast. This release references an abbreviated version of the survey which highlights house price trends for the three most common types of housing in Canada in 90 communities across the country. A complete database of past and present surveys is available on the Royal LePage Web site at www.royallepage.ca. Current figures will be updated following the complete tabulation of the data for the second quarter 2012. A printable version of the second quarter 2012 survey will be available online on August 9, 2012. Housing values in the Royal LePage House Price Survey are Royal LePage opinions of fair market value in each location, based on local data and market knowledge provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts. About Royal LePage Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country's leading provider of services to real estate brokerages, with a network of 14,000 real estate professionals in over 600 locations nationwide. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting women's & children's shelters and educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is a Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc. company." Yet another article I find very interesting. I will be curious to see the effect this announcement will have on the Halifax economy. .
The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, Jul. 10, 2012 11:20AM EDT HALIFAX -- The federal government has signed a $9.3-million deal with Irving Shipbuilding to get started on the navy shipbuilding contract in Halifax. Defence Minister Peter MacKay says the contract will allow the shipbuilding company to review the design and devise a construction plan for the Arctic offshore patrol ships. Those are the first vessels expected to be built under the overall $35-billion national shipbuilding procurement project. In October, Ottawa announced that the Irving shipyard would receive the lion's share of the project. Under its $25-billion deal, Irving will build 21 combat vessels. The Seaspan Marine Corp. shipyard in Vancouver will construct seven vessels under an $8-billion contract for non-combat ships. Another $2 billion for smaller vessels is yet to be allocated to another shipyard. An article I thought was pretty interesting and coincides with what my predictions have been thus far;
Local investor to sell market's merits at national conference "Local real estate investor Richard Killeen-Payne isn’t holding his cards too close to his chest. Instead, the co-owner of Invicta Property Investments will be flying the flag for Halifax and promoting the municipality as a hot real estate market that investors coast-to-coast should consider when he addresses the national membership of the Real Estate Investment Network in Toronto next week. What the local real estate market has going for it is a long track record of modest growth, even before the shipbuilding contract came to town, Killeen-Payne said Wednesday. “The number of multi-unit apartment blocks that have started over the last two years show that it’s not just about the shipbuilding contract,” Killeen-Payne said. “That contract has been a wonderful shot of adrenaline for the market and it promises more jobs ... and with more jobs comes (gross domestic product) growth.” A recent Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. report shows there are currently 2,282 apartment buildings under construction in Halifax, one of the highest levels recorded in 50 years. About 1,000 units are expected to come on the market before the end of the year. The construction of single-family homes was up 42.5 per cent in February over the same month last year and the corporation expects the construction of single-family homes will be robust in 2012 with about 1,100 starts. The average sale price of single-family homes climbed to $396,622 in January, up from $383,329 in the same month last year, the report says. Meanwhile, a report released by Colliers International last week put commercial sales volumes at $11.8 million, more than three times the amount transacted in 2010. The most sought-after assets were multi-family buildings, representing one-third of all sales volumes, followed by industrial and then retail properties. The steady, upward-trending track record the Halifax real estate market boasts and the pending boon the $25-billion shipbuilding contract promises, is music to real estate investors’ ears, Killeen-Payne said. “It follows the fundamentals of real estate investing, ..... which are population growth and job growth and, eventually, GDP growth,” he said. “Even in the days of the recession, property values in Halifax didn’t decrease.” The shipbuilding contract has pushed prices higher in Halifax as savvy buyers make speculative purchases, Killeen-Payne said. But even with the increased market activity, there will unlikely be a so-called real estate bubble to burst. “We will definitely see a cooling off in price but I think it will be more of a gentle exhale, to use the analogy,” Killeen-Payne said. “There is speculation taking place and the market is certainly busier at this time of year than it typically is but Halifax is still a sure place to invest. ... Unless you buy the wrong property, in the wrong area, there will be a return on your investment.”" COLLEEN COSGROVE BUSINESS REPORTER Newest blog post HERE |
Jeremiah Wallace, CDJeremiah has been involved with many aspects of the Real Estate industry for over fourteen years. This includes construction, residential renovations, interior design, and investing in various income generating property products.. ListingsPhoto's by Jeremiah
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