Fort Saskatchewan Real Estate Report

Highway Bypass Not Getting the Welcome Mat

It seems that some Strathcona County residents really don’t want a four lane highway cutting across their farmlands just south of Fort Saskatchewan. Over 100 disenchanted residents recently voiced that opinion at the Partridge Hill Community Hall. County officials told them, basically, it was the province’s idea, not Strathcona County.

The Alberta government asked for the bypass to go along with the Alberta Industrial Heartland Association’s master plan for the region. The county complied, picking out the route that would least affect residents. If the province has its way, the bypass will be built within the next 10 years.

But plans have changed for the region and the bypass may no longer be needed. Instead of the nine expected upgraders being built in the heartland area, only two or three will most likely become reality. That is a lot less traffic to accommodate. Upgraders process oil taken from the oil sands. Fewer upgraders means less oil being transported in and product coming out. Fewer employees will be commuting to work and back. Residents are not convinced the four lane road is needed.

Another objection from residents is that the road is being built for the benefit of the contractors building the upgraders and that after construction is done, the roadway will be left a virtually ghost-way. Why pay taxes on something that is superfluous? All of these concerns will be addressed with the five heartland association members. These five must approve the plan before it is sent to higher ups for further consideration.

Fort Saskatchewan Homes Report

Eleven Year Old Aashar Arshad Orphaned in Car Crash Sunday

An 11 year old boy lost his entire family this past Sunday in a horrific crash near Golden, British Columbia. Aashar Arshad was in a separate vehicle in front of the mini-van that the rest of his family was riding in. The young boy is understandably still trying to process what happened.

Killed in the crash were his father and mother, Arshad and Shakila Mahmoud, his two older sisters Dolly and Mahlaka, his grandfather and a teenage family friend. Aashar knew something bad was happening but he bravely waited for the ambulance to come, hoping for a good outcome. Unfortunately, no one in the mini-van survived.

Relatives are on their way to Edmonton, Alberta from their overseas home and it is not known if Aashar will be able to remain in Canada. Friends and neighbours are helping out in the meantime, both financially and emotionally. There has already been a fundraising drive started to help with expenses. Aashar is also getting support from very high places. The Consulate General of Pakistan in Edmonton, as well as the Vancouver office, is also contributing to the cause. Aashar is well loved, and through the pain, he is aware of that love.

Fort Saskatchewan Property Report

Fort Saskatchewan Single Family Home Starts Are Booming, May Pass 2007 Numbers

Fort Saskatchewan is weathering the global recession quite well. Single family home permits are up, with 148 being issued during the first part of 2010. If the pace holds steady, the city could have 296 permits on the books by years end and may just break its old record of 250 single family home permits issued in 2007.

The way the population appears to be growing that seems entirely possible. A civic census completed in June of this year showed that the city’s population increased 6.78 percent since 2009. Prior to that, growth had been a steady four percent for the four previous years.

Mayor Jim Sheasgreen views this as positive and only sees a problem if the population starts to show increases in the double digits, like what happened in Airdrie. Short of that sort of population boom, the city is well equipped to handle the additional numbers.

The only part of the housing market that is in a slump is the multi-family home starts. In the first part of 2010, only 50 permits have been issued. If this pace keeps up, Fort Saskatchewan will have the lowest number of starts in this sector since 2003. The banner year for multi-family home starts was 2007, when 423 permits were issued.

Fort Saskatchewan Real Estate Report

Calmar Gas Leak Puts Evergreen Crescent Homes At Risk, New Legislation Needed

It seems that residents in Calmar, Alberta are dealing with their own energy leak issues. Five new homes built too close to an abandoned gas well have to be moved because of safety concerns. Ken Allred, an MLA from St. Albert is on the side of these homeowners and others so afflicted and he intends to take the concerns to Premier Ed Stelmach.

Allred was a surveyor before he entered the political arena and would like to implement legislation that would create an energy industry registry. Those wanting to build in the province could check for abandoned wells, mines and other underground infrastructures. With all the oil production in Alberta, and the subsequent abandoned wells, this would keep new neighbourhoods safe. It would also protect the provinces underground power, gas and telecommunication lines from being damaged.

Allred had previously put a similar motion to the House which seemed to garner support until the Minister of Energy Ron Liepert rallied against it. The motion was defeated. The Calmar incident, which involved residents finding a leaking natural gas well behind a home in the Evergreen Crescent development, has increased awareness of the potential problems of “building blind.” Allred will take another run at getting legislation approved, but this time will start his lobbying at the top.

Fort Saskatchewan Homes Report

Canadian Investors Look To Domestic Market

Despite the fact that the real estate market has not hit its bottom point, the 2010 Global Investor Sentiment Survey released by Colliers International reports that Canadian investors are cautiously hopeful for a quick upcoming recovery.

While eight of ten global responders surveyed report no offshore portfolios or plans to invest overseas, 64 per cent of the global community surveyed said they are considering purchases over the next year. Sixty-five per cent of Canadian private and institutional investors are considering purchasing over the next year.

Eighty-five per cent of Canadians surveyed shared that their plans will focus on the domestic market, with 27.8 per cent focusing on Toronto, 16.7 per cent on Montreal and Vancouver, 14.8 per cent on Edmonton and 11.1 per cent on Calgary.

The survey included 26 Canadian institutional property investors and over 244 large real estate investors with an investment portfolio totalling over $300 billion.

Colliers International Managing Director Joe Binfet said that developers are displaying an interest in properties that hasn’t been seen in a while. Investment decisions slowed in 2009 while investors waited for the market to reach bottom, but now land and industrial and retail real estate properties are in higher demand.

Surveyed Canadians shared that they prefer investing in Canada due to capital availability, assets quality, income stream diversification and better valuation matching income.

Fort Saskatchewan Property Report

I Think I Saw a Porsche…In Saskatchewan?

Vaughn Wyant sells cars. Fords, Volvos, Jags and soon to be…Porsches. In Saskatchewan? Nothing could be a better outward indicator of how the province has changed, both economically and image wise.

Saskatoon, the province’s largest city is fast becoming a modern day boomtown. It offers million dollar plus mansions in a development known as the Willows, a new championship calibre golf complex and its University of Saskatchewan is getting a billion dollar facelift.

All of this is due to Saskatchewan’s prolific agricultural industry and its crops of wheat, canola and soybean and the province’s rich mineral resources. Saskatchewan has an abundance of oil and gas and will soon top Alberta in its production rate. The province also has diamond deposits, potash, uranium and coal.

The old Intercontinental pork plant on Saskatoon’s south end is coming down. The new face of the city will be sleek downtown low-rises with tenants such as the Australian firm BHP Billiton, which is rumoured to be aiming to take over the local Potash Corp., the biggest potash firm on the planet.

Almost a quarter of Saskatchewan’s one million people live in its business city centre, Saskatoon, which has already outgrown the capital, Regina. The population is getting more affluent, and younger. The mindset of how to spend money has also changed. No longer content to remain conservative and hide wealth, younger residents of the province are earning good money and want to buy Porches and Jaguars and expensive homes. Mr. Wyant’s Porsche dealership venture isn’t so crazy after all.

Fort Saskatchewan Real Estate Report

Market Changes See Housing Costs Increase

Multiple factors in Canada’s real estate market are keeping realtors busy, creating bidding wars and boosting prices.
Banks have increased their mortgage rates on March 29 from the record low of .25 per cent, a rate set by The Bank of Canada to stimulate the economy during Canada’s recession last year. New legislation effective April 19 will force home buyers with less than a 20 per cent down payment to qualify for a five-year mortgage at the posted rate.

In Ontario and British Columbia, Harmonized Sales Tax will take effect in July at a rate of 12 per cent, increasing the average price of a home by $2,500 to $3,000.

These changes are sending buyers scrambling to lock in terms and find a home before they find themselves unable to compete.
The rising prices have affected cities all over Canada. Despite Canada’s average house price of $328,440, an 18 per cent increase over 2009, Vancouver’s average price is $584,435, giving it the status of the most expensive market in Canada. Vancouver’s housing market increased by 20 per cent over 2009.

The Greater Toronto Area’s average sale price increased to $434,696, and Montreal’s average sale price increased to $245,000, a jump of 10 per cent.

Fort Saskatchewan Homes Report

Election Funding In Alberta May Undergo An Overhaul

The Provincial government mended fences with local politicians on Monday when Athabasca-Redwater MLA Jeff Johnson introduced Bill 9 in the Provincial Legislature.

The new bill, an amendment to the Local Authorities Election Act, removes many of the problems seen in Johnson's 2009 private members Bill that put rules and limits into place for the acceptance and spending of campaign contributions.

Johnson's earlier effort had angered municipal politicians across Alberta. It included a seemingly impossible provision that would have put a $5,000 ceiling on individual campaign contributions. That clause has been removed. It also delays until 2012 a stipulation that unused campaign contributions be funneled to local charities.

A spokesman for the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association noted that Johnson's first effort had been written without proper discussions with local governments.

Mayor Stephen Mandel is pleased with the process this time around, noting that all suggestions made by the City had been addressed.

Mandel noted that the provincial government had dealt with the city's objections very effectively.

“We're very pleased.”

Fort Saskatchewan Property Report

Louis Riel Still Stirring Up Trouble for the Conservatives After All These Years

Louis Riel was executed 125 years ago for high treason.  It appears that his essence is still causing trouble for Canada’s Conservative government. Recently a bill was put forth by MP Pat Martin of the NDP party to grant Riel a governmental pardon, posthumously.

This so upset Conservative MP Peter Goldring from Edmonton that he mailed out a four page rant to his constituents describing the same Riel as an anarchist, villain and murderer.  It is safe to say that his vote on the pardon will be NO.

This debate over who or what Louis Riel really was is not new. In fact it goes as far back as the 19th century.  He was of Metis blood and can rightfully be credited with bringing the province of Manitoba into Canada’s Confederation.  After that, he was considered a hero.

Riel then spent some time in the United States before coming back to Canada in 1885. He led his people, the Prairie Metis in the Northwest Rebellion, meant to stop immigration of whites into their ancestral lands.  The Rebellion was a defeat for the Metis and turned into a death sentence for the once well thought of Riel.

While many people can’t decide whether Riel is friend or foe, there are those on the fringes that are dead set in their opinion, one way or another.  The Metis people revere and perhaps romanticise him.  Those of a completely opposite mindset label him a traitor, end of discussion.

What upset most people about the rantings of Mr. Goldring was that he used his governmental position to spread his opinions, which in many respects can be considered racist. In a time where Canada is pulling together to weather an economic windstorm, and appears to be making progress, the country does not need negative posturing by government officials.
 

Fort Saskatchewan Real Estate Report

It Was a Very Good Year for Strathcona

Strathcona County had a rather decent 2009 and the area is looking forward to a pleasantly profitable 2010.  The area is particularly keen on adding to its residential numbers and keeping up the current trend towards sustainable growth.

The population in the area has grown by 22 percent since 2001.  Currently there are 87,998 residents, averaging 37.8 years of age which is lower that the nation average of 39.5.  The residents are also fairly affluent with average family incomes of $102,004.

The people in Strathcona are also quite stable, with 93 percent of residents living in the area for at least five years.   79 percent of residents also work in the area, putting their earnings back into local pockets.

Though both employment and migration figures for metro-Edmonton in 2009 were lower than predicted, home resale prices at an average of $366,761 per home exceeded the expected figure of $350,000.

Sherwood Park did even better with home prices averaging $405,000, topping the predicted $380,000 per home figure.  There were also 416 new housing starts, almost double the predicted 230.  29 mobile homes and 8 row house projects were also started.  Residential and commercial building permits combined brought in $338 million.

The county also has a healthy amount of commercial space. Like elsewhere in the country commercial and industrial real estate vacancies have increased.  At the end of 2008 Strathcona showed a 1.4 percent vacancy rate. In 2009 that figure went to 14.5 percent for the first three quarters.  Additional commercial space being started and finished in 2009 have added to the inventory, thus inflating the figures somewhat.
 

Fort Saskatchewan Homes Report

Local Man Receives Recreation Volunteer Recognition

The Fort Saskatchewan city council recently honored a local resident for his years of outstanding service in youth recreation.  Vaugh McGrath was awarded the Recreation Volunteer Recognition award for his twenty years of volunteer service as a coach and mentor to young people in the province.  The award was presented at the Energize Awards, during the Alberta Tourism, Parks. and Recreation Association convention in Lake Louise.

Vaugh McGrath has been a life-long resident of Fort Saskatchewan, and he has been a member and coach of the local Nordic ski club for over fifteen years.  He is also the president of Cross Country Alberta and a member of the recreation and culture board of the city.  He has always been heavily involved in local sporting clubs, and he is currently the president of the outdoor soccer association and a past president and member of the sports association.

He claims that he is surprised by the award, and he figured that there would me many other suitable candidates.  People around Vaugh say that he's a special person to work with because he always puts 100% of his effort into every task he under takes.

Fort Saskatchewan Property Report

AltaLink Takes Action to Help Birds

Using a hovering helicopter, a brave AltaLink transmission lineman installed unique markers on the electrical lines while dangling from the side of the helicopter.  The new markers installed into the wires are designed to deter birds from colliding with the lines.

The company is taking action to protect the birds because the lines are located at an important migration stop for waterfowl, and many bird watchers have reported seeing birds die after they clip the power lines.  The lines running over Sturgeon River at Big Lake have been sort of a trap for migrating birds, and the AltaLink wants to change that fact.  The new markers should help the loads of migrating waterfowl see and avoid the power lines.

The lines were supposed to be repositioned with the help of the provincial parks department, but the City of St. Albert decided that the annual budget could not fund the project.  AltaLink explains that the markers on the power lines are simply a short-term solution, and they want to move the line as soon as the city is willing to help fund the project.  The yellow markers will dangle from the lines and reflect light for the birds to see.

Many environmentalists in the area are happy with the company’s efforts, and many residents believe that the city will revisit the idea of moving the lines once the funds have been secured.

Fort Saskatchewan Real Estate Report

Fort Saskatchewan Library Seeks Funding for 2013 Addition

A $2.9 million building expansion is being sought by the Fort Saskatchewan Public Library. The library wishes to add 9,000 square feet to its current building, with a goal of improving service for its patrons. The library board would like to borrow the $2.9 million in estimated expenses, and repay its creditors over a period of 25 years. Debt payoff costs at present mortgage rates would factor in at approximately $200,000 per year.

Per data from the province’s Regional Library Systems, the library now encompasses 11,000 square feet, permitting it to offer only the essential types of services to the public. With population increases projected for Fort Saskatchewan, projections from the Regional Library Systems indicate that the library will not be able to provide basic levels of service when the town’s population increases to 20,000.

At a November 9 City Council meeting, Library Director Angela Kublik referenced the results of a 2008 questionnaire completed by 400 Fort Saskatchewan citizens. A consistent theme among the results was the need for better service. Kublik and the library board are requesting that City Council allocate $450,000 from 2010 through 2013 to help pay for the design of the library addition. If approved, the addition would be ready for use in 2013.

Fort Saskatchewan Homes Report

Alberta and Ottawa Pledge $865 Million to Shell’s Quest Project

Alberta, as well as the federal government, threw down the gauntlet in the battle to contain industry-related carbon dioxide emissions. Shell Canada Energy’s Quest project near Fort Saskatchewan has been pledged some $865 million from Canada. Alberta’s $745 million contribution comes from the province’s $2 billion program for carbon capture and storage. The $120 million coming from Ottawa is part of a fund supporting significant carbon dioxide projects throughout Canada. Money from both sources will be paid over a 15-year period.

This funding will permit Shell to go forward with two additional years of engineering at the company’s bitumen upgrader in Scotford. It will also permit an increase in local geological research and regulator-related consultations. Upon completion of the engineering work and consultations, the $1.3 billion project would be approved by Shell, and construction would commence.

The Quest project is essential, according to Mel Knight, Alberta’s energy minister. He contended that research and technology are necessary in order to reduce the price of carbon dioxide mitigation. Lisa Raitt, Canadian minister of natural resources, advised that few projects in the world compare with Quest’s potential ability to store more than one million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Fort Saskatchewan Property Report

It’s Time To Conserve Some Water In The Fort

A break in the local waterline has forced the city to mandate some water conservation efforts.  Every non-essential use with be stopped for the next few days.  Washing your vehicle at home or watering the lawn will have to be put on hold, according to a recent city news article.

The fort won’t get any new water supply for the next few days, so it’s going to have to use it’s current reserve.  The city is stopping the feed at the local fill station, but locals will still be able to get some water for domestic requirements via the coin-operated fill. 

If you have any questions about water usage you can always call 780 992 6248.  Areas affected by the water shortage include most of the Sturgeon County region.