LIVIN' RIGHT

Toronto fourth most livable city in world: Economist

Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary keep their high rankings on The Economist's list.

By: The Star Staff

Torornto Star August 28, 2013

Three of the top 10 most livable cities in the world are Canadian.

Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary are third, fourth and fifth, respectively, on the list compiled annually by the Intelligence Unit of the business and political weekly magazine The Economist. That’s also where they stood last year.

Both Toronto and Vancouver won perfect 100-point scores for stability, healthcare and education. The 100-point score for infrastructure The Economist gave Melbourne and Vienna propelled them to first and second place on the list.

Melbourne has been the top city on the livability list since 2011, when it squeezed out Vancouver. Toronto and Calgary have traditionally been in the top five as well.

The Economist bases its ratings of 140 cities on 30 factors across five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Seven of the top 10 cities are in Canada and Australia, which the Intelligence Unit points out reflects them being mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with relatively low population density and good healthcare and education.

The other cities on the top 10 list, from fifth through ninth, are Adelaide, Sydney, Helsinki and Perth.

Half of the bottom 10 cities are in Africa: Douala, Cameroon; Tripoli, Libya; Algiers, Algeria; Harare, Zimbabwe and Lagos, Nigeria.

Syria’s capital of Damascus ranks dead last because of the civil war tearing apart the country. Damascus also registered the biggest decline in livability over the last five years, by more than 20 per cent.

The livability list also highlights the cities with the most improved scores over the last five years. Bogota, Colombia, improving the most: by 7.9 per cent since 2008, because of an end to violence created by the drug trade and guerrilla activity.

Top ten cities (overall score)

Melbourne, Australia 97.5

Vienna, Austria 97.4

Vancouver, Canada 97.3

Toronto, Canada 97.2

Calgary, Canada 96.6

Adelaide, Australia 96.6

Sydney, Australia 96.1

Helsinki, Finland 96.0

Perth, Australia 95.9

Auckland, New Zealand 95.7

Photo by: stephenk1977

BALANCE IN 2010

CREA forecasts record home sales in 2010
Garry Marr, Financial Post
Published: Monday, February 08, 2010

The Canadian Real Estate Association now says 2010 will be a record year for home sales.

The Ottawa-based group, which represents about 100 boards across the country, said sales this year will climb 13.3% from 2009. The market will also surpass the 2007 peak by 1.2%.

"Low interest rates are expected to boost housing demand in the first half of the year, resulting in strong annual sales growth in nearly all provinces in 2010, led by British Columbia and Ontario," said CREA in a release.

Part of the reason for the surge in activity in the first half of 2010 is being attributed to the harmonization sales tax that comes into effect in Ontario and British Columbia on July 1. Consumers are expected to try and beat that deadline.

However, by 2011, rising interest rates are forecast to put a dent in the housing market. CREA sales will drop by 7.1% in 2011.

"Although interest rates are expected to rise, they will still be low enough to keep affordability within reach for many homebuyers requiring mortgage financing, and support overall housing demand," said Dale Ripplinger, president of CREA.

Prices will rise by 5.4% in 2010, bringing the average price to $337,500. The national average price continues to be skewed by strong markets in B.C. and Ontario which has the two most expensive cities in the country to live in. By 2011, the national average price will drop by 1.5%.

"Improved financial market stability and recovering global economic growth mean that home sales activity in 2010 is unlikely to repeat the dive it experienced in late 2008 and early 2009," said Gregory Klump. chief economist at CREA. "A downward trend in national sales activity combined with an increase in listings will result in a more balanced market. Although builders are understandably more upbeat than they were during the depth of the recession, speculative building will likely continue to be held in check. As a result, while the real estate market will become more balanced, Canada will continue to avoid the massive realignment in housing supply and demand experienced in the U.S."

Photo by: 2composers