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Retail frenzy as restrictions eased – Winnipeg Free Press

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Hundreds of Winnipeggers lined up outside multiple retailers across the city, with one shopper bellowing triumphantly: “It doesn’t even feel like a pandemic anymore — it’s Boxing Day 2.0!”

As the province eased public-health orders to allow the sale of non-essential items this weekend, parking lots filled up quickly Saturday morning.

Shoppers didn’t let the biting snow showers or even the mandated 25-per-cent capacity limits stop them from waiting outside storefronts for hours on end, before they could get in. Malls remained busy well into the evening, with larger outlets allowing up to 250 people at a time.

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“Honestly,” Darrien Drewyer told the Free Press, as he queued up outside the Winnipeg IKEA with his young son to pick up a new chair, “I’ve been waiting for this for like months now.”

Drewyer — like all of Manitoba — hasn’t been able to shop for anything but groceries, pharmaceuticals or other essentials since mid-November, when the province enforced strict Code Red measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

At Polo Park, a security guard said he’d never seen this many cars stacked across the space in tight rows in the many years he’s worked at the mall. “It’s madness,” he said.

“We couldn’t do a lot of Christmas shopping or even Boxing Day or Black Friday properly,” said Nicole Julien, waiting outside the Grant Park Winners outlet.

“I guess this is our chance now because the government finally said you can do it,” chimed in Julien’s boyfriend Henry Siloam, who wanted to purchase a pair of T-shirts he saw at a special in-store discount.

While most other large retailers, such as Costco, Toys”R”Us, Best Buy and Sport Chek were also chock full of customers, independent and small stores did not see the same level of foot traffic.

Just a few steps next to the busy Winners outlet in Grant Park Shopping Centre, which touts up to 70 different storefronts, Northern Reflections and other such outlets appeared barren.

Used DVD store Entertainment Exchange was relatively occupied with customers, however. At one point Saturday afternoon, at least 12 people were waiting to enter, while several others were already glancing over the CDs inside.

“I’m sure the larger businesses are extremely happy with this,” said Jonathan Alward, Manitoba director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “But I just wish people would understand that it might actually be safer and even quicker to go support a small business instead of going off to an IKEA instantly.”

Alward hopes, “once people have gotten things out of their system in the following days,” retailers could look calmer. He thinks a lot of it comes from having more than two months of pent-up cabin fever since restrictions were implemented.

According to the newly relaxed public-health orders, all businesses are allowed to reopen and sell anything they’d like, if they’re enforcing strict capacity limits, physical distancing guidelines and mask policies. Restrictions have not been eased for northern Manitoba communities.

The new rules have effectively closed all loopholes that emerged from a repeatedly changed provincial list of “essential” items, which advocates and business owners have argued impacted independent companies more than big-box stores. Smaller shops relied far more on curbside pickups, delivery and online sales — without necessarily having the infrastructure to match larger chains.

Announcing the measures Thursday, chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said the new rules are meant to “allow increased personal connections, support the well-being of Manitobans… and allow struggling small businesses to get a chance at opening.”

“It all depends on Manitobans,” said Roussin of the current orders that will last at least three weeks. “If we start seeing transmission of COVID-19 again, we’re not going to be able to further reopen.”

Looking at the lineups across the provincial capital on the first day of reopenings, Lisa Malbranck of Diamond Gallery isn’t sure if that messaging has come across for Manitobans.

“You know, they’ve talked so much about this ‘spirit’ of the orders,” she said Saturday. “To me this doesn’t really seem like the spirit of the order when you’re running off and flocking so quickly to the bigger stores.”

At her own store, Malbranck did not see any lineups. Save for the occasional walk-in customers, most people came in after they’d already booked an appointment.

“At the end of the day,” she said, “I just want our community to come together and support the ones these orders are really there for, as we return to some sense of normal again.”

Twitter: @temurdur

Temur.Durrani@freepress.mb.ca

Temur Durrani

Temur Durrani
Reporter

Temur Durrani reports on the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic for the Winnipeg Free Press. Funding for this Free Press reporting position comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

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Calgary breaks all-time record in housing starts but increasing demand keeps inventory low – CBC.ca

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Soaring housing demands in Calgary led to an all-time record for new residential builds last year, but inventory levels of completed and unsold units remained low due to demand outpacing supply.

According to the latest report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), total housing starts increased by 13 per cent in Calgary, reaching a total of 19,579 units with growth across all dwelling types in the city.

That compares to a decline of 0.5 per cent overall for housing starts in the six major Canadian cities surveyed by CMHC.

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Calgary also had the highest housing starts by population.

“Part of the reason why we think that might have happened is that developers are responding to low vacancies in the rental market,” said Adebola Omosola, a housing economics specialist with CMHC.

“The population of Calgary is still growing, a record number of people moved here last year, and we still expect that to remain at least in the short term.”

Earlier this year, the Calgary Real Estate Board also predicted that demand, especially for rental apartments, wouldn’t let up any time soon. 

Industry can cope with demand, expert says

According to numbers from the report, average construction times were higher in 2023 for all dwelling types except for apartments.

The agency’s report suggests the increase in the number of under-construction residential projects might mean builders are operating at or near full capacity.

However, there’s optimism the construction industry can match the increasing need.

Brian Hahn, CEO of BILD Calgary Region, said despite concerns around about construction costs, project timelines and labour shortages, the industry has kept up with the demand for new builds.

Demand is expected to remain robust, but the construction industry can keep up, according to BILD Calgary region CEO Brian Hahn.
Demand is expected to remain robust, but the construction industry can keep up, according to BILD Calgary Region chief executive officer Brian Hahn. (Shaun Best/Reuters)

“I’ve heard that kind of conversation at the end of 2022 and I heard it in 2023,” Hahn said.

“Yet here we are early in 2024, and January and February were record numbers again.”

Hahn added he believes the current pace of construction will continue for at least the next six months and that the industry is looking at initiatives to attract more people to the trades.

Increase in row house and apartment construction

Construction growth was largely driven by new apartment projects, making up almost half of the housing starts in Calgary in 2023.

The federal housing agency says 9,034 apartment units were started that year, an increase of 17 per cent from the previous year. Of those, about 54 per cent were purpose-built rentals.

Apartments made up around two-thirds of all units under construction, CMHC said, with the total number of units under construction reaching 23,473.

Growth, however, was seen across all dwelling types. Row homes increased by 34 per cent from the previous year while groundbreaking on single-detached homes grew by two per cent.

“Notwithstanding challenges, our members and the industry counterparts that support them managed to produce a record amount of starts and completions,” Hahn said.

“I have little doubt that the industry will do their very best to keep pace at those levels.”

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Ottawa real estate: House starts down, apartments up in 2023 – CTV News Ottawa

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Rental housing dominated construction in Ottawa last year, according to a new report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Residential construction declined significantly in 2023, with housing starts dropping to 9,245 units, a 19.5 per cent decline from the record high observed in 2022. But while single-detached and row housing starts fell compared to 2022, new construction for rental units and condominiums rose.

“There’s been a shift toward rental construction over the past two years. Rental housing starts made up nearly one third of total starts in 2023, close to double the average of the previous five years,” the report stated.

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Apartment starts reached their highest level since the 1970s.

“The trend toward rental and condominium apartment construction follows increased demand in these market segments due to population growth, households looking for affordable options, and some seniors downsizing to smaller units,” the CMHC said.

Demand from international migration and students, the high cost of home ownership, and people moving to Ottawa from other parts of Ontario were the main drivers for rental housing starts in 2023. The CMHC says rental and condominium apartment starts made up 63 per cent of total starts in 2023, compared to the average of 37 per cent for the period 2018-2022.

There was a modest increase in rental housing starts in 2023 over the record-high seen the year prior and a jump in new condominiums. The report shows 5,846 new apartments were built in Ottawa last year, up 2.1 per cent compared to 2022.

Housing starts in Ottawa by year. (CMHC)

Big demand for condos

The CMHC said condo starts reached a new high in 2023, increasing 3 per cent from 2022 numbers.

“As of the end of 2023, there were only 13 completed and unsold condominium units, highlighting continued demand for new units,” the CMHC said.

Condominum starts increased in areas such as Chinatown, Hintonburg, Vanier and Alta Vista, as well as some suburban areas like Kanata, Stittsville, and western Orléans. Condo apartment construction declined in denser parts of the city like downtown, Lowertown and Centretown, the report says.

Taller buildings are also becoming more common, as the cranes dotting the skyline can attest. The CMHC notes that buildings with more than 20 storeys accounted for nearly 10 per cent of apartment structure starts in 2022 and 2023, compared to an average of 2 per cent over the 2017-2021 period. The number of units per building also rose 7 per cent compared to 2022.

Apartment building heights in Ottawa by year. (CMHC)

Single-detached home construction down significantly

The number of new single-detached homes built in Ottawa last year was the lowest level seen in the city since the mid 1990s, CMHC said.

“The Ottawa area experienced a slowdown in residential construction in 2023, driven by a significant decline in single-detached and row housing starts,” the CMHC said.

Single-detached housing starts were down 45 per cent compared to 2022. Row house starts dropped by 38 per cent compared to 2022, marking a third year of declines in a row.

“Demand for single-detached and row houses also declined in 2023. Higher mortgage rates and home prices have led to a shift in demand toward more affordable rental and condominium units,” the report said.

There were 1,535 single-detached housing starts in Ottawa last year, 208 new semi-detached homes and 1,678 new row houses.

The majority of single-detached and row housing starts were built in suburban communities such as Barrhaven, Stittsville, Kanata, Orléans and rural parts of the city.

“Increased construction costs resulting from higher financing rates and inflation that occurred in 2022 and 2023 contributed to the decline in construction in the region,” the CMHC said. 

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Trump’s media company ticker leads to fleeting windfall for some investors

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A man looks at a screen that displays trading information about shares of Truth Social and Trump Media & Technology Group, outside the Nasdaq Market site in New York City, U.S., March 26.Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Possible confusion over the new stock symbol for former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social (DJT-Q) saw some investor brokerage balances briefly jump by hundreds of thousands of dollars on Tuesday, the first day Trump’s “DJT” ticker traded.

Several people complained on social media about briefly seeing the value of their DJT stock holdings on Charles Schwab platforms inflated to figures more in line with what they would be worth if the shares traded at the level of the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Some users said they faced a similar issue in pre-market hours on Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade trading platform.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group opened Tuesday at $70.90, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average started the session at 15,937.73 points.

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For one trader, the Schwab brokerage balance jumped by more than $1 million due to the error, according to a screen grab shared on social media platform X. Reuters was unable to contact the trader or independently verify the brokerage balance.

“It sure was nice seeing millions in the account, even if it wasn’t real,” another person, going by the username @DanielBenjamin8, who faced the issue in his E*Trade account, posted on X.

Two X users and one on Reddit surmised that the inflated balances were due to the ticker symbol for the company being nearly identical to the index.

A spokeswoman for Charles Schwab said that certain users on some of Schwab’s trading platforms saw their brokerage balances briefly inflated due to a technical issue.

The issue has been resolved and investors are able to trade equities and options on Schwab platforms, she said. Schwab declined to describe the exact cause of the issue.

E*Trade did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.

Trump Media & Technology Group and S&P Dow Jones Indices, which maintains the Dow Jones Transportation Average Index, did not immediately comment on the issue.

While social media users said the issue appeared to have been resolved, many rued not being able to cash out their supposed gains from the error.

“I better go tell my boss that I’m actually not retiring,” the trader whose account balance had briefly jump by more than $1 million, wrote on X.

Trump Media & Technology Group shares surged more than 36% on Tuesday in their debut on the Nasdaq that comes more than two years since its merger with a blank-check firm was announced.

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