BREAKING NEWS

Highlights: The average apartment vacancy rate in Alberta’s urban centres was 6.0 per cent in April 2010, up from 4.6 per cent in April 2009.

The estimated construction value of building permit applications in May plunged in the city compared with a year ago.

The City of Calgary reported today that the value last month dropped to $241 million, down 56 per cent from May 2009's $547 million.

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly raised to 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is kept at 1/4 per cent, thus re-establishing the normal operating band of 50 basis points for the overnight rate.

The Canadian economy expanded by a stronger-than-expected 6.1 per cent in the first quarter, the biggest increase in a decade, boosted by a hot housing market and consumer spending.

Higher than expected rates of inflation and reports of record breaking retail sales means interest rate hikes will likely go ahead, according to a top economist with BMO Capital Markets. But domestic strength might not be enough to justify increases if the upheaval in global markets continues, said Porter.

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The annual rate of housing starts in April rose by 1.3 per cent to 201,700, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Monday.

Calgary is the only Canadian major metropolitan area where house prices remain below their peak level, according to a report released today by Teranet-National Bank.

Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest bank, is leading the way on another round of mortgage-rate hikes, boosting borrowing costs Monday for the third time in recent weeks.