What Happens to BC Economy after 2010?
Economic Outlook - from one Olympics to the next. It's been hard to
watch the Olympics in Turin without wondering what the climate (for
skiing and housing) will be like in Vancouver in 2010.
Andrew Ramlo of Urban Futures was asked this question recently by a panel of Realtors. "After
losing an average of 4,000 people a year through interprovincial
migration, 1997-2004, population in the Vancouver area is back on the rise!"
states Ramlo. Estimates for 2005 and beyond are for a net gain as
people either return here from the snowy East or venture here for new
job opportunities. Our projections for 2006 to 2011 are to pick up an
average 3,000 people each year from other provinces. Continuing low
interest rates and rising population are key factors that will keep
housing starts and the resale market up."
You don't need to look very hard to find infrastructure programs
underway for the Olympics - like the RAV line and Sea-to-Sky Highway.
Major construction projects planeed for post 2010 should prevent a mass
exodus. Projects such as: Port Mann/Highway 1, South & North Fraser
Perimeter. What's going to keep them here in the long term? Jobs! "The
current job market is tight and jobs will have to be filled through
continuing interprovincial migration. In fact, the unemployment rate
for BC has fallen into the range of 5.1%, it's lowest level in three
decades," Ramlo says. Now we just have to make sure the weather co-operates in 2010!
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