It’s time for another edition of our weekly column from the A-Team. Here is some important news for this week.
Canadian debt is generally rising in recent times, but it turns Fort McMurray residents carry the highest average debt in the country, according to a new report by Equifax Canada. From Mix News:
Report: Fort McMurray Residents Carry Highest Average Debt In Canada
According to a new report by Equifax Canada, the average non-mortgage debt in Fort McMurray in the fourth quarter of 2017, was $38,359. This is a slight increase from the first quarter where residents, on average, had $37,345 in debt.
The next highest was Calgary sitting at $29,478, followed by Edmonton with $27,241.
Fort McMurray is on trend with the rest of the country as the report shows, nationally, consumer debt levels are on the rise with Canadian consumers owing an average of $1.8 trillion. Via mix1037fm.com
The residents between the ages of 18 - 25 have been recorded to have the least amount of debt, while residents of ages 46 - 55 have the highest average debt load.
As we reported earlier this year, home supply is decreasing in 2018. In a new report by Fort McMurray REALTORS®, fewer homes were sold in February compared to last year:
Fewer homes sold in February
Fort McMurray REALTORS® are reporting fewer homes sold in February.
According to their numbers, 30 homes were sold last month compared to 36 in February 2017.
Last month the average selling price was $611,483.
There are 279 houses currently listed, this time last year there was 357. h/t mymcmurray.com
The lower number of houses currently listed is a good sign for sellers and the housing market in general, which is slowly balancing.
Credit: mymcmurray.com/
Lastly, unemployment dropped to 6 percent in the census region covering Wood Buffalo. From Fort McMurray Today:
Unemployment falls to six per cent in Wood Buffalo
Statistics Canada released the information Friday morning, showing that employment in the Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake region was down 400 full-time positions, but was up 200 part-time positions from January.
For the first time since October, the sector covering natural resource jobs saw an increase in positions, with 400 jobs added to the region.
Construction saw an increase of 100 positions in February, after it had decreased by 100 in January. Wholesale and retail trade saw a decrease of 400 jobs.
Across Alberta, the unemployment rate remained at 6.8 per cent, the same as the rate from January. Nationally, unemployment saw a 0.2 per cent increase, bring it to 5.9 per cent. read more at fortmcmurraytoday.com
Hopefully, this will contribute to the uptick in activity the local economy is expected to receive this year.
That’s all for this weeks’ roundup. Check back on The A-Team blog for more news and updates on Fort McMurray.