Canadian employment was virtually unchanged from the previous month, gaining 7,400 jobs to 20.969 million in April. The employment rate fell by 0.1 points to 60.8 per cent, while the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 points to 6.9 per cent. Average hourly wages rose 3.4 per cent year-over-year to $36.13 last month, while total hours worked were up 0.9 per cent compared to April of the previous year.

Employment in B.C. rose by 0.2 per cent to 2.951 million, gaining 6,000 jobs in April. Employment in Metro Vancouver fell by 0.7 per cent to 1.7 million in April. The unemployment rate in B.C. increased by 0.1 points to 6.2 per cent in April. Meanwhile, Vancouver's unemployment rate fell by 0.1 points to 6.3 per cent in the fourth month of the year. 

April's jobs report signals a further cooling of the Canadian labour market through the spring as tariff uncertainties continue to weigh on the Canadian economic outlook on multiple levels. As the anticipated consequences of tariffs ripple through the economy, the Bank of Canada may consider a rate cut during their next meeting to partially alleviate the economic damages caused by a highly volatile global trading environment.

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver* is $1,184,500. This represents a 1.8 per cent decrease over April 2024 and a 0.5 per cent decrease compared to March 2025.

Specifically:

- The benchmark price for detached homes decreased 0.7% from Apr 2024 and decreased 0.6% from Mar 2025.

- The benchmark price for townhouses/attached decreased 2.9% from Apr 2024 and decreased 1.0% from Mar 2025.

- The benchmark price for apartment/condos decreased 2.0% from Apr 2024 and decreased 0.6% from Mar 2025.

*Areas covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver, and Whistler.

Canadian real GDP decreased by 0.2 per cent in February, following a 0.4 per cent increase in January. Service-producing industries declined by 0.1 per cent, while goods-producing industries fell by 0.6 per cent. Twelve out of twenty major industries contracted from the previous month, driven by mining, quarrying, and oil/gas extraction (-2.5 per cent), construction (-0.5 per cent), and transportation/warehousing (-1.1 per cent). Finally, GDP for real-estate offices and agents was down 10.4 per cent month-over-month. Preliminary estimates suggest that real GDP increased by 0.1 per cent in March.

After a strong beginning to the year, February's GDP data pulled Canadian economic growth below the Bank of Canada's most recent quarterly projection. Additionally, this report captures newly introduced tariffs into the Canadian economic landscape, hence painting a bleak outlook for the subsequent months. During their previous meeting, the Bank emphasized the inflationary risks of tariffs while suggesting patience on policy rate adjustments according to how prices evolve. In a highly volatile environment, the Bank will closely follow next month's CPI and GDP reports to guide its next decision in June. 

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.

Canadian retail sales decreased by 0.4 per cent to $69.3 billion in February compared to the previous month. Compared to the same time last year, retail sales are up by 4.7 per cent. Furthermore, core retail sales, which exclude gasoline and automobile items, rose by 0.5 per cent month-over-month. In volume terms, adjusted for rising prices, retail sales decreased by 0.4 per cent in February. 

Retail sales in British Columbia were down 0.6 per cent in February from the previous month and rose by 4.4 per cent compared to the same time last year. In the CMA of Vancouver, retail sales were down 0.9 per cent from the prior month and 6.0 per cent above the level of February 2024.

February's report marks a second consecutive month of slower sales after several months of retail growth during the fall and winter. As tariffs and their associated uncertainty continue transmitting into the economy, central bankers and economists alike will closely monitor whether this downward trend continues into the summer. 

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 2.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in March, down from a 2.6 per cent increase in February. Month-over-month, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI was unchanged in March. The overall slowdown in headline CPI is largely driven by lower gasoline prices, with the CPI ex-gasoline rising by 2.5 per cent in March. Shelter price growth continues to cool, as mortgage interest costs were up 7.9 per cent, marking the nineteenth consecutive month of deceleration. Similarly, rent was up 5.1 per cent year-over-year in March, down from 5.8 per cent in February. In BC, consumer prices rose 2.6 per cent year-over-year, down from 3.0 per cent in February. The Bank of Canada's preferred measures of median and trimmed inflation, which strip out volatile components, are at 2.9 per cent and 2.8 per cent year-over-year, respectively. 
 
After a sharp uptick in February, March's CPI report saw headline inflation moderate towards the neutral range of 2.0 per cent. However, the Bank's core measures of inflation continue to linger near the ceiling of their target range, suggesting some underlying upward pressure in prices. Nonetheless, markets remain uncertain about the Bank's decision on Wednesday as Canada braces for the inflationary impacts of tariffs. This report slightly favours the odds of a 25-point rate cut on Wednesday to pre-emptively brace the economy for the damage caused by tariffs. 

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.

Vancouver, BC – April 14, 2025.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that 5,917 residential unit sales were recorded in Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems in March 2025, down 9.6 per cent from March 2024. The average MLS® residential price in BC in March 2025 was down 4.8 per cent at $963,323 compared to $1,011,965 in March 2024.

The total sales dollar volume was $5.7 billion, a 13.9 per cent decrease from the same time the previous year. BC MLS® unit sales were 35 per cent lower than the ten-year March average.

“Buyers continued to shift back to the sidelines in March,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “The economic uncertainty surrounding potential tariffs on Canadian goods has some potential buyers hesitant, particularly in the province’s larger markets.”

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume is down 8.1 per cent to $14.5 billion, compared with the same period in 2024. Residential unit sales are down 5.2 per cent year-over-year at 15,160 units, while the average MLS® residential price is also down 3.1 per cent to $959,400.