Posted on
May 13, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
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.
Posted on
May 11, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Posted on
May 10, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Posted on
May 5, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
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.
Posted on
May 5, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
The slowdown in home sales registered on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver* that began early this year continued in April, with sales down nearly 24 per cent year-over-year: The Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) reports that residential sales in the region totalled 2,163 in April 2025, a 23.6 per cent decrease from the 2,831 sales recorded in April 2024. This was 28.2 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (3,014). “From a historical perspective, the slower sales we’re now seeing stand out as unusual, particularly against a backdrop of significantly improved borrowing conditions, which typically helps to boost sales,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics. “What’s also unusual is starting the year with Canada’s largest trading partner threatening to tilt our economy into recession via trade policy, while at the same time having Canadians head to the polls to elect a new federal government. These issues have been hard to ignore, and the April home sales figures suggest some buyers have continued to patiently wait out the storm.” There were 6,850 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the MLS® in Metro Vancouver in April 2025. This represents a 3.4 per cent decrease compared to the 7,092 properties listed in April 2024 and was 19.5 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (5,731) for the month. The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 16,207, a 29.7 per cent increase compared to April 2024 (12,491). This is 47.6 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (10,979). Across all detached, attached and apartment property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for April 2025 is 13.8 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 9.9 per cent for detached homes, 17.5 per cent for attached, and 15.7 per cent for apartments. Analysis of the historical data suggests downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below 12 per cent for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months. “While the headlines have been filled with worrying news lately, there are positives in the current market worth highlighting, especially for buyers,” Lis said. “Inventory levels have just crested 16,000 for the first time since 2014, prices have stayed fairly stable for the past few months, and borrowing costs are the lowest they’ve been in years. These factors benefit buyers, and with balanced conditions across the market overall, there’s plenty of opportunity for anyone looking to make a purchase.” The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $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. Sales of detached homes in April 2025 reached 578, a 29 per cent decrease from the 814 detached sales recorded in April 2024. The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,021,800. This represents a 0.7 per cent decrease from April 2024 and a 0.6 per cent decrease compared to March 2025. Sales of apartment homes reached 1,130 in April 2025, a 20.2 per cent decrease compared to the 1,416 sales in April 2024. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $762,800. This represents a two per cent decrease from April 2024 and a 0.6 per cent decrease compared to March 2025. Attached home sales in April 2025 totalled 442, a 23.8 per cent decrease compared to the 580 sales in April 2024. The benchmark price of a townhouse is $1,102,300. This represents a 2.9 per cent decrease from April 2024 and a one per cent decrease compared to March 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.
Posted on
May 3, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Posted on
May 1, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
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.
Posted on
April 27, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Posted on
April 26, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
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.
Posted on
April 20, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Posted on
April 18, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
The Bank of Canada held its overnight policy rate at 2.75 per cent this morning. In the statement accompanying the decision, the Bank noted that pervasive uncertainty makes it unusually challenging to project GDP growth and inflation in Canada. The Bank sees two potential scenarios for the Canadian economy, either high but limited tariffs that temporarily weaken growth or a protracted trade war that causes both a full recession and inflation to rise above 3 per cent. The Bank is already seeing signs of a slower economy due to the impact of uncertainty on consumer and business confidence, but expects tariff driven supply chain disruptions will put upward pressure on prices later this year. Perhaps most importantly, the Bank ended its statement with the following: "Monetary policy cannot resolve trade uncertainty or offset the impacts of a trade war. What it can and must do is maintain price stability for Canadians."
Improvement in the rate environment over the past year was starting to provide a jolt to home sales prior to Trump’s tariff announcements, and the swirling uncertainty around each successive tariff announcement has further clouded the economic outlook. The Bank of Canada’s most recent messaging has been focused on concern with the inflationary effects of tariffs, and those concerns may somewhat constrain the Bank’s ability to lower rates further even in the face of a weakening economy. Moreover, financial market volatility has pushed US government bond yields higher, which is also putting some upward pressure on Canadian interest rates. The 5-year bond yield, while volatile, has been on an uptrend that, if sustained, will lead to slightly higher 5-year fixed mortgage rates. Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.
Posted on
April 16, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
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.
Posted on
April 15, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
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.
Posted on
April 13, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Posted on
April 6, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Listed at $749,000 MODERN & sleek, 876 s.f, 2 bed/2 bath condo in New West's dynamic Brewery District neighbourhood. OPEN & bright concept w/stylish kitchen, dining & living room. Kitchen has LUXURY features: s/s appliances, quartz countertops & gas stove. Both bedrooms are decent-sized. 2 balconies, totaling approx 200 s.f. Excellent building amenities incl: party room, outdoor kitchen/bbq & dining area, dog park & dog wash, community garden plots + access to amazing Club Central w/gym, squash, sauna, steam, social kitchen + games room. 2 PETS & RENTALS allowed! 1 parking, 1 locker. Within 5 min walk: Sapperton Skytrain, Royal Columbian Hospital, Save-On Foods, Shoppers, TD Bank & lots of restaurants. This is urban living at its best!
Posted on
April 5, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Canadian employment fell by 0.2 per cent from the previous month, declining by 33,000 jobs to 20.962 million in March. The employment rate fell by 0.2 points to 60.9 per cent, while the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 points to 6.7 per cent. Average hourly wages rose 3.6 per cent year-over-year to $36.05 last month, while total hours worked were up 1.2 per cent compared to March of the previous year.
Employment in B.C. rose by 0.2 per cent to 2.944 million, gaining 5,700 jobs in March. Employment in Metro Vancouver rose 0.4 per cent to 1.711 million in March. The unemployment rate in B.C. increased by 0.1 points to 6.1 per cent in March. Meanwhile, Vancouver's unemployment rate fell by 0.6 points to 6.4 per cent in the third month of the year.
March's jobs report may foreshadow an ongoing downturn in the Canadian labour market as tariff impacts begin permeating through the economy. While this report slightly favours a rate cut, we expect the Bank of Canada to hold its policy rate before evaluating the inflationary impacts of our trade war with the U.S. and their newly announced "reciprocal" tariff policy on 185 other countries. Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.
Posted on
April 4, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver* is $1,190,900. This represents a 0.6 per cent decrease over March 2024 and a 0.5 per cent increase compared to February 2025. Specifically: - The benchmark price for detached homes increased 0.8% from Mar 2024 and increased 0.4% from Feb 2025. - The benchmark price for townhouses/attached decreased 0.8% from Mar 2024 and increased 0.2% from Feb 2025. - The benchmark price for apartment/condos decreased 0.9% from Mar 2024 and increased 1.0% from Feb 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.
Posted on
April 4, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Posted on
April 3, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Home sales registered on the MLS® in Metro Vancouver* for the month of March were the lowest going back to 2019 for the same month, while active listings continue to their upward trend. The Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) reports that residential sales in the region totalled 2,091 in March 2025, a 13.4 per cent decrease from the 2,415 sales recorded in March 2024. This was 36.8 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (3,308). “If we can set aside the political and economic uncertainty tied to the new U.S. administration for a moment, buyers in Metro Vancouver haven’t seen market conditions this favourable in years,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics. “Prices have eased from recent highs, mortgage rates are among the lowest we’ve seen in years, and there are more active listings on the MLS® than we’ve seen in almost a decade. Sellers appear ready to engage — but so far, buyers have not shown up in the numbers we typically see at this time of year.” There were 6,455 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver in March 2025. This represents a 29 per cent increase compared to the 5,002 properties listed in March 2024. This was 15.8 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (5,572). The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 14,546, a 37.9 per cent increase compared to March 2024 (10,552). This is 44.9 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (10,038). Across all detached, attached and apartment property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for March 2025 is 14.9 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 10.3 per cent for detached homes, 21.5 per cent for attached, and 16.2 per cent for apartments. Analysis of the historical data suggests downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below 12 per cent for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months. “The current market bares resemblance to early 2023 where price trends were generally flat, and sales started the year off slowly before gaining momentum in the spring and summer months,” Lis said. “While market conditions overall remain balanced, it’s worth noting that the attached segment continues teetering on the threshold of a sellers’ market as a result of a chronic undersupply, with only about 2,200 active listings available for prospective buyers throughout the entire region.” The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,190,900. This represents a 0.6 per cent decrease over March 2024 and a 0.5 per cent increase compared to February 2025. Sales of detached homes in March 2025 reached 527, a 24.1 per cent decrease from the 694 detached sales recorded in March 2024. The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,034,400. This represents a 0.8 per cent increase from March 2024 and a 0.4 per cent increase compared to February 2025. Sales of apartment homes reached 1,084 in March 2025, a 10.2 per cent decrease compared to the 1,207 sales in March 2024. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $767,300. This represents a 0.9 per cent decrease from March 2024 and a 1 per cent increase compared to February 2025. Attached home sales in March 2025 totalled 472, a 4.6 per cent decrease compared to the 495 sales in March 2024. The benchmark price of a townhouse is $1,113,100. This represents a 0.8 per cent decrease from March 2024 and a 0.2 per cent increase compared to February 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.
Posted on
March 30, 2025
by
Steve Flynn
Canadian real GDP increased by 0.4 per cent in January, following a 0.3 per cent increase in December. Service-producing industries grew by 0.1 per cent, while goods-producing industries rose by 1.1 per cent. Thirteen out of twenty major industries expanded from the previous month, led by mining, quarrying, and oil/gas extraction (1.7 per cent), construction (0.7 per cent), and manufacturing (0.8 per cent). Finally, GDP for real-estate offices and agents was down 3.7 per cent month-over-month. Preliminary estimates suggest that real GDP was unchanged in February.
As its first rate cut of 2025 transmits through the economy, the Bank of Canada will be pleased to see Canadian economic growth surpassing its projection. Unfortunately, these numbers are likely non-influential in the Bank's next meeting, as they reflect an environment before tariffs were enacted. Given the immense uncertainty surrounding Trump's reciprocal tariffs next week, the Bank is most likely to hold during its next meeting before reassessing how the economy responds to these shocks. Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.
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