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

Canadian employment rose by 0.4 per cent from the previous month, growing by 76,000 jobs to 20.993 million in January. The employment rate rose by 0.1 points to 61.1 per cent, while the unemployment rate fell 0.1 points to 6.6 per cent. Average hourly wages rose 3.5 per cent year-over-year to $35.99 last month, while total hours worked were up 2.2 per cent from January of the previous year.

Employment in B.C. rose by 0.8 per cent to 2.944 million, with a gain of 23,000 jobs in January. Employment in Metro Vancouver rose 1.7 per cent to 1.696 million in January. The unemployment rate in B.C. rose by 0.1 points to 6.0 per cent in January. Meanwhile, Vancouver's unemployment rate rose by 0.3 points to 6.8 per cent in the first month of the year. 

January's jobs data continues a trend of increasing employment growth and moderation of the unemployment rate, though at a higher-than-desired level. Importantly, private sector job growth has grown in accordance with these trends, with January's numbers being driven by employment gains in manufacturing, construction, and professional, scientific, and technical services, among other industries. January's report begins the year on a strong note and demonstrates an improving labour market. Under the assumption that trade policy remains unchanged, we anticipate that the Bank of Canada will lower its policy rate one more time by 25 basis points in March before pausing to assess the need for further stimulus. 

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.

Canadian real GDP decreased by 0.2 per cent in November, following a 0.3 per cent increase in October. Service-producing industries fell by 0.1 per cent, while goods-producing industries contracted by 0.6 per cent. November's slower growth was broad-based, with 13 of 20 major industries seeing declines from the previous month. Downward pressure was led by the transportation and warehousing sector that was struck by widespread work stoppages. Conversely, growth was driven by gains in construction (+0.7 per cent), and the real-estate and rental and leasing sector (+0.3 per cent). Finally, GDP for real-estate offices and agents was up 3.4 per cent month-over-month.  Preliminary estimates suggest that real GDP increased by 0.2 per cent in December.

After its first rate cut of 2025, the Bank of Canada will be displeased with Canadian economic growth continuing to fall short of its projection. Relatively weak retail activity and flat growth illustrates lingering weaknesses in the Canadian economy. Until further notice, we expect the Bank to cut by 25 basis points at its next meeting before reassessing. Of course, incoming Trump tariffs could change this landscape, as our economy would be sizeably damaged quite soon after imposition. 

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.

Listed for $759,000

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!

Canadian retail sales remained largely unchanged at $67.6 billion in November from the previous month. Compared to the same time last year, retail sales are up by 1.6 per cent. Furthermore, core retail sales, which exclude gasoline and automobile items, fell by 1.0 per cent month-over-month. In volume terms, adjusted for rising prices, retail sales were down 0.4 per cent in November. 

Retail sales in British Columbia were up 0.4 per cent in November month-over-month and up 0.9 per cent compared to the same time last year. In the CMA of Vancouver, retail sales were up 0.4 per cent from the prior month and November 2023.

November's retail sales are highlighted by a notable drop in core sales following a modest recovery over previous months. The Bank of Canada remains braced for a 25-point cut next week and hopes to see its effects transmit into stronger Canadian retail spending in the first quarter of 2025.

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.

Listed for $759,000

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!

Canadian housing starts fell by 13 per cent to 231,468 units in December at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Starts were down 8 per cent from the same month last year. Single-detached housing starts were 9 per cent lower than last month at 57,626 units, while multi-family and other starts fell by 15 per cent to 173,842 (SAAR). 

In British Columbia, starts fell by 8 per cent from last month to 47,137 units SAAR in all areas of the province. In areas of the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts dropped by 6 per cent to 4,303 units, while multi-family starts dropped by 9 per cent to 41,098 units month-over-month. Starts in the province were 25 per cent below the levels from December 2023. However, this drop-off is largely a base-month effect, as seasonally adjusted starts last December were among the highest levels seen in the past few years. Compared with last year, year-to-date starts were up by 28 per cent in Kelowna, 2 per cent in Abbotsford, and 1 per cent in Nanaimo, while being down by 15 per cent in Vancouver and 16 per cent in Victoria.

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that 4,484 residential unit sales were recorded in Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems in December 2024, up 24.7 per cent from December 2023. The average MLS® residential price in BC in December 2024 was up 5.6 per cent at $1,013,556 compared to $960,057 in December 2023.

The total sales dollar volume was $4.5 billion, a 31.7 per cent increase from the same time the previous year. BC MLS® unit sales were 15 per cent lower than the ten-year December average.
 
“Home sales closed the year on a much stronger note than in 2023,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “A stronger finish to 2024 pushed home sales just above last year’s total, setting up a strong hand-off to 2025.”
 
For all of 2024, BC residential sales dollar volume was up 3.2 per cent to $73.1 billion, compared with year-end 2023. Residential unit sales were up 2.1 per cent year-over-year at 74,434 units, while the average MLS® residential price was also up 1.1 per cent to an average of $982,326 for 2024.

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.

Listed for $759,000

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!

Canadian employment rose by 0.4 per cent from the previous month, growing by 91,000 jobs to 20.738 million in December. The employment rate rose by 0.2 points to 60.8 per cent, while the unemployment rate fell 0.1 points to 6.7 per cent. Average hourly wages rose 3.8 per cent year-over-year to $35.77 last month, while total hours worked were up 2.1 per cent from December of the previous year.

Employment in B.C. rose by 0.5 per cent to 2.844 million, with a gain of 14,000 jobs in December. Employment in Metro Vancouver fell 0.1 per cent to 1.601 million in December. The unemployment rate in B.C. rose by 0.3 points to 6.0 per cent in December. Meanwhile, Vancouver's unemployment rate rose by 0.2 points to 6.5 per cent in the final month of the year. Overall, British Columbia's labour statistics are very weak and have diverged from national patterns, with employment only 0.2 per cent higher than December 2023.

December's jobs data shows a second consecutive month of strong employment growth, while the unemployment rate remains stable, though at a higher-than-desired level. Job growth was more broad-based than in previous months, with 12 out of 16 measured industries finding employment gains. December's report closes the year on a strong note and may signal the onset of an expected economic recovery in 2025. We continue to anticipate that the Bank of Canada will lower its policy rate two more times over the first half of 2025 before pausing to assess the need for further stimulus.

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 $1,171,500. This represents a 0.5 per cent increase over December 2023 and a 0.1 per cent decrease compared to November 2024.

Specifically:

- The benchmark price for detached homes increased 2.0% from Dec 2023 and is unchanged from Nov 2024.

- The benchmark price for townhouses/attached increased 3.4% from Dec 2023 and decreased 0.3% from Nov 2024.

- The benchmark price for apartment/condos decreased 0.1% from Dec 2023 and decreased 0.4% from Nov 2024.

*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.