Commercial Real Estate Lending Activity Declined in 2019 Q4
Posted on Feb 29, 2020 in Economics
The BCREA Commercial Leading Indicator (CLI) fell for the second straight month to 134.3 in the fourth quarter of 2019. Compared to the same time last year, the index is up by 0.3 per cent. Provincial economic activity continued to slow in the fourth quarter of 2019, with declines in wholesale trade and manufacturing sales more than offsetting a gai...
Canadian Retail Sales (December 2019)
Posted on Feb 22, 2020 in Economics
Seasonally-adjusted Canadian retail sales were unchanged in December at $51.6 billion, after rising 1.1% in November. Higher sales at building material and garden equipment stores, and at food and beverage stores more than offset lower sales at auto dealers and gas stations. Sales were up in 7 of 11 sub-sectors, representing 49% of retail sales. Re...
Canadian Inflation Rates (January 2020)
Posted on Feb 19, 2020 in Economics
Canadian inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.4 per cent in January year-over-year, following a 2.2 per cent increase in December. Excluding the impact of higher gasoline prices, national CPI rose by 2.0 per cent year-over-year. The rise in gas prices in January were largely a function of concerns over global oil suppl...BC Housing Markets Off to a Strong Start in 2020
Posted on Feb 13, 2020 in Market Update
The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 4,426 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2020, an increase of 23.7 per cent from the 3,579 units sold in January 2019. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $725,370, a 9.1 per cent increase from $664,633 recorded...Canada Housing Starts - January 2020
Posted on Feb 10, 2020 in Economics
Canadian housing starts increased by 8.8% m/m in January to 213,224 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). The increase was led by Ontario and Quebec. The trend in national housing starts fell, averaging about 211,000 units SAAR over the past six months. In BC, housing starts fell by 39% m/m to 26,237 units SAAR, which follows last mont...
Canadian Employment (January)
Posted on Feb 07, 2020 in Economics
Another good news report on the Canadian employment front. January reported an increase of 35,000 jobs (0.2%), adding to the increase reported in the previous month. This brought the national unemployment rate down from 5.6% in December to 5.5% in January.Regionally, increases were primarily in Quebec (19,000), Manitoba (6,500) and New Brunswick (4...
