February 2023

Canadian Retail Sales Increase

Posted on Feb 21, 2023 in Economics

Canadian Retail Sales (December 2022) 


Canadian seasonally-adjusted retail sales rose 0.5 percent in December to $62.1 billion. Sales rose in 7 of 11 subsectors but were led by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers (+3.8 percent) and general merchandise stores (+1.7 percent). Core retail sales, which strips out gasoline and motor vehicle an...

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Strengthening Protection for Strata Property Owners

Posted on Feb 17, 2023 in Market Update

Better protection for strata property owners coming in November


Strata property owners in stratas which have been neglecting maintenance, risking higher insurance costs, will have new protections starting November 1, 2023.

Amendments to the Strata Property Act will raise the minimum amount developers and strata corporations must contribute to the con...

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Canadian Housing Market Remains Weak

Posted on Feb 15, 2023 in Economics

December Housing Data Ended 2022 on a Weak Note


The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in January were the lowest for the month since 2009 and fell 37.1% from a year ago. The Canadian housing market has been sliding for eleven consecutive months as the unprecedented rise in interest rates--up from 25 basis points to 4.5% for the policy...

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Canadian Housing Starts to Fall

Posted on Feb 15, 2023 in Market Update

Canadian Housing Starts (January 2023)


Canadian housing starts declined 13.3 percent to 215,365 units in January at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Starts were down 6.9 percent from January 2022. Single-detached housing starts rose 9.5 percent to 62.9k, while multi-family and others fell 20.1 percent to 152.5k (SAAR).



In British Columbia...

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Housing Market Activity is Decreasing 

Posted on Feb 14, 2023 in Market Update

Housing Market Activity Off to a Slow Start in 2023


The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 3,047 residential unit sales were recorded in Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) systems in January 2023, a decrease of 50.3 percent from January 2022. The average MLS® residential price in BC in 2023 has seen a dip to $872...

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Canadian Jobs Market Booms Despite Rate Hikes

Posted on Feb 10, 2023 in Community

Red Hot Labour Market Despite Rate Hikes


Today's Labour Force Survey (LFS) for January was much stronger than expected, once again calling into question how long the Bank of Canada's rate pause will last. This report showed no evidence that the labour market is slowing in response to the vast and rapid runup in interest rates.

Employment surged by 1...

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