June 2021

Mortgage Rate Forecast (June 2021)

Posted on Jun 29, 2021

After a sharp upturn to start the year, Canadian mortgage rates remained stable through the second quarter of 2021. That said, there was recently a significant change in mortgage qualifying as OSFI and the federal government implemented a new stress test rate, which is now the higher of a borrower’s contract rate plus 200 basis points and 5.25 per...

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Canadian Retail Sales (April 2021)

Posted on Jun 25, 2021

Canadian retail sales decreased 5.7% m/m to $54.8 billion on a seasonally-adjusted basis in April. This was the largest monthly decline since April of last year. Sales declined in 9 of 11 sub-sectors, with the largest declines in clothing and general merchandise. Excluding the more volatile sectors like motor-vehicles and gasoline sales, retail sal...

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Five Questions for the Post-Pandemic Housing Market

Posted on Jun 23, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has had substantial and often counter intuitive impacts on the BC economy and housing market. As we hopefully put the worst of the pandemic behind us and look ahead to a post-pandemic world, there remains significant uncertainty about what exactly that world is going to look like. In this Market Intelligence, we look at five q...

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Canadian Inflation (May 2021)

Posted on Jun 22, 2021

Canadian inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 3.6% year-over-year in May, up from 3.4% in April. This is the highest level since May of 2011. Much of the increase in inflation was the result of base-year effects, as prices remained depressed in May of last year due to pandemic-induced shutdowns. On a seasonally adjusted...

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The Slowdown in Canadian Housing Continued in May

Posted on Jun 18, 2021

Today the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released statistics showing national existing home sales fell 7.4% nationally from April to May 2021, building on the 11% decline in April. Over the same period, the number of newly listed properties fell 6.4%, and the MLS Home Price Index rose 1.0%, a marked deceleration from previous months.

Activi...

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Canadian Housing Starts (May 2021)

Posted on Jun 16, 2021

Canadian housing starts increased by 3.2% m/m to 275.9k units in May at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Starts hit a record in March of 333.3k before declining somewhat in April. Single-detached housing starts declined 12% from April, while all other housing starts rose 11%. National housing starts were up by 41% compared to the same time...

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