Vancouver, BC – December, 2020. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 9,416 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in November 2020, an increase of 42.1 per cent from November 2019. The average MLS® residential price in BC set a record of $816,074, a 9.3 per cent increase from $746,310 recorded the previous year. Total sales dollar volume in August was $7.68 billion, a 55.4 per cent increase over 2019.

“Home sales were once again unseasonably strong in November with several markets setting records for the month,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “While demand continues to be strong, the supply of listings has reached near-record lows in several parts of the province, with prices rising sharply as a result.”

Active listings were down close to 14 per cent year-over-year in November, which contributed to a 34.8 per cent sales-to-active listings ratio. Consequently, the provincial average price rose 9.3 per compared to this time last year with many markets seeing even stronger price growth.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was up 32.3 per cent to $66.43 billion, compared with the same period in 2019. Residential unit sales were up 18.7 per cent to 85,625 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 11.4 per cent to $775,845.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Canadian housing starts increased by 14% m/m to 246,033 units in November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), following an increase in the previous month. Housing starts increased in 9 of 10 provinces with the strongest gains in BC and the Atlantic. Building activity in the multi-unit segment rebounded after two consecutive months of decline. November's strong performance increased the six-month moving average to a historic high of 231,491 units SAAR.

In BC, housing starts increased by 53% m/m to 46,608 units SAAR in November, following two consecutive months of decline. Building activity was up by 76% in the multi-unit segment, while single-detached starts were down by 1%. The increase in the multi-unit segment was concentrated in Vancouver. In the near term, we can expect housing activity to continue to be supported by strong demand and historically low borrowing rates but are not expected to remain at elevated levels. The value of BC residential building permits was down by 12% in October. Compared to the same time last year, housing starts were down by 2% in BC.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.
Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-housing-starts-nov-december-15-2020

Highlights:
• Bank of Canada actions have pushed mortgage rates to record lows
• Canadian economy bounced back in the third quarter, but the second
wave looms
• Bank of Canada on hold, but when will quantitative easing end?

[gview file="https://vanhomesales.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/mortgagerateforecast.pdf"]

Click here to view the December 2020 Mortgage Rate Forecast.
For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

The Bank of Canada maintained its overnight rate at 0.25 per cent this morning, a level it considers its effective lower bound. The Bank is also continuing its quantitative easing (QE) program, purchasing at least $4 billion of Government of Canada bonds per week and re-affirmed its forward guidance on future interests moves, committing to holding the policy rate at 0.25 per cent until slack in the economy is absorbed and inflation is sustainably trending at 2 per cent. In the statement accompanying the decision, the Bank noted that the recovery underway will be choppy due to rising cases of COVID-19 and will continue to require extraordinary monetary support from the bank.

Current slack in the economy, along with low energy prices, is holding Canadian inflation well below its target of 2 per cent. Total CPI inflation is trending under 1 per cent while the Bank of Canada’s measures of “core” inflation remain below target despite the massive expansion of the Bank’s balance sheet necessary to facilitate its quantitative easing program. With the arrival of viable vaccines, we may see the Canadian economic recovery materially accelerate in the second half of 2021. If that occurs, the first stage of tighter monetary policy from the Bank will be how and when it decides to taper purchases of government bonds over the next year. As it does, we may start to see a divergence in variable and fixed rates by early summer as bond yields rise and fixed mortgage rates move marginally higher.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

By now, many of us have heard of at least one study confirming that children who play a
musical instrument tend to have a higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and ultimately score better on standardized tests. Additionally, research suggests that learning a musical instrument engages the same areas of the brain used for doing math and science.

If you want to introduce an instrument, be prepared for a lifelong commitment. First, start with a few conversations to figure out if your child has a genuine interest in picking up an instrument. If so, you can support them by providing the foundation for a lifetime love of music:

• Pay attention to what type of music they most enjoy. Do you have a country kiddo who likes the sound of a fiddle and guitar, or are they more interested in the bass line of the latest pop beat? Set them up so there are future opportunities to play the music they love.

• Help them choose their first instrument. Find out if your local music store lends or rents instruments, and let them try out a few different instruments so you can gauge their level of engagement and ability.

• If your child decides after just a few lessons they want to try a different instrument, let them. They might find the one they most enjoy or gravitate back to their original after realizing all music takes work.

• Find age-appropriate activities for them to enjoy music that have nothing to do with their own instrument. For example, give a piano player a mental break by letting them have an impromptu afternoon where they simply rattle on a tambourine or sing at top volume to a few favorite songs. They’ll return to their instrument at the next practice session feeling refreshed.

• Stay involved. Your commitment is just as important as your child’s. Help them stay motivated to practice daily by having them play something for you, which gives them a chance to show off what they are learning. You’ll be their biggest fan and mentor. Spend time listening to music together, and expose them to artists they might not know about.

• Most of all, remember to keep things upbeat and fun!

You might be surprised to notice some of your most creative thoughts come to you
when you’re comfortably relaxing in bed. A Microsoft survey of 2,000 people revealed
many of their best ideas tend to pop up as they’re dozing off, in the middle of the
night or when they first wake up in the morning.

Take a minute to concisely put thought into challenging situations as you’re drifting off
to sleep, and write down any ideas and solutions that come to you— farfetched as
they might seem. Try to roll through problems first thing as you wake up, without
dwelling or fretting over them. You might discover some unique ideas and creative
solutions to situations that nag at you during normal waking hours.

Canadian employment gained 62k jobs in November (0.3%, m/m), increasing in Ontario, BC, and the Atlantic provinces. This is the seventh consecutive month of increases, putting national employment within 574k of its pre-COVID February level. The national unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 8.5%, continuing the steady fall from the record high of 13.7% in May. Compared to the same month last year, Canadian employment was down by 2.5% (-482k).

In BC, employment grew by 24k (1.0%, m/m) in November, following a gain of 34k in the previous month. The province is now at 99% of its pre-COVID February employment level. The unemployment rate fell for the sixth consecutive month, down by 0.9 percentage points to 7.1%. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, employment increased by 18k jobs (1.2%, m/m). Compared to one year ago, employment in BC was down by 1.8% (-47K) jobs.

Despite the new restrictions introduced and new COVID-related workplace safety requirements, employment still grew in BC but at a slower rate than the previous months. Gains in full-time work were partly offset by losses in part-time employment. Several industries saw increases, including accommodation and food services, transportation and warehousing, wholesale and retail trade, and construction. On the whole, we can expect employment growth to continue to slow as COVID-19 cases rise, and some provinces could prolong containment measures well into December and early 2021, as Quebec just announced heightened restrictions around holiday gatherings.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-employment-nov-december-4-2020

Did you know the ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions? As far back as 4,000 years ago, there were people looking back on what had transpired throughout the past year while simultaneously looking ahead to improve their future.

Many years later, the ancient Roman god Janus was honored with a January holiday, as he symbolically looks in two directions at once: behind to remember what has happened, and ahead to build the future based on lessons learned from the past year.

December is settling in with those early, dark evenings and we are on the precipice of another winter season. My friend, I hope you can find a moment this month to pause in silence and really take stock of how much this year gave us: the opportunity to grow, to learn, and to prove to ourselves that we could thrive under tough conditions.

It has been a challenging year, admittedly, but I am going to enjoy every moment of this holiday season and I hope you do, too. This is a year to savor every moment that was hard earned, indeed.

I hope you wake up smiling with joy every day in December at the thought of contacting a friend later in the day or trying a new wintery recipe in the kitchen; I hope you have mornings filled with happiness, afternoons filled with joy, and I hope you end those days by falling asleep smiling when you simply can’t keep your eyes open a minute longer.

I also hope you are starting to build your list of resolutions to whittle down throughout the month because, symbolically, under the cold earth are seeds of new life and January is just around the corner...

My friend, I wish you a very, merry holiday season!

Gino Pezzani
Your Real Estate/Mortgage Consultant For Life

Following a record contraction of the Canadian economy in the first half of 2020, the third quarter saw a vigorous rebound in economic growth. Real GDP was up 8.9 per cent in the third quarter, or 40.5 per cent on an annualized basis, bringing the economy back to about 5 per cent of its pre-COVID-19 level. Household spending rebounded, rising 13 per cent in the quarter, while investment in housing was up 30.2 per cent. Household savings, while down from its record setting second quarter, continues to be elevated through the pandemic and registered 14.6% in the third quarter. That compares to just 2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The distressing second wave of COVID-19, and the restrictions it has necessitated, jeopardizes the recovery currently underway. We still expect the economy to post positive real GDP growth in the fourth quarter, though there is certainly the risk that a renewed fear of public spaces combined with targeted restrictions will prompt a modest retracing of output. The ultimate economic impact of COVID-19 by the end of 2020 will be a Canadian economy producing about 5.5 per cent less output than it did before the pandemic. That said, promising results from vaccine trials should lead the way to very strong growth in 2021 as pent-up consumption spending floods back into the economy. We expect Canadian real will growth by an average of 4 per cent over the next two years.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.