Canadian housing starts fell by 8.3k (3 per cent) to 273.8k units in June at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Comparing year-over-year, starts were down from June of 2021 (1.6 per cent). Single-detached housing starts declined 3.9 per cent to 72.1k, while multi-family and others fell 2.6 per cent to 201.8k (SAAR). 

In British Columbia, starts rose 34.6 per cent in June, rising to 56.4k units SAAR in all areas of the province. In areas in the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts declined 10.3 per cent m/m to 6.9k units while multi-family starts rose 48.4 per cent to 46k units. Starts in the province were 15.3 per cent below the levels from June 2021. Starts were up by 7.9k units in Vancouver, 6.4k in Kelowna, and 1.0k in Abbotsford from last month, while declining by 1.3k in Victoria. The 6-month moving average trend rose 0.3 per cent to 43.1k in BC in June. 

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-housing-starts-june-2022

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Some people think daydreaming is a waste of time, but it can be a powerful tool for sharpening your creativity. The Entrepreneur magazine website spells out why:

Motivation. Daydreaming about something you’d like to do can increase your motivation to go out and do it. It helps you visualize your goals and structure your thoughts.

Visualization. Use your daydreams to go into detail about your goals so you can identify possibilities and options.

Problem Solving. You can’t always attack a problem with logic and brute force. Spend some time letting your mind roam. Daydreaming relaxes you and reduces stress, so it might help you spot a solution you’d otherwise miss.

For the complete news release, including detailed statistics, click here.

Vancouver, BC – July, 2022. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,136 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) in June 2022, a decrease of 35.7 per cent from June 2021. The average MLS^® residential price in BC was $951,105, a 4.6 per cent increase from $909,657 recorded in June 2021. Total sales dollar volume was $6.8 billion, a 32.8 per cent decline from the same time last year. 

“While a still growing economy and robust population growth point to strong demand, it is increasingly difficult to satisfy that demand at current interest rates,” said BCREA Chief Economist. “As a result, sales activity across the province, but especially in more expensive markets, continues to slow.”

For the second straight month, year-over-year provincial active listings rose, with listing in June 16.4 per cent higher than this time last year. While active listings remain below what is typical for a balanced market, some markets and housing types have tipped into balanced or even buyers’ market territory as sharply higher mortgage rates push potential buyers to the sidelines.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 17 per cent to $53.5 billion compared with the same period in 2021. Residential unit sales were down 27.6 per cent to 51,202 units, while the average MLS^® residential price was up 14 per cent to $1.05 million.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

The Bank of Canada surprised markets with a larger than expected full point increase in its overnight rate, bringing its key policy rate to 2.5 per cent.  In the statement accompanying the decision, the Bank noted that inflation is higher and more persistent than the Bank expected and will likely trend near 8 per cent through the summer before easing to 3 per cent by the end of 2023. Core inflation, which removes the more volatile components of the CPI, is rising at between 4 and 5 per cent, indicating broad price pressures throughout the economy. While the economy is experience strong growth this year, the impact of Bank of Canada rate tightening is likely to slow the economic growth from 3.5 per cent this year to just 1.75 per cent in 2023.

The overnight rate is now within the Bank's estimate of "neutral", or the level of its policy rate at which inflation should run at 2 per cent and the economy is operating at full-capacity. However, it is clear from the Bank's statement that it expects it will have to tighten rates above neutral to bring inflation, and expectations of inflation, back to its 2 per cent target level.  As of this morning, financial markets expect that the Bank of Canada will raise its overnight rate to above 3 per cent, and those expectations are currently embedded in 5-year fixed mortgage rates which have exceeded 5 per cent for the first time in over a decade. While there are encouraging, early signs that inflation is peaking, we will need to see a sustained decline in the rate of inflation over the next several months to see any relief on mortgage rates. 

Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/bank-of-canada-interest-rate-announcement-onidt16hpz

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

You can reduce anxiety and let yourself go with this advice from the University of Colorado website:

Let yourself feel everything. Don’t try to force happiness. Allow yourself to feel a full range of emotions—excitement, anxiety, joy, sadness, and everything else. You’re able to experience multiple emotions at the same time, after all. You can be excited about traveling, yet nervous about flying on an airplane, for example. Learn to balance your emotions so a single feeling doesn’t overwhelm you. 

Take a proactive approach. Confront your fears openly. This can be as simple as brainstorming summer projects or just making a packing list for a trip. Come up with a list of friends you can depend on for support if things get emotionally tough.

Accept what you can’t control. Things happen. Don’t try to take on everything. For example, you don’t know what the weather will bring on a day you’ve planned for a hike, so be prepared with a raincoat and umbrella, or be ready to postpone activities until the day is more welcoming.

Find ways to cope. Practice meditation and mindfulness. Try journaling, or talk to a close friend you trust. Remember that exercise is good for the mind as well as the body, so get outside as much as you can. Spend time with friends and family you care about, and don’t forget to celebrate the small victories.

Take care of yourself. Eat healthy food and exercise regularly. Get plenty of rest and sleep, whatever else you’re up to. Identify sources of stress so you can take steps to alleviate it before it becomes too much to handle.

Canadian employment declined by 43,000 (-0.2 per cent) to 19.597 million in June, falling for the first time since January. As a result of fewer people looking for work, the Canadian unemployment rate also declined by 0.2 to 4.9 per cent, the lowest rate on record for a fourth consecutive month. Average hourly wages were up 5.2 per cent on a year-over-year basis, increasing from 3.9 per cent in May and 3.3 per cent in April. Wage gains remain below the inflation rate, however, which hit 7.7 per cent year-over-year in the most-recent data. Total hours worked rose 1.3 per cent in June, the first increase since March 2022.

Employment in BC grew by 6.1k to 2.747 million in June, while Metro Vancouver's employment fell by 6.5k month over month. The unemployment rate rose slightly in June to 4.6 per cent. Among the provinces, only Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec currently have lower unemployment rates. 

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-employment-june-2022

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Medical missionary Albert Schweitzer once wrote a fable about a flock of wild geese who shamed a human with their ethical behavior. As the geese rested near a pond one day, a gardener captured one and clipped its wings. When the geese started to resume their flight, the wounded bird tried frantically to fly off with them, but couldn’t get off the ground. Instead of flying off without the bird, the flock settled back on the pond and waited.

Fortunately the gardener’s clipping hadn’t inflicted permanent damage and after several days, the damaged feathers had grown back well enough to allow the goose to take flight.

The flock’s loyalty to its wounded member touched the gardener’s heart and made him realize that he had been wrong to hurt a bird that had done him no harm.

In fact, as Schweitzer wrote, the gardener “gladly watched them as they finally rose together and all resumed their long flight.”

Every time I sit down to write this letter, I am amazed at how fast the time goes! We are well into summer and have adjusted to the more lackadaisical approach to the days. Perhaps you spend your weekends at the beach, lake or the mountains– somewhere in the great outdoors.

This month, I want to offer you one word: joy. It seems all too simple, yet when was the last time you not only felt joy, but also acknowledged it?

They say perfection does not exist, but I don’t agree. I think it exists in the small, fleeting moments that easily slip past us. Where we run into trouble is when we try to bottle it and lock it away. Recognizing joy and appreciating it for however long it lasts is a way to experience perfection; a moment of perfection. And when it’s done, let it go with grace, knowing another perfectly joyful moment is on its way. 

Gino Pezzani,

Your Real Estate/Mortgage Consultant For Life