Ever wonder why your body hurts when you’re sitting at your computer? Although many reasons could be the culprit—from the ergonomics of the chair to the length of time you’re sitting—one thing is for sure: Stretching will help relieve the pain. Here are some ideas:

1.Arms: Straighten an arm out in front of you at shoulder height. Make a fist and bend the arm down as though pouring something. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat five times.

2.Back. Put one foot on the opposite knee. Lean forward slowly and hold for 10 seconds. Alternate sides and do five sets total.

3.Legs. Stand with feet shoulder-width

4.Hands. Straighten an arm in front of you at shoulder height. With the other hand, bend the wrist back so your fingers point to the ceiling. Pull back on the fingers gently. Hold 10 seconds. Do five total reps, then repeat with the other hand.

5.Shoulders. Reach one arm up straight above your head and stretch your fingers. Move your head down to your chest and then back. Switch arms.

Canadian housing starts fell 10 per cent to 254,966 units in July at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Starts were down 8 per cent from the same month last year. Single-detached housing starts fell 4 per cent to 55,093 units, while multi-family and others fell 12 per cent to 199,873 (SAAR).

In British Columbia, starts fell by 23 per cent in July to 50,733 units SAAR in all areas of the province. In areas in the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts fell 25 per cent m/m to 4,760 units while multi-family starts fell 25 per cent to 42,970 units. Starts in the province were 5 per cent above the levels from July 2022. Starts declined by 10.8k in Vancouver, 0.6k in Victoria, 3.3k in Kelowna, and 0.4k in Abbotsford from the previous month. The 6-month moving average trend in BC remained essentially unchanged at 51,423

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-housing-starts-july-2023

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 3.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in July, up from 2.8 per cent in June. Easing of gasoline base-year effects compared to last year was responsible much of the increase. Excluding gasoline, CPI rose from 4 per cent to 4.1 per cent in July. Shelter costs were up 5.1 per cent year over year, driven by much higher mortgage interest costs (up 30.6 per cent from last year) along with rents (up 5.5 per cent). The homeowner's replacement cost, which tracks home prices, was down 0.9 per cent year over year. Grocery prices were up 8.5 per cent year over year. Month over month, CPI rose 0.6 per cent. In BC, consumer prices rose 3 per cent year-over-year.

The annual change in CPI jumped back above 3 per cent in July, largely due to disappearing base-year effects for gasoline. Although food price inflation continued to gradually ease, shelter and rent inflation rates rose from June. Moreover, the Bank of Canada's measures of core inflation, which strip out volatile components, remained stubbornly high. With softening labour markets and a weak preliminary June GDP estimate, a September overnight rate hike had seemed unlikely. However, bond yields rose following the July CPI release, indicating the option is still on the table. Guiding inflation back down to 2 per cent was sure to be a bumpy ride and the Bank will be closely watching the retail sales and GDP releases scheduled prior to the September 6th rate decision. 

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-inflation-july-2023

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

The city of Utrecht in the Netherlands has created a unique solution to help humans and marine life live in harmony. It created a fish doorbell.

Utrecht has many dams and locks that disrupt fish migration.

The fish travel Utrecht's Vecht River, a branch of the Rhine River, to the Kromme River, where they spawn in the shallow waters of the Kromme.

But manmade structures, such as dams and locks, frequently disrupt their migration. In Utrecht, the Weerd Lock is one such obstacle to migratory fish. Ecologist Mark van Heukelum told the Weerd boat lock manager that the boat lock was an obstacle for fish.

The lock manager said he would open the lock for fish, but he didn’t know when fish were ready to get through. That is when an idea was born!

Van Heukelum came up with the idea of an underwater webcam that anyone could view online, and when people saw a fish, they could ring the virtual doorbell and the lock manager would open the gate. 

The idea has worked marvelously. In its first spring season in March 2023, people rang the fish doorbell more than 100,000 times. The video feed will be inactive until March, when the fish will be knocking at the door again.

You can watch the fish at visdeurbel.nl.

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

Vancouver, BC – August, 2023. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,103 residential unit sales were recorded in Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) systems in July 2023, an increase of 25.9 per cent from July 2022. The average MLS^® residential price in BC was $967,948, up 5.6 per cent compared to July 2022. The total sales dollar volume was $6.9 billion, representing a 33 per cent increase from the same time last year.  

“Home sales are up significantly since this time last year,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “That said, there are signs that the most recent Bank of Canada rate increases are slowing activity as mortgage rates climb to their highest levels in over a decade.”

Active listings in the province were flat compared with July 2022, at just over 31,000 total listings and were up for the second consecutive month on a monthly, seasonally adjusted basis, as new listings return to more normal levels and sales moderate. 

Year-to-date BC residential sales dollar volume was down 20.9 per cent to $46.3 billion, compared with the same period in 2022. Residential unit sales were down 16.3 per cent to 47,508 units, while the average MLS^® residential price was down 5.4 per cent to $975,232.  

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.