Summer’s long days and late nights can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule. If you’re feeling the effects now, then you’re not alone.

September is the ideal month to reset your circadian rhythm. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 15 to 20 minutes of early-morning sunlight, reducing screen time after 8:30 p.m. and adding magnesium-rich foods, such as pumpkin seeds or dark leafy greens, into your routine.

Consistent sleep and wake times are key.

Try winding down with a book instead of a scroll, and make your room as dark as possible. Yes, even that blinking router light counts. If you prioritize rest now, then your fall energy will thank you later.

To view the full interactive BCREA Commercial Leading Indicator, click here.
To view the full Commercial Leading Indicator PDF, click here.  

The BCREA Commercial Leading Indicator (CLI) fell 0.3 points to 152.4 in the second quarter of 2025, while the six-month moving average rose to 152.5. Compared to the same quarter in 2024, the index was up 2.9 per cent. 

Second Quarter Highlights:

• The economic activity index fell in Q2 by 0.9 points. Contraction in this index was driven by lower inflation-adjusted wholesale trade (-5.1 per cent) and manufacturing sales (-4.5 per cent), which offset growth from retail sales (2.0 per cent).

• The overall employment component increased by 0.5 points in the second quarter. Growth in office employment (2.3 per cent) offset a modest fall in manufacturing employment (-0.5 per cent), suggesting a steady level of job creation through the first half of the year.

• The financial component of the index increased in the second quarter by 0.3 points. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) prices rose by 6.4 per cent, pushing the component up. Additionally, interest rate spreads remained virtually unchanged from the previous quarter, indicating a similar level of short-term risk in the economy.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Think you don’t have time for a hobby? Think smaller. Micro-hobbies bite-sized activities that take 5 to 10
minutes are trending during 2025 by offering a loweffort way to recharge your brain without overhauling your schedule.

Popular picks include doing origami, learning one word in a new language each day, partaking in five-minute sketches and brewing a perfect cup of tea. These quick bursts of creativity or calm act like mental palate cleansers by helping reduce stress and boost focus.

They’re also surprisingly habit-forming; what starts as five minutes can easily turn into something more meaningful. And in a world that’s always rushing, these tiny rituals offer a gentle way to slow down.

About BCREA’s Housing Monitor Dashboard

The BCREA Economics team has created the Housing Monitor Dashboard to help REALTORS^® monitor BC’s housing market. This dashboard, which is updated monthly, provides up-to-date data on key variables for public education and use. Focuses include: 

• Resale Home Market

• Construction

• Rental Market

• Borrowing Costs

• Other BCREA Data

In the dashboard, the image and data are available for download under each chart, where possible.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Lately I’ve been thinking about how most changes don’t start with a big decision—they start with a feeling. A quiet discomfort. A flicker of curiosity. A thought you keep brushing off because it isn’t “urgent” yet, but it keeps coming back anyway.

Maybe it shows up as restlessness. Maybe as a craving for more calm, more space, more energy that feels like your own. Sometimes it looks like rearranging a room. Sometimes it looks like unsubscribing from things that used to matter. Either way, it’s real—and it’s worth listening to.

We often wait for clarity before we take action. But in my experience, clarity usually follows motion. The first step is rarely a big one—it’s usually a conversation, a decision to explore, or simply the act of saying something out loud that you’ve been holding inside for a while.

If any part of your life feels like it’s ready to shift—your environment, your pace, your energy—I’d be honored to help you think it through. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to keep paying attention.

In the meantime, I hope you’re giving yourself permission to pause, recalibrate, and move at your own speed.

In the moment,

Gino Pezzani

Canadian retail sales increased by 1.5 per cent to $70.2 billion in June compared to the previous month. Compared to the same time last year, retail sales were up by 6.6 per cent. Furthermore, core retail sales, which exclude gasoline and automobile items, were up 1.9 per cent month-over-month. In volume terms, adjusted for rising prices, retail sales increased by 1.5 per cent in June. Quarterly retail sales rose 0.4 per cent in the second quarter.

Retail sales in British Columbia were up 1.5 per cent in May from the previous month and rose by 10.2 per cent compared to the same time last year. In the CMA of Vancouver, retail sales were up 2.0 per cent from the prior month and were 12.4 per cent above the level of June 2024.

June's report represents a rebound in retail activity from the previous month, with sales rising to their highest level this year. However, over 25 per cent of business respondents reported negative tariff impacts through changes in final prices and demand. While this report favours another rate hold, markets remain uncertain about the Bank of Canada's decision in September as core inflation stabilizes near its upper limit and economic growth remains weak.

https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-retail-sales-july-2025

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

There was a time when silence was expected and was built into the fabric of daily life.

Think about Sunday afternoons, unplugged dinner tables, walks without earbuds, and the hum of a city before the 24/7 noise loop of pings, podcasts, sirens, and scrolling.

Now, silence feels rare and almost indulgent.

Yet it’s making a comeback—not just in wellness retreats or remote cabins but in cities, architecture, and even luxury branding. Developers are marketing soundproof windows, minimalist homes promise “visual quiet”, and some high-end hotels now include silence as an amenity. Copenhagen even has a “silent bike lane” where talking is discouraged.

During 2019, The Atlantic dubbed silence “a new luxury good,” citing how hard it is to find it in modern life and how deeply we crave it when we do.

However, silence is not only aesthetically pleasing. Studies show it boosts memory, lowers blood pressure, and increases neurogenesis in the brain. Only two minutes of quiet can be more restorative than listening to relaxing music.

In a world that won’t stop talking, the decision to go quiet, intentionally, even temporarily, is a power move.

If you find yourself closing the door, pausing the podcast, or simply sitting in your car a few minutes longer after work, then that’s your nervous system saying, “thank you.”

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 1.7 per cent on a year-over-year basis in July, down from a 1.9 per cent increase in June. Month-over-month, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI was up 0.1 per cent in July. Downward pressure on headline inflation was driven by a sharper fall in gasoline prices year-over-year compared to June. The CPI ex-gasoline has held at 2.5 per cent over the past three months.  Additionally, shelter price growth rose for the first time since February 2024, with prices growing by 3.0 per cent in July, slightly up from 2.9 per cent in June. Food purchased in grocery stores rose at a faster pace of 3.4 per cent year-over-year compared to 2.8 per cent the previous month. In BC, consumer prices rose 1.7 per cent year-over-year in July, down from 2.1 per cent in June. The Bank of Canada's preferred measures of median and trimmed inflation, which strip out volatile components, are 3.1 per cent and 3.0 per cent year-over-year, respectively.

July's CPI report continues to show a divergence between headline and core inflation, largely due to monthly fluctuations in energy prices. The Bank of Canada's core measures of inflation have remained at the upper end—and even outside of—their target range for the past three months as tariffs continue passing through the economy. With 3-month annualized core inflation dropping a full point to 2.4 per cent, this report slightly favours a rate cut from the Bank of Canada in September, as the downside risks to growth remain strong from ongoing trade uncertainties. 

https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-inflation-july-2025

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

It's Time To Break Up With Overhead Lighting, and fall in love with lamps, moonlight, and a better vibe.

If your space feels cold or chaotic, then your lighting, not your furniture, might be to blame.

Overhead lighting, especially the bright, cool-toned kind, can feel harsh and overstimulating. It flattens textures, casts odd shadows, and creates a subtle stress response that your body picks up on, even if your brain can’t name it.

Ready for a change? Here’s what happens when you switch it up:

1.Softer Light = Softer Mood. Table lamps, sconces, and indirect lighting (sometimes called “moonlighting”) mirror natural light, which is warm, low, and gentle. Your nervous system reads it as safe, which helps you relax and feel more at ease.

2.Better Sleep Starts Here. Bright lights during the evening can confuse your internal clock. Switching to softer, warmer bulbs, or even candlelight, helps signal your body that it’s time to wind down.

3.An Instant Ambiance Upgrade. Warm, layered lighting transforms your space. Whether it’s a cozy dinner, a solo evening with a book or just winding down after work, the right light makes everything feel more intentional and more beautiful.

Pro Tip:

Start small. Replace one overhead bulb with a floor or table lamp using a warm-toned bulb (look for 2700K or lower). Your eyes and your mood will thank you.

Canadian housing starts increased 4 per cent from the previous month, totalling 294,085 units in July at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Starts were up 7 per cent from the same month last year. Single-detached housing starts decreased by 1 per cent from last month to 55,740 units, while multi-family and other starts increased by 5 per cent to 238,342 units (SAAR).

In British Columbia, starts fell by 15 per cent from last month to 56,918 units (SAAR) in all areas of the province. In areas of the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts increased by 1 per cent to 3,953 units, while multi-family starts fell by 17 per cent to 50,394 units month-over-month. Starts in the province were 16 per cent above the levels from July 2024. Year-to-date starts are up 147 per cent in Abbotsford and 29 per cent in Victoria, but down 71 per cent in Nanaimo, 36 per cent in Kelowna, and 5 per cent in Vancouver. 

https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-housing-starts-july-2025

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.