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

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) rose 1.3 points to 149.8 in the fourth quarter of 2024, while the six-month moving average rose to 148.8. Compared to the same quarter in 2023, the index was down 0.2 per cent. 

Fourth Quarter Highlights

• The economic activity index rose in Q4 by 1.9 points. Growth in this index was broad-based, with inflation-adjusted retail trade (0.7 per cent), wholesale trade (0.5 per cent), and manufacturing sales (0.6 per cent) rising from the previous quarter.

• Office employment (financial, insurance, real estate, and professional services) rose by 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter, while manufacturing employment fell by 0.2 per cent. The overall employment component declined by 0.1 points from the previous quarter, contributing negatively to the index.

• The financial component of the index decreased in the final quarter by 0.5 points. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) prices fell by 9.7 per cent, driving the component down. Additionally, interest rate spreads saw modest increases from the previous quarter, indicating slightly more perceived short-term risk in the economy. Both components combine into a net negative impact on commercial activity for the overall component.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Canadian retail sales increased by 2.5 per cent to $69.6 billion in December from the previous month. Compared to the same time last year, retail sales are up by 3.9 per cent. Furthermore, core retail sales, which exclude gasoline and automobile items, also rose by 2.5 per cent month-over-month. In volume terms, adjusted for rising prices, retail sales increased by 2.5 per cent in December.  In the fourth quarter of 2024, retail sales increased by 2.4 per cent, while retail sales rose by 1.3 per cent on an annual basis in 2024.

Retail sales in British Columbia were up 1.6 per cent in December month-over-month and up 2.0 per cent compared to the same time last year. In the CMA of Vancouver, retail sales were up 2.1 per cent both from the prior month and from December 2023.

Canada's sharp jump in retail activity in December largely reflects the impact of the GST/HST tax break during the holiday season. As expected, strength in core retail sales is driven by sales in the food/beverage and clothing industries, both of which were included under the tax holiday.  While tailwinds from the tax break were expected, economists are mostly monitoring whether this momentum will continue following its conclusion last week. Nonetheless, the Bank of Canada remains poised for a 25-point cut next month and hopes to see its effects transmit into stronger Canadian retail spending in the first quarter of 2025. 

https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-retail-sales-december-2024

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 1.9 per cent on a year-over-year basis in January, up from a 1.8 per cent increase in December. Month-over-month, on a seasonally adjusted basis, CPI increased by 0.1 points in January. Excluding energy, the CPI rose 1.7 per cent in January. Overall, shelter price growth continues to cool, as mortgage interest costs were up 10.2 per cent, marking the seventeenth consecutive month of deceleration. Similarly, rent was up 6.3 per cent in January year-over-year, down from 7.1 per cent in December. In BC, consumer prices rose 2.2 per cent year-over-year, down from 2.6 per cent in December. The Bank of Canada's preferred measures of median and trimmed inflation, which strip out volatile components, both rose to 2.7 per cent year-over-year.

Inflation continues to hold close to target as a rise in energy prices has been offset by price reductions in many goods affected by the GST/HST tax break. However, January saw slight increases in the Bank's core measures, indicating some lingering upward momentum on a quarterly basis. Nonetheless, this report is unlikely to sway the Bank of Canada away from its plan to cut the overnight rate by 25 basis points during their next meeting. 

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

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Canadian housing starts rose by 3 per cent to 239,739 units in January at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Starts were up 4 per cent from the same month last year. Single-detached housing starts were largely unchanged from last month at 57,299 units, while multi-family and other starts rose by 4 per cent to 182,443 (SAAR).

In British Columbia, starts fell by 13 per cent from last month to 41,136 units (SAAR) in all areas of the province. In areas of the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts rose by 12 per cent to 4,898 units, while multi-family starts fell by 17 per cent to 34,078 units month-over-month. Starts in the province were 33 per cent above the levels from January 2024. Compared with the same month last year, starts were up by 205 per cent in Kelowna, 208 per cent in Abbotsford, and 37 per cent in Vancouver, while being down by 98 per cent in Nanaimo and 42 per cent in Victoria. 

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

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Homes newly listed on the MLS® in Metro Vancouver rose 46 per cent year-over-year in January, as sellers appear eager to enter the market to start the year.

Read our January MLS® Market Report to learn more: https://www.gvrealtors.ca/market-watc...

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

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

Vancouver, BC – February 2025. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that 4,221 residential unit sales were recorded in Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) Systems in January 2025, up 6.4 per cent from January 2024. The average MLS^® residential price in BC in January 2025 was down 1.0 per cent at $949,560 compared to $959,191 in January 2024. 

The total sales dollar volume was $4 billion, a 5.3 per cent increase from the same time the previous year. BC MLS^® unit sales were 12 per cent lower than the ten-year January average.

“As expected, 2025 is off to a better start in most regions across BC,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “January’s pickup in sales and listings may foreshadow a stronger 2025, caveated by global uncertainties which may trigger higher or lower rates from the Bank of Canada.”

Active listings in January 2025 climbed to 30,896 units, a 27 per cent increase from the same month last year. Normalizing trends in new listings, coupled with stronger sales activity in the past few months, have led to an accumulation of inventory. Moving forward, it remains crucial for supply to keep pace with growing demand to keep markets balanced and prevent rampant price appreciation.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Canadian employment rose by 0.4 per cent from the previous month, growing by 76,000 jobs to 20.993 million in January. The employment rate rose by 0.1 points to 61.1 per cent, while the unemployment rate fell 0.1 points to 6.6 per cent. Average hourly wages rose 3.5 per cent year-over-year to $35.99 last month, while total hours worked were up 2.2 per cent from January of the previous year.

Employment in B.C. rose by 0.8 per cent to 2.944 million, with a gain of 23,000 jobs in January. Employment in Metro Vancouver rose 1.7 per cent to 1.696 million in January. The unemployment rate in B.C. rose by 0.1 points to 6.0 per cent in January. Meanwhile, Vancouver's unemployment rate rose by 0.3 points to 6.8 per cent in the first month of the year.

January's jobs data continues a trend of increasing employment growth and moderation of the unemployment rate, though at a higher-than-desired level. Importantly, private sector job growth has grown in accordance with these trends, with January's numbers being driven by employment gains in manufacturing, construction, and professional, scientific, and technical services, among other industries. January's report begins the year on a strong note and demonstrates an improving labour market. Under the assumption that trade policy remains unchanged, we anticipate that the Bank of Canada will lower its policy rate one more time by 25 basis points in March before pausing to assess the need for further stimulus. 

https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-employment-january-2025

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.