In BC in April, home sales and new listings declined, while starts ticked upwards modestly. Sales fell in all areas of the province, but most substantially in the lower mainland. Rental costs in Vancouver and Victoria continue to rise broadly and remain elevated relative to most other points since the onset of the pandemic.

Retail sales eased somewhat in March but remain close to record highs. As of May, restaurant reservations in Vancouver are at roughly 87 per cent of the pre-pandemic level. In BC, Google’s measure of movement trends is currently about 10 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. 

Although aggregate employment has recovered in BC to pre-pandemic levels, the accommodation and food service sector was about 13 per cent below the pre-pandemic level in April. The labour market has served high-income workers much better than low-income workers. Employment in high-income industries is about 11 per cent above pre-pandemic employment levels, while employment in low-income industries is about 4 per cent below pre-pandemic employment levels.     

Manufacturing and imports both rose to a fresh record in March, while exports declined slightly off their record level.  

Business confidence retreated slightly in May. 

The number of US and non-US tourists rose in March, with US tourists reached the highest level since the onset of the pandemic. Still, tourism remains two-thirds below pre-pandemic levels.

For a more comprehensive overview of BC's economic recovery, click here. 

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Vancouver, BC – May, 2022. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,939 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) in April 2022, a decrease of 34.9 per cent from a record April 2021. The average MLS^® residential price in BC was $1.065 million, a 12.9 per cent increase from $943,765 recorded in April 2021. Total sales dollar volume was $9.5 billion, a 26.5 per cent decline from the same time last year. 

“Canadian mortgages have sharply increased, surpassing 4 per cent for the first time in a decade,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “With interest rates rising, demand across BC is now on a path to normalizing. However, given existing levels of supply, markets conditions remain tight.”

Provincial active listings were 7.5 per cent lower than this time last year, though listings are starting to accumulate in some markets as demand fades. However, it will likely take a year or more for the supply of listings to return to balanced market levels.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 10.7 per cent to $38.4 billion, compared with the same period in 2021. Residential unit sales were down 24.2 per cent to 35,618 units, while the average MLS^® residential price was up 17.8 per cent to $1.078 million.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

After growing in February and March to a record level, Canadian employment was little changed in April at 19,601k. The labour market is tight, with the Canadian unemployment rate declining by 0.1 to 5.2 per cent, the lowest rate on record since comparable data became available in 1976. The total hours worked fell 1.9 per cent in April while average hourly wages were up 3.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis, similar to March and February. Wage gains are below the inflation rate, however, which clocked in at 6.7 per cent year-over-year in the most-recent data. The employment rate held steady at 61.9 per cent.

Employment in BC was largely unchanged in April at 2,736k. Metro Vancouver's employment growth was also largely flat at -0.2 per cent month over month. The unemployment rate rose in April for a second month in a row, reaching 5.4 per cent and surpassing Canada's rate for the first time since mid-2020. 

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.
Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-employment-april-2022