The COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard indicates that in June most BC housing markets continued to calm from a peak in March. At the same time, the seasonally adjusted 6-month moving-average for housing starts hit a record level in the province. Seasonally adjusted aggregate employment in BC is now at roughly pre-pandemic levels, although high-wage workers are doing much better than low-wage workers. Rents were up across much of the province, with 1-bedroom apartments in Vancouver hitting a record. Google movement trends and restaurant reservations continued to rise, suggesting a general reopening across Canada’s three largest cities. Manufacturing and exports continue to post very strong figures, with both approaching record levels in June. Consumer confidence is approaching pre-pandemic levels, while business confidence is well-above pre-pandemic levels. For a more comprehensive overview of BC's economic recovery, click here. 

About BCREA’s COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard
The BCREA Economics team has created the COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard to help REALTORS^® monitor BC’s economic recovery. This dashboard focuses on the sectors and activities that have been most significantly impacted by the pandemic, including:

• Housing Markets
• Retail, Restaurant Reservations and Movement
• Jobs and Hours Worked
• Manufacturing and International Trade
• Business and Consumer Confidences
• Tourism

One of the sweetest things about summer is the fruit: plump, ripe, juicy delectables that beg for bare fingers snatching just one more strawberry. The Cooking Classy site offers the following tips for creating the perfect fruit salad, along with a light topping recipe that won’t overpower the naturally sweet flavor of fruit. 

1. Keep berries together and save the citrus for another day.

2. Use fresh, not frozen, fruit so it stays firm.Prep fruit ahead of time.

3. Mix it all just before eating or when company arrives

Try this honey-lime dressing for an extra kick:.

Mix 1/4 cup honey, 2 teaspoons of lime zest, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, then add evenly to the fruit salad. Better than whipped cream and healthier, too!

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 3.1% on a year-over-year basis in June, down from the prior two months. The downward pull of "base-year effects" are no longer influencing the year-over-year CPI values, as June 2020 prices had recovered from dips in the early months of the pandemic. On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, the CPI was up just 0.1% in June. The Bank of Canada's preferred measures of core inflation (which use techniques to strip out volatile elements) rose an average of 2.3% year-over-year in June. In BC, consumer prices were up 0.5% month-over-month, and up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis in June.

While inflation is currently running higher than the Bank of Canada's 2 per cent target, many economists expect this elevated rate of price increases to be transitory as economies emerge from the pandemic and supply chains normalize. Base-year effects from falling prices during the early months of the pandemic had exaggerated year-over-year changes in CPI, but these effects have now ended, and the rate of increase in CPI is correspondingly lower. The rate of inflation as measured by CPI is very important for the Bank of Canada's monetary policy stance over the next year. If higher inflation is not transitory but instead the result of an over-stimulated economy, the central bank could act to raise interest rates sooner than expected. However, if the uptick in inflation continues to fade in the coming months, we expect the Bank will stay its current course.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.
Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-inflation-june-2021

Every once in awhile, you may say something that unintentionally sounds like a brag. Without meaning to, you can offend colleagues with a perceived lack of humility. The Idealist Careers website has this to say on the subject of workplace humility:

Neilsen and Marrone’s work in the International Journal of Management Reviews found that people described as “humble” share the ability to: acknowledge their limitations and strengths; appreciate others’ strengths and contributions without letting their ego get in the way; maintain an open mind and a thirst for learning; seek diverse feedback; and apologize when they are in the wrong.

Humble leaders are especially effective at cultivating strong social relationships, helpfulness, forgiveness, and social justice amongst their team members. They ultimately create teams with more satisfied employees who stay longer at the organization. So, if you’re coming up on a rough patch or a big transition that will require teamwork, flexibility, and collaborative decision making, then put a humble leader in charge and remember to honor those qualities if you’re the one at the helm.

Time to start planning for the holidays! Wait, what? Yes, you read that right: start planning now in these easy summer days so you can relax this winter.

These suggestions on how to hone your holiday checklist all came from homemaking maven Martha Stewart:

1. Take stock of your stash. A well-kept holiday home begins with a proper assessment of what you already have: garlands, glittered baubles and figurines, lighting displays, preserved wreaths, and other decorations. Unpack and sort your collection, declutter by discarding anything broken or unusable, and organize the remaining stockpile for easier, more efficient decorating come December.
2. Gather your gifts. Now is the time to make your list and check it twice so you can keep an eye out for bargains, as well as buy yourself time (pun intended) to find more challenging items or start on a homemade craft. Source your materials and, if it’s helpful to you, draft a timeline to keep yourself on schedule with crafting gifts in due time for the season.
3. Stock up on host gifts. Think beyond the gift list of your inner circle. Come holiday time, there are likely to be small get togethers happening again and you will want to have a token of thanks for a few hosted parties. Stock up over summer—curating a handful of items that will appeal to everyone guarantees that you’re never caught in a gift-giving situation empty-handed.
4. Solidify your ‘must-dos’. Determine your priorities and must-do traditions then put the items that truly matter to you on your calendar. The rest of the days will fill up as the weeks progress, but locking in time for the things that matter most will keep you focused on fulfilling events.
5. Capture your family portrait. And save it for this year’s greeting card. Why not capture some memorable moments while the sun is out and the weather is forgiving? You can make a summer day of it and enjoy the memories for years to come.

The beloved, classic children’s television show Sesame Street offers some pearls of wisdom, says writer Sue Horner. Here are a few tips on communication that work well at home, at school, and out on “the street”.

1. Know your audience. What’s important to them? What do they already know and how quickly can you make your point?

2.  Be clear about what you need to get across. Sharing too many points will water down your message, and probably bore your audience. What one thing do you want people to remember?

3.  Tell a story to make it memorable. We’re more likely to remember a fact, a number or a summary when it has been wrapped in a story.

4.  Keep it easy to read and understand. You may not have children reading your work, but you will have people with little time to read, so help them out by getting to the point. No one will complain that you’ve made it too easy to understand.

5.  Keep it short. Who has time or patience for long introductions, lengthy paragraphs, long sentences, or complicated words?

6.  Think about references to pop culture. They are great ways to capture attention or make a connection. You could echo the words of a song, reflect current television shows or parody an ad.
7.  Don’t be afraid to be silly. Play with words and keep it light!

Did you know American barbecue sauce goes back as far as the 1600’s in the colonies? Early homemade barbecue sauces were generally just homemade concoctions of vinegar, salt and pepper, but regional variations started developing in the 18th century.

The 1920’s saw the addition of sugar and ketchup to many versions of the ubiquitous sauce, but it wasn’t until after World War II that the sauce got more complicated and true

 regionalities emerged. These days, we all seem to have a favorite, whether it resembles the thin sauce found in the

 Carolinas, the thick, white sauce of Alabama, or the molasses thick brown sauce of the Midwest.

This July, consider having a barbecue taste test with friends. You supply the barbecue and have each invited guest bring their favorite sauce, whether it is homemade or store- bought. No matter which variation ends up being the winner, you’ll get a fun evening with friends and good food.

Canadian housing starts continued at a historically high level in June. Although housing starts decreased to 282.1k units (-1.5% m/m) in June at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), on a year-over-year basis starts were still 33% above their June 2020 levels. The six-month moving average of SAAR housing starts rose 3.1% to 293.6k units in June. Single-detached housing starts declined 6.9% from May, while all other housing starts rose 0.9%. 

In BC starts rose faster than any other province in June, up 43% m/m to 68k units SAAR in all areas of the province. The level remains just below a record March when new units were constructed at a 71K unit annualized pace. In terms of the six-month moving average, BC is at a record level of housing starts. In centres with at least 10,000 residents, single-detached starts were flat, but multi-unit starts were up 56% from last month. Compared to the same time last year, housing starts in June were up 74%. In Vancouver, housing starts were 91% higher than June of 2020, while in Victoria starts were up 78% from the same month last year. 

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

The link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-housing-starts-june-2021

Few things are more cheerful than the sound of happy birds chirping, whether you have citified jays or country songbirds. Providing water year round, but especially during hot months, improves their habitat and increases your chances of observing their fun behaviors up close. You can attract more birds to your balcony, roof patio, or yard by including a birdbath.

Good birdbaths are similar to shallow puddles found naturally in the wild. Choose a shallow container that is easy to clean, such as an old frying pan, shallow baking pan, or plastic lids of large containers.

If you have a yard, you can dig a shallow hole and line it with plastic or some other waterproof material. Birds prefer water basins that are on the ground, but if cats or other predators are a danger, put the birdbath three to four feet off the ground. Place some sand in the bottom of the bath and arrange a few branches or stones in the container, so birds can stand on them and drink without getting wet. Remember to change the water every few days.

The dog days of summer are an excellent time to make sure your pets - cats and dogs alike - have up-to-date information on file. While you’re at it, you can update home products to keep your favorite friends safe and secure. Here are a few tips from the American Veterinary Medical Association:

1. Make sure identification tags have current information and replace worn out tags that have faded information with new, legible ones.

2. If your pets aren’t already microchipped, talk with your veterinarian about having this done. This simple procedure can greatly improve your chances of getting your pets back if they become lost.

3. Confirm your contact information on any local pet pages, like Finding Rover, is also up-to-date.

4. Snap a photo of all of your pets that shows any distinctive markings. Position them near a standard item, like a refrigerator or laptop computer, so their relative size is clear.

5. Walk your yard and confirm fences are secure enough to contain your pet. If anything has come loose, now is the time to get it repaired.

6. Check your veterinary records to make sure all vaccinations are up-to-date and, if you carry pet insurance, confirm your policy is still what you need.

The Bank of Canada maintained its overnight rate at 0.25 per cent this morning, a level it considers its effective lower bound. The Bank reiterated what it calls "extraordinary forward guidance" in committing to leaving the overnight rate at 0.25 per cent until slack in the economy is absorbed and inflation sustainably returns to its 2 per cent target. The Bank projects that will not occur until the second half of 2022.  The Bank announced that it is adjusting its quantitative easing (QE) program down to purchasing $2 billion per week Government of Canada bonds per week. In the statement accompanying the decision, the Bank noted that it expects a strong pick-up in economic growth over the second half of the year as vaccinations progress and restrictions are lifted.  The Bank expects growth of close to 6 per cent this year, followed by 4.5 per cent growth in 2022.

As we hopefully approach the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of inflation has arisen as the most hotly debated topic among economists and analysts.  Specifically, whether current elevated inflation of around 3.5 per cent is a sign of accelerating prices or merely the transitory effect of supply constraints brought on by the pandemic.  The Bank of Canada is firmly on the side of believing higher than normal inflation is a temporary phenomenon. In today's announcement, the Bank noted that base-year effects, meaning we are comparing prices in a recovered economy now to one in which prices were falling amidst a severe recession one year ago, rising gasoline prices and pandemic related bottlenecks in supply chains account for most of the increase in inflation.  The Bank expects inflation to remain above 3 per cent through the remainder of this year before easing back toward its 2 per cent target in 2022.  Given that outlook, and uncertainty surrounding timing of when the economy may be fully back to normal, the Bank seems to be on a path to raising its policy rate between the end of 2022 and early 2023.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/bank-of-canada-interest-rate-announcement-45ohc9mxz2