Vancouver, BC – April, 2021. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 15,073 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March 2021, an increase of 123.3 per cent over March 2020 and a new all-time record for monthly BC home sales. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $947,707, a 20.4 per cent increase from $787,032 recorded in March 2020. It should be noted that average prices across the province are being skewed higher as more expensive single-detached homes remain a higher share of dollar volume during the pandemic. Total sales dollar volume was $14.3 billion, a 168.9 per cent increase from last year.

“Home sales in the province shattered the previous record, led by markets in the Lower Mainland,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “While mortgage rates have risen in recent months and a modest tightening of mortgage regulations is on the horizon, market activity is expected to remain very strong through the spring.”

Total active residential listings were down 24.4 per cent to 22,337 units in March. The total inventory of homes for sale remains severely depleted, but new listings activity has accelerated in response to high prices.

“While the total supply of re-sale listings remains at crisis levels, many markets saw record new listings activity in March. Strong new listings activity will need to continue for some time before markets will see a healthier balance with less pressure on home prices,” said Ogmundson.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

No foolin’— April is Stress Awareness Month. It’s important to manage stress, because it’s not only emotionally taxing, but it can also be harmful to your physical health. To keep stress under control, try these three simple tips from Harvard Medical School.

Take a new approach. Much of life’s stress comes from how we view the various situations we encounter. For example, two people may take on the exact same task, but only one person may find it stressful. Some of this has to do with personality, but it also has to do with your inner narrative and how you frame things in your mind. If you aim to change your perspective, you can often reduce the number of stressors in your life.

Burn off tension. Physical activity can help get you on a more even keel. But for many people, sticking to a daily exercise schedule is itself stressful, often because they pick activities they don’t enjoy. Instead, choose to do something you love— like gardening, nature walks, or a yoga practice— which can slow the harmful effects of stress. Looking forward to the activity can keep you motivated, and help you destress and recharge.

Get organized. Ever spend 20 minutes looking for your car keys or trying to find a misplaced wallet or purse? Disorganization and clutter can cause unnecessary stress. Taking time to set up some systems, such as a set location for your keys, can help reduce these daily nuisances. In addition, plan ahead when it comes to other strategies that can help you manage your stress. Create a time for exercise, plan healthy meals, and get on a regular schedule to ensure that you’re getting enough sleep.

Also, if you know you’re going to encounter a stressful situation, think ahead of time about how you are going to manage it. Have a plan in place to help reduce your level of stress, and prevent it from taking a toll on your health.

A young woman known to her friends as an avid online shopper discovered she had received a small cash rebate from a purchase. It wasn’t expected, but seeing the envelope show up in the mail brought such a smile to her face, her roommate asked what good news she had received.

When the young lady explained she had received an extra $500, her roommate suggested she consider lending it out in the form of a microloan to women in need who were trying to finish their education or start their own business. The successful young woman liked the idea and, on a whim, signed up with an online site devoted to microloans.

About six months later when the loan was repaid, she decided to lend out the money a second time... then a third... and so on. Several years later, she had lent out the same dollars over and over again, without ever missing the money. In the meantime, she continued to receive thank you letters and updates from many of the women who used the microloan, made possible through her check, to transform their own lives.

Although she has long since moved on from her roommate situation and is now a homeowner, she still sends her old friend a letter every year, sharing a few details of all the women she has helped. Each time, she thanks her old friend for making the suggestion years ago. That first loan changed the meaning of money for her, while changing the outcome for others at the same time.

Canadian employment gained 303K jobs in March (1.6%, m/m), bringing total employment to within 1.5% or 296K jobs of its pre-pandemic level from February 2020. Both part-time employment with full-time employment contributed to the gains in March, rising by 128K and 175K jobs respectively. The national unemployment rate decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 7.5%, which is the lowest rate since February 2020.

In BC, employment grew by 35k (+1.3%, m/m) in March. The unemployment rate decreased from held steady at 6.9%, which is the lowest rate the province has recorded since February 2020. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, employment increased by 32.3k (+2.2%,m/m), following a rise of 13.9k in the previous month. Compared to one year ago, employment in BC was up 8.4% (+116.7K) jobs.

Employment in BC and other parts of Canada may slow in April as more restrictive "circuit-breaker" polices are implemented to mitigate rising COVID-19 cases. Fortunately, daily vaccinations have ramped-up considerably and the labour market should be in a much better place by early summer.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-employment-march-april-9-2021

Bringing diversity and inclusion into your organization calls for much more than a diversity statement. It takes a solid commitment. Listen to what the WTOP News website has to say:

• Define your terms. What do diversity and inclusion actually mean in your workplace? It should start with creating a safe work environment where everyone feels welcome, valued, and respected, and everyone has equal opportunities for development and advancement.

• Get leadership on board. If your CEO and other top leaders don’t take your efforts seriously, neither will anyone else. They have to be honest and open about what they hope to achieve, and be willing to work together with employees across the board to make progress.

• Start small. You can’t transform an entire organization overnight. Set modest goals for increasing diversity at the outset— changing underrepresentation of certain groups, for example. Track progress over a few months, looking at success and gaps. Use the data to expand your efforts and grow.

• Recruit with diversity in mind. Your recruiters and hiring managers should become D&I ambassadors for your organization. Make sure they’re reaching out beyond their usual sources of talent so they can attract candidates who will be a good fit for your organization, regardless of whether they check every single box for experience and qualifications.

April is Jazz Appreciation Month, culminating with a grand finale on April 30: International Jazz Day, formally declared by the United Nations back in 2012. Even if jazz isn’t among your favorite genres, I’ll bet some of those celebratory sounds speak to your soul.

Although there is some debate over the exact year jazz was born, most everyone can agree what makes it unique is all the different components which, when braided together, form one cohesive sound. The idea is not unlike being in a group of people who bring completely different ideas to the table, but ultimately collaborate to produce a great final product — jazz, in human form.

When you think about it that way, what are you composing these days?

If you’re not working on anything besides everyday life, consider this: April is the perfect month to start conceptualizing your next act, something you truly want to compose and revise until it sounds just right.

If we are to believe Arthur Schopenhauer, the German philosopher, who said, “Music is the food of soul,” then April is your time to feast on all the possibilities life has to offer.

Whether you choose to embark on a new branch in your career or revise your plan for the year, this beautiful month of blue skies, sandwiched between chilly March and May’s goodbye to spring, is ideal for planning. With three-quarters of the year left ahead of you, a world that is remembering how to thrive, and opportunities everywhere… April is practically beckoning you to craft harmonious, collaborative plans into your life.

Play on!

Gino Pezzani,

Your Real Estate Consultant For Life

It was a strong start for the Canadian economy as real GDP expanded 0.7 per cent on a monthly basis in January. The increase in January marks the ninth consecutive month of positive economic growth, however, total economic activity is still about 3 per cent below its pre-COVID-19 level. With the strong start to 2021, first quarter real GDP growth is tracking at 5.5 per cent on an annualized basis.

An acceleration of vaccinations appears to be on the immediate horizon. As that roll-out progresses, we expect pent-up spending throughout the economy to be unleashed, driving a strong economic recovery. Following an unprecedented contraction in 2020, we expect the Canadian economy will enjoy two years of very strong growth with the economy expanding by more than 5 per cent this year and about 4.5 per cent in 2022.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-monthly-economic-growth-real-gdp-january-2021

Are you happy at work? The answer may depend on your attitude. The New York Post explains how to move from enduring your job, to enjoying it:

• Keep your balance. Don’t devote your whole life to your job. When you’re working, do the best you can. When you’re not, do something you really like to do; relax and recharge. Value both your work life and your personal time equally.

• Anticipate setbacks. Not every plan will succeed. Don’t be pessimistic, but take a realistic view of what could go wrong so you can plan to avoid problems or solve them as they come up. This will prevent you from being blindsided and paralyzed by obstacles in your path.

• Reward yourself. You’ve finished a big project? Celebrate. Even if you have to cut back on activities because of the pandemic, find ways to treat yourself. Plan a vacation for when it’s safe to travel again, or just take a day off to do something completely different.

• Expand your mind. Learn something new, whether it’s related to your job or not. Take an online course, study a new language, or just read something out of your usual selection. You’ll keep your mind agile and discover the joy in new pursuits.

• Remember: The grass isn’t always greener. You may think that any other job would be better than the one you’ve got now. That’s not necessarily true. Find out what your colleagues are dealing with. You may realize that you’ve got it pretty good right now.

• Consider why you have your job. Go back and think about why you chose the career path you’ve followed. Chances are you saw it as an opportunity to do some good and create value. Remember that as you work, and
remember to look for ways to incorporate your early dreams
back into your current situation.

Last month was Women In History Month. Did you pick up any new facts about women who changed the world? Well, now is your chance to take this fun quiz and learn something about the role of five particular women in history:

1. Which mother led a 125-mile march of child workers from the mills of Pennsylvania to President Theodore Roosevelt’s vacation home on Long Island?

2. What did Dolores Huerta do for farm workers in the United States?

3. Which Asian-American physicist disproved a fundamental scientific law?

4. Who led the movement to improve conditions for poor immigrants?

5. What singer drew a crowd of 75,000 to the Lincoln Memorial for a 1939 Easter Sunday Concert?

—— Think you know the answers? Flip this page upside-down to check!

Highlights:
• Mortgage rates increase as economic growth expectations revised higher
• Growth in the Canadian economy set to take-off in 2021
• Bank of Canada remains on hold but may be tested by increased inflation

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Click here to view the March 2021 Mortgage Rate Forecast. 

This month’s COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard shows that near-record sales in Metro Vancouver, combined with unprecedented housing demand outside of Metro Vancouver, continued to drive a blistering pace of home sales in BC. Employment in retail and recreation are showing signs of recovery, but employment in accommodations and food services remains weak. Meanwhile, the number of people employed in high-wage positions continues to increase, supporting housing demand. Retail is starting to pick up again after a slow end to 2020. As the rollout of the vaccine accelerates, we can expect pent-up spending throughout the economy to be unleashed, driving a strong economic recovery. 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
To monitor the province’s progress, we benchmark each indicator to February 2020, the month before the pandemic was declared. This dashboard is updated each month.

BCREA's updated COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard is available here.