There is an old saying from Margaret Atwood which says, “You’re never going to kill storytelling, because it’s built into the human plan. We come with it.” The reason I send you a story, like this, each month is because stories remind us of who we are. I hope you find a piece of yourself in this story:
Once upon a time, two brothers were venturing from town to town. Along the way, they saw an old man with a white beard carrying a heavy sack over his shoulder. The old man stopped and asked the boys where they were headed. When he found out, he told them, “I want to help you.” He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a handful of golden coins.

“Which one of you wants these?” he asked.

“I want them,” replied the big brother immediately.

The old man then put a hand in his other pocket and pulled out a precious gem, shining like the sun, and asked again, “And who wants to have this gem?”

“I want it,” the big brother answered hastily. The old man gave him the coins and the gem.

Then the old man put down his sack and said, “Now who is going to help me carry this sack to the village?”

The big brother said nothing. But the little brother pulled up his sleeves and bent down to help him.

The old man smiled and said, “Take it with you, my boy, along with everything that is inside.”

“No,” said the younger brother. “It’s not mine.”

“Take it.. take it.” said the old man. “It’s my gift to you.”

The little brother opened the sack, and what did he see? The bag was filled with gold coins and precious gemstones. He stood up to thank the old man, but he was nowhere to be found.

Whether you are the big brother - who is assertive and leaps toward opportunity, or the little brother – who believes in hard work, or the old man – who remembers to be fair and generous, I hope you find the best of who you are in this story.

A famous art professor who had lost his interest in work went to a life coach for help. The coach asked what interested him at museums, galleries and other art displays.

“Well," the professor said, "I look around and try to find the most brilliant painter of my time. That's what I really want to find out: who is the best?"

 The coach smiled, then pointed to a lady walking by outside “See that woman right over there? That’s the one.”

 The professor frowned. “But I know that woman and she’s not an artist! How could she be the best artist of my time?"

 The coach shook his head sadly. “Oh, she could be, just like everyone could be, if only they picked up a brush and tried to paint.”

Are you a night owl? Most of us can pull the occasional all-nighter, but approximately three in 2,000 adults, and 7-16% of teenagers, have trouble falling asleep within two hours of what’s considered a “normal” bedtime. This is a condition doctors call delayed sleep phase (DSP) syndrome, which interferes with a person’s internal clock, or circadian rhythm.

What can be done about it? Two of the most common treatments include:

• Light/darkness therapy. Avoid bright lights for up to two hours before going to bed. Turn on the lights as soon as you wake up, or get outside as quickly as possible to trigger a sense of wakefulness in your body.

• Chronotherapy. Try resetting your body’s schedule by gradually adjusting your bedtime by 15-30 minutes each night, and get up earlier by the same amount of time. Another strategy is to stay up all night, then go to bed an hour earlier than normal on the next night, and maintain that bedtime for a week. Repeat weekly until you’re on a regular schedule.

Summary Findings:

• • Growth in home prices is a function of many factors and those factors do not always impact prices to the same degree
  • Shocks to housing demand and interest rates are the largest contributors to fluctuations in home prices, but provincial and municipal governments have limited to no ability to control these factors
  • Policies to increase the overall housing stock and grow the supply of residential listings would be enormously beneficial to controlling future price growth

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Here is to view the Market Intelligence Report PDF:

[gview file="https://vanhomesales.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Supply-and-Demand-A-Quantitative-History-of-BC-Home-Prices.pdf"]

Canadian inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.1% in February year-over-year. The increase was again due to higher gasoline prices (5%). Excluding the volatile gasoline component, the CPI rose by 1%, which is down from 1.3% in January. Prices rose in all components of the CPI except for clothing and footwear. Growth in the Bank of Canada's three measures of trend inflation remained unchanged, averaging 1.7%.

Regionally, the CPI was positive in all provinces, led by Quebec (1.6%). In BC, CPI rose by 0.9% in February year-over-year, down from January's 1.1%. Strong price growth continued for health and personal care, shelter, and food. Transportation costs reported the first notable increase since the pandemic started.

Gas prices were again the driving force behind inflation growth in February. It will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, as oil producers tighten supply. Despite this, the Bank of Canada has indicated that it will not raise rates until the economy is back at full employment and inflation is sustained at its 2% target rate.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

The link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-inflation-feb-march-17-2021

Does your organization know how to learn? In a world dominated by the ability to process information, the ability to learn, as an organization, is crucial. Here are five ways you can create a learning organization:

1. Encourage self-directed learning for employees. Instead of telling people what to learn, give permission for them to explore what they think is important. And provide resources like access to information, the Internet, time off, and tuition reimbursement, if possible.

2. Promote cross-pollination of ideas. Bring together team members from different departments to share ideas and strategies. Encourage people to respect different opinions and points of view so meetings produce thoughtful, innovative results.

3. Use open-ended language. In your meetings and discussions, ask questions that stimulate creative thought and learning without simply focusing on finding “correct” answers. If you can say, “Let’s explore that further,” you’ll show everyone on your team that you consider striving for improvement more important than a single “right” answer.

4. Treat mistakes as learning opportunities. Hold honest, straightforward conversations when something doesn’t work as anticipated. Look for lessons that might improve the process next time, as well as ideas for new processes that might result in an innovative product.

5. Review the learning process. On a regular basis, ask team members what’s working and what isn’t. With this information, get to work on fixing what doesn’t work and enhancing what’s going well.

Canadian employment gained 259k jobs in February (1.4%, m/m), almost making up for the 266k jobs lost in the previous two months. This left the employment level 3.1% (-599k) below its February 2020 pre-pandemic level. The rise was largely in part-time employment with full-time positions continuing to see positive growth in February. Notable job gains were reported in Quebec (113k) and Ontario (100k), as both provinces began easing restrictions in February. The only province to report negative job growth was Newfoundland and Labrador. The national unemployment rate decreased by 1.2 percentage points to 8.2%, which is the lowest rate since March 2020.

In BC, employment grew by 27k (1.0%, m/m) in February, following a gain of 3k in January. The unemployment rate decreased from 8% to 6.9%, which is the lowest rate the province has recorded since February 2020. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, employment increased by 13.9k (1.0%,m/m), following a rise of 9.0k in the previous month. Compared to one year ago, employment in BC was down by 0.6% (-15K) jobs.

Although national employment is still 599k below its pre-pandemic level, February's employment gain is a step in the right direction. Today's bounce-back signals that the economy is gaining momentum, as the vaccine rollout enters its next phase and public health restrictions ease. That being said, progress could be thwarted if a third wave of the pandemic forces another round of restrictions.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.
Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-employment-feb-march-12-2021

Canadian housing starts decreased by 13.5% m/m to 246k units in February at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), following a strong increase of 24% in January. Housing starts decreased in all provinces except for BC. Building activity declined in both the multi-unit (-16%) and single-detached (-9%) segments. Despite February's decline, national housing starts were up by 17% compared to the same time last year. Also, the six-month moving average was still a strong 243k units SAAR.

In BC, housing starts increased by 21% m/m to 43.5k units SAAR in February, following a decrease of 17% in the previous month. Building activity was up by 39% in the multi-unit segment, while single-detached starts were down by 14%. The rise in the multi-unit segment was led by Vancouver, which reported a 70% increase in multi-unit starts in February. Compared to the same time last year, housing starts were up by 2% in BC.

The decline in February comes on the heels of a very strong 2020. Also, the level of residential construction activity is still above pre-pandemic levels, reflecting the high demand for housing that we've seen across the country. The value of BC residential building permits was down by 1% in January, led by the multi-unit segment, while permits were up for the single-detached segment.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.
link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-housing-starts-feb-march-15-2021

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 2023. The Bank is also continuing its quantitative easing (QE) program, purchasing at least $4 billion of Government of Canada bonds per week. In the statement accompanying the decision, the bank noted that while the near-term outlook for growth is strong, there remains considerable slack in the economy and employment is still well below its pre-COVID levels. Inflation is expected to move modestly higher, largely reflecting base-year effects and deep price declines in some goods and services at the start of the pandemic.

The Bank of Canada was anticipating a second wave induced contraction of the economy in the first quarter of this year and so finds itself somewhat caught off guard by a vastly improved economic outlook and rising long-term bond yields. The massive $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan, recently passed by the US Congress and good news on the speed of US vaccinations has prompted a re-set of expectations in financial markets as higher economic growth and inflation gets priced into bond yields. While the Bank has continued its quantitative easing program aimed at holding Canadian long-term interest rates down, there is little it can do to combat the pressure on the Canadian yield curve from rising US long-term interest rates. Recognizing the much brighter economic outlook, the Bank may announce a tapering of its QE at its next meeting in April but will stick to its commitment to keep its policy rate on hold until 2023. That would mean a widening gap between fixed and variable mortgage rates over the next year as fixed mortgage rates rise alongside long-term interest rates.

or more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/bank-of-canada-interest-rate-announcement-m2ra3hmnqa

Vancouver, BC – March, 2021. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 10,918 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in February 2021, an increase of 89.1 per cent over February 2020 and over a thousand sales higher than the previous February record, set in 2016. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $889,584, a 17.3 per cent increase from $758,382 recorded in February 2020. Total sales dollar volume was $9.7 billion, a 121.8 per cent increase from last year.

“Near-record sales in Metro Vancouver, combined with unprecedented housing demand outside of Metro Vancouver, continues to drive a blistering pace of home sales in BC,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson.

Total active residential listings were down 28.7 per cent to 20,185 units in February, the lowest level of provincial active listings on record, going back to 2000. Fortunately, new listings have increased considerably, but given the pace of sales, total inventory of homes for sale remains severely depleted.

"There is a drought of resale inventory across the province,” added Ogmundson. "With so few listings, and with so much demand for single-detached homes, average prices have increased dramatically.”

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

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