It's Time To Break Up With Overhead Lighting, and fall in love with lamps, moonlight, and a better vibe.

If your space feels cold or chaotic, then your lighting, not your furniture, might be to blame.

Overhead lighting, especially the bright, cool-toned kind, can feel harsh and overstimulating. It flattens textures, casts odd shadows, and creates a subtle stress response that your body picks up on, even if your brain can’t name it.

Ready for a change? Here’s what happens when you switch it up:

1.Softer Light = Softer Mood. Table lamps, sconces, and indirect lighting (sometimes called “moonlighting”) mirror natural light, which is warm, low, and gentle. Your nervous system reads it as safe, which helps you relax and feel more at ease.

2.Better Sleep Starts Here. Bright lights during the evening can confuse your internal clock. Switching to softer, warmer bulbs, or even candlelight, helps signal your body that it’s time to wind down.

3.An Instant Ambiance Upgrade. Warm, layered lighting transforms your space. Whether it’s a cozy dinner, a solo evening with a book or just winding down after work, the right light makes everything feel more intentional and more beautiful.

Pro Tip:

Start small. Replace one overhead bulb with a floor or table lamp using a warm-toned bulb (look for 2700K or lower). Your eyes and your mood will thank you.

Canadian housing starts increased 4 per cent from the previous month, totalling 294,085 units in July at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Starts were up 7 per cent from the same month last year. Single-detached housing starts decreased by 1 per cent from last month to 55,740 units, while multi-family and other starts increased by 5 per cent to 238,342 units (SAAR).

In British Columbia, starts fell by 15 per cent from last month to 56,918 units (SAAR) in all areas of the province. In areas of the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts increased by 1 per cent to 3,953 units, while multi-family starts fell by 17 per cent to 50,394 units month-over-month. Starts in the province were 16 per cent above the levels from July 2024. Year-to-date starts are up 147 per cent in Abbotsford and 29 per cent in Victoria, but down 71 per cent in Nanaimo, 36 per cent in Kelowna, and 5 per cent in Vancouver. 

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

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Metro Vancouver home sales in July extended the early signs of recovery that emerged in June.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Read the July MLS® Market Report to learn more: 

https://www.gvrealtors.ca/market-watc...

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

ancouver, BC – August 2025. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that 7,056 residential unit sales were recorded in Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) Systems in July 2025, up 2.2 per cent from July 2024. The average MLS^® residential price in BC in July 2025 was down 2.1 per cent at $942,686 compared to $963,047 in July 2024.

The total sales dollar volume was $6.7 billion, virtually unchanged from the same time the previous year. BC MLS^® unit sales were 16 per cent lower than the ten-year July average.
 
“Housing markets across BC continue to build momentum through the summer, with all regions apart from the Lower Mainland boasting higher sales activity from the previous year,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “With a stable trajectory for monetary policy, we expect sales in the province will continue to improve as tariff uncertainties fade.”
 
Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume is down 9.4 per cent to $40.8 billion, compared with the same period in 2024. Residential unit sales are down 5.7 per cent year-over-year at 42,895 units, while the average MLS^® residential price is also down 3.9 per cent to $952,323.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Most parents complain, at least from time to time, that their children don’t listen to them. Shouting doesn’t help, and chances are it will only aggravate the problem. Try these tips for forging better communication with your kids:

• Get their attention. Don’t start talking if they’re focused on something else. You may have to do something unusual—to reach a toddler having a tantrum, for example, trying giving his or her back a few pats or a tickle. For older children, singing a song may break through their wall of boredom or inattention.

• Be brief. Most kids don’t want to listen to long lectures. When you have something to say, get right to the point. They’ll get the message without feeling patronized or growing bored.

• Write a note instead. If your message isn’t time sensitive, try writing a note to your kids. They can read it at their convenience, and you’ll be able to put more detail into it than you would in a brief conversation.

• Stay positive. Don’t just assign chores and tell kids what they’re doing wrong. Praise them and thank them so they won’t automatically tense up when you ask, “Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”

• Set the right example. When kids have something to say, give them your full attention. If you ignore them when they’re trying to talk, they may do the same.

Who says fresh starts are only for the new year?

August carries its own kind of in-between energy. Although summer plans are winding down and the temperature is still hot, fall hasn’t arrived yet and "back to school" and pumpkin-flavored everything are creeping in. Consider this your gentle nudge to pause and reset—your way. No big overhaul and no pressure, just a few small shifts that can bring a welcome boost of clarity and calm.

Five Simple Resets To Try This Week:

1. Declutter your camera roll.

Delete the screenshots you’ll never look at, archive the blurry photos, and create space— for your phone and your mind.

2. Take a “fake commute.”

Even if you work from home, get out for a coffee, take the scenic route, or queue up a podcast that has nothing to do with work.

3. Audit your calendar.

Are you still honoring your boundaries? Clear out the obligations that drain you. Make room for what fuels you.

4. Do one thing purely for fun.

It doesn’t have to be productive to matter; for instance, catch a matinee, treat yourself to lunch away from home, or wander without your headphones.

5. Pick a word for fall.

Skip the goals and pick a guiding vibe instead: Centered. Brave. Rested. Focused. Choose which word feels right and let it shape your next season. Save it. Share it. Send it to a friend who needs a reset, too.

You don’t need permission to start fresh—but here it is anyway.

There’s something touching about watching a child prepare for their first day of school. The careful selection of the perfect outfit, laid out the night before. The new backpack, zipped and unzipped a dozen times to make sure everything fits just right. The quiet rehearsal of walking to the bus stop, just to be certain they know the way.

Most of us remember our own version of this ritual. Maybe it was practicing a locker combination all summer long, terrified of fumbling with it in a crowded hallway. Or memorizing the route between classrooms, worried about being late and having everyone stare. Those seemingly small preparations felt monumentally important because, to a young mind, they were.

What strikes me now is how we adults sometimes forget what it feels like to face something completely unknown. When did we stop remembering that every “first time” requires a special kind of courage? That six-year-old practicing their walk to the bus stop is doing exactly what we all do when facing the uncertain – finding one small thing they can control and mastering it.

The truth is, we never really outgrow those first–day butterflies. Starting a new job, moving to a new town, walking into a room full of strangers – that same flutter of uncertainty is still there. The same need to prepare, to practice, to feel ready for what we can’t possibly predict.

This creamy, cold, and addictive dish is akin to pad thai being on a beach vacation.

Ingredients (serves 4):

8 oz rice noodles (or soba)

1 can full-fat coconut milk

Juice of 2 limes

1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari

1 tsp honey

1 clove garlic, grated

1–2 tsp chili crisp (Momofuku or Lao Gan Ma)

Toppings: shredded carrots, chopped cucumbers, fresh mint, crushed peanuts, green onions

Instructions:

Cook noodles according to package, then rinse under cold water until fully chilled.

In a bowl, whisk coconut milk, lime juice, soy, honey, garlic, and chili crisp. Toss chilled noodles in the sauce until coated and glossy.

Top with crunchy veggies, mint, peanuts, and extra chili crisp to taste.

Why it works:

• Zero heat required once noodles are
cooked.

• Creamy + spicy + tangy = serious flavor

• Feels indulgent, but still light.

• Easy to make ahead for guests, meal prep, or a late-night “I deserve this” moment.

Canadian real GDP decreased by 0.1 per cent in May, following a 0.1 per cent decrease in April. Service-producing industries remained unchanged, while goods-producing industries edged down by 0.1 per cent. Thirteen out of twenty major industries contracted from the previous month, led by broad-based decreases in retail trade (-1.2 per cent), mining, quarrying, and oil and gas (-1.0 per cent) and public administration (-0.2 per cent). Conversely, both the manufacturing (0.7 per cent) and transportation/warehousing (0.6 per cent) sectors grew following contractions in April. Finally, GDP for real estate offices and agents was up 3.5 per cent month-over-month. Preliminary estimates suggest that real GDP increased by 0.1 per cent in June while remaining unchanged for the second quarter of 2025.

May's GDP data points to continued weakness through the second quarter, as the impact of tariffs continues to filter through the Canadian economy. Following another rate hold yesterday, the Bank of Canada reiterated its concern about propelling core inflation beyond its already elevated level through monetary policy. Therefore, even in the face of ongoing negative growth, the Bank will likely need to see trimmed and median inflation moderate toward its midpoint before cutting the overnight rate. With that being said, attention now shifts towards August's CPI and GDP prints, which will illustrate how the Canadian economy performed in the second quarter relative to the Bank's most recent projections—a comparison that will heavily influence its next policy decision in mid-September.

https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-economic-growth-may-2025

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

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

In the dashboard, the image and data are available for download under each chart, where possible.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

The Bank of Canada held its overnight policy rate at 2.75 per cent this morning.  In the statement accompanying the decision, the Bank noted that US tariffs are disrupting trade overall, but the economy is showing some resilience. That said, GDP likely declined by 1.5% in the second quarter as the tariff driven import behaviour by US firms that spurred Canadian exports in the first quarter reversed in the second quarter. Moreover, uncertainty is restraining business and household spending, and labour market conditions are weakening in sectors affected by trade. On inflation, the Bank sees underlying inflation trending around 2.5% but with risks of upward pressure due to tariffs.

Without the added risk of tariff driven inflation, the Bank of Canada would almost certainly be lowering rates in response to a clearly weakening economy that is showing signs of excess supply. However, core inflation continues to trend out of the Bank of Canada's comfort zone on both a 12-month and 3-month basis and the possibility of escalating tariffs is prompting the Bank to be extra cautious. While we expect the Bank will lower rates at its September meeting, that call is at odds with financial markets that are currently pricing in a 2.75% overnight rate for the remainder of the year.  Those expectations are being reflected in 5-year bond yields, which have been trending solidly over 3% for the last week which unfortunately will put some upward pressure on 5-year fixed mortgage rates.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Before backyard patios and central AC became the norm, life happened on the front porch, which was part living room, part stage, and part neighborhood watch—minus the group text.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, as American homes shifted from vertical rowhouses to horizontal bungalows, the front porch emerged as a symbol of warmth, hospitality, and social standing.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, porches became a national obsession—“an outdoor room that served as a threshold between public and private life.”

They were cooling centers during summer, gathering spaces during the evening and, according to an 1890 article in Ladies’ Home Journal, “a necessary room in every well-appointed house.”

But everything shifted after WWII. As Smithsonian Magazine noted, air conditioning, television, and the postwar push toward privacy moved Americans inside. Suburbs favored backyards over porches. We swapped waving for fencing.

And yet, something about the front porch stuck. It shows up in our design choices, our Zillow saves, and our quiet desire for stillness after a loud, screen-filled day. Even the rise of Ring cameras and Adirondack chairs is a modern remix of an old idea: watching the world go by from a few feet above the sidewalk.