Canadian housing starts fell by 3 per cent to 214,155 units in March at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Starts were down 12 per cent from the same month last year. Single-detached housing starts were unchanged from last month at 49,667 units, while multi-family and other starts dropped by 4 per cent to 164,484 units (SAAR).

In British Columbia, starts rose by 5 per cent from last month to 31,145 units (SAAR) in all areas of the province. In areas of the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts rose by 3 per cent to 3,866 units, while multi-family starts increased by 6 per cent to 25,302 units month-over-month. Starts in the province were 12 per cent below the levels from March 2024. Year-to-date starts are up by 122 per cent in Abbotsford, while being down by 48 per cent in Nanaimo, 37 per cent in Vancouver, 36 per cent in Kelowna, and 33 per cent in Victoria.

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

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 2.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in March, down from a 2.6 per cent increase in February. Month-over-month, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI was unchanged in March. The overall slowdown in headline CPI is largely driven by lower gasoline prices, with the CPI ex-gasoline rising by 2.5 per cent in March. Shelter price growth continues to cool, as mortgage interest costs were up 7.9 per cent, marking the nineteenth consecutive month of deceleration. Similarly, rent was up 5.1 per cent year-over-year in March, down from 5.8 per cent in February. In BC, consumer prices rose 2.6 per cent year-over-year, down from 3.0 per cent in February. The Bank of Canada's preferred measures of median and trimmed inflation, which strip out volatile components, are at 2.9 per cent and 2.8 per cent year-over-year, respectively.

After a sharp uptick in February, March's CPI report saw headline inflation moderate towards the neutral range of 2.0 per cent. However, the Bank's core measures of inflation continue to linger near the ceiling of their target range, suggesting some underlying upward pressure in prices. Nonetheless, markets remain uncertain about the Bank's decision on Wednesday as Canada braces for the inflationary impacts of tariffs. This report slightly favours the odds of a 25-point rate cut on Wednesday to pre-emptively brace the economy for the damage caused by tariffs.

https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-inflation-march-2025

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 pervasive uncertainty makes it unusually challenging to project GDP growth and inflation in Canada. The Bank sees two potential scenarios for the Canadian economy, either high but limited tariffs that temporarily weaken growth or a protracted trade war that causes both a full recession and inflation to rise above 3 per cent. The Bank is already seeing signs of a slower economy due to the impact of uncertainty on consumer and business confidence, but expects tariff driven supply chain disruptions will put upward pressure on prices later this year. Perhaps most importantly, the  Bank ended its statement with the following: "Monetary policy cannot resolve trade uncertainty or offset the impacts of a trade war. What it can and must do is maintain price stability for Canadians."

Improvement in the rate environment over the past year was starting to provide a jolt to home sales prior to Trump’s tariff announcements, and the swirling uncertainty around each successive tariff announcement has further clouded the economic outlook. The Bank of Canada’s most recent messaging has been focused on concern with the inflationary effects of tariffs, and those concerns may somewhat constrain the Bank’s ability to lower rates further even in the face of a weakening economy. Moreover, financial market volatility has pushed US government bond yields higher, which is also putting some upward pressure on Canadian interest rates. The 5-year bond yield, while volatile, has been on an uptrend that, if sustained, will lead to slightly higher 5-year fixed mortgage rates.

Read more about the outlook for mortgage rates here: Mortgage Rate Forecast - British Columbia Real Estate Association

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Magnesium doesn’t get the hype of calcium or vitamin D, but it’s one of the most essential minerals for overall health—and nearly 50% of Americans don’t get enough of it. This powerhouse nutrient supports everything from brain function to heart health, yet it’s often missing from modern diets.

Why Magnesium Matters

Better Sleep: Magnesium helps regulate melatonin, the hormone that controls sleep cycles. Studies show it improves sleep quality and reduces insomnia symptoms.

Stress And Anxiety Relief: Magnesium plays a key role in nervous system function, helps calm the body and reduces cortisol, the stress hormone.

Muscle Heart Health: Magnesium supports muscle relaxation, prevents cramps and helps maintain a steady heartbeat.

Stronger Bones: While calcium gets most of the credit, magnesium is essential for maintaining bone density and reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

How to Get More Magnesium

Many processed foods are stripped of magnesium, but you can boost your intake naturally by eating:
• Avocados
• Dark leafy greens, such as spinach and kale
• Dark chocolate (yes, really!)
• Nuts and seeds, such as almonds and pumpkin seeds
• Fatty fish, such as salmon and mackerel

For those who struggle to get enough magnesium through diet, supplements , such as magnesium glycinate or citrate, can help, but always check with a doctor first.

Small changes can make a big difference—getting enough magnesium might be the simplest way to sleep better, stress less and feel more energized.

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

Vancouver, BC – April 2025. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that 5,917 residential unit sales were recorded in Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) Systems in March 2025, down 9.6 per cent from March 2024. The average MLS^® residential price in BC in March 2025 was down 4.8 per cent at $963,323 compared to $1,011,965 in March 2024.

The total sales dollar volume was $5.7 billion, a 13.9 per cent decrease from the same time the previous year. BC MLS^® unit sales were 35 per cent lower than the ten-year March average.

“Buyers continued to shift back to the sidelines in March,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “The economic uncertainty surrounding potential tariffs on Canadian goods has some potential buyers hesitant, particularly in the province’s larger markets.”

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume is down 8.1 per cent to $14.5 billion, compared with the same period in 2024. Residential unit sales are down 5.2 per cent year-over-year at 15,160 units, while the average MLS^® residential price is also down 3.1 per cent to $959,400.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

In a small coastal town, an elderly woman spent decades running the local antique shop. Every April, she would close her store for two weeks – not for vacation, but for what she called “the renewal.”

Visitors often wondered why she dedicated so much time to spring cleaning when her shop already sparkled. Her response was always the same: “I’m not just cleaning, I’m rediscovering.”

Each year, as she moved each piece in her shop, she would find something extraordinary – a hidden hallmark on a silver teapot, a forgotten note tucked in a vintage book, or simply a new way to display an overlooked item. These discoveries often led to the most remarkable sales of the year.

But her greatest insight came when a young apprentice asked why she didn’t hire others to help speed up the process. She smiled and explained, “Some treasures can only be found by slowing down. Each piece needs to be held, considered, and appreciated anew. Sometimes the most valuable discoveries aren’t the items themselves, but the fresh perspectives we gain when we take time to truly see them again.”

Like those antiques, our lives often hold unexpected treasures – insights, opportunities, and possibilities that only reveal themselves when we pause to look at things with fresh eyes.

Psychologist Dr. Richard Wiseman studied "lucky" and "unlucky" people for more than a decade. His research found that luck isn’t just fate; it’s a mindset. “Lucky” people tend to share four key traits:

1. They notice opportunities. In an experiment, participants counted photos in a newspaper. The "lucky" ones spotted a hidden message saying, “Stop counting. There are 43 photos.” The “unlucky” ones missed it.

2. They trust their intuition. Neuroscientific studies suggest "lucky" people process patterns subconsciously and make quick, accurate decisions.

3. They expect good things. Optimistic people take more risks, persist longer and create their own opportunities.

4. They turn bad things into good things. Instead of dwelling on setbacks, "lucky" people reframe challenges and seek new paths.

Can you become luckier?

Science says yes. Here’s how:

• Make efforts to meet new people and expand your social circle. Many lucky breaks spring from casual acquaintances who introduce new opportunities.

• Embrace the unexpected. Changing routines increases chance encounters and fresh opportunities.

• Visualize success. A study in Psychological Science found that vividly imagining positive outcomes makes them more likely to happen.

Luck: Random Or Designed?

While pure chance plays a role, everyday luck is shaped by our thoughts, actions and openness to new possibilities.

In other words, luck  isn’t just something that "happens" to you. It can be cultivated by adopting a mindset that welcomes opportunities, trusts intuition and stays resilient in the face of challenges.

A man always bought oranges from a woman at the town market. She would weigh them on a scale and place them in a bag and tell him the price. After he paid, the man usually took one orange out of the bag, peeled it, and tasted one piece. Then he’d say, “This orange is sour,” and hand it back to the woman.

Then she would bite into it. “It tastes sweet to me,” she always said, but she gave him a few extra oranges to make up for it.

The man’s wife went to the market with him every day and saw this exchange happen time after time. One day she asked her husband, “Why do you do that every time? The oranges are always sweet.”

The man replied, “That woman hardly eats. This way I get her to eat one orange a day for her health.”

A merchant in a vegetable stall saw the exchange happen every day, too. One day she asked the woman, “Why do you let him get away with that? He always complains about your oranges, and you always give
him extra. Why do you put up with it?”

The woman smiled and said, “He always pays me a little extra when I weigh his bag. That way he can feed me and pretend I don’t know what he’s doing. His love pays for the extra orange.”

Canadian employment fell by 0.2 per cent from the previous month, declining by 33,000 jobs to 20.962 million in March. The employment rate fell by 0.2 points to 60.9 per cent, while the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 points to 6.7 per cent. Average hourly wages rose 3.6 per cent year-over-year to $36.05 last month, while total hours worked were up 1.2 per cent compared to March of the previous year.

Employment in B.C. rose by 0.2 per cent to 2.944 million, gaining 5,700 jobs in March. Employment in Metro Vancouver rose 0.4 per cent to 1.711 million in March. The unemployment rate in B.C. increased by 0.1 points to 6.1 per cent in March. Meanwhile, Vancouver's unemployment rate fell by 0.6 points to 6.4 per cent in the third month of the year. 

March's jobs report may foreshadow an ongoing downturn in the Canadian labour market as tariff impacts begin permeating through the economy. While this report slightly favours a rate cut, we expect the Bank of Canada to hold its policy rate before evaluating the inflationary impacts of our trade war with the U.S. and their newly announced "reciprocal" tariff policy on 185 other countries. 

https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-employment-march-2025

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

April showers do more than bring May flowers; they tell a fascinating story. Each raindrop begins as a tiny water particle clinging to dust in the atmosphere and then growing until it falls to refresh our soil and
fuel our life.

Fun fact: The smell of rain, called petrichor, comes from oils released by plants and soil. It’s nature’s way of saying, “Let’s grow!”

This month, take a moment to appreciate the beauty and purpose of every drop.

While spring is unfolding around us, I think about change — the kind that happens slowly, almost unnoticed, until one day you realize everything is different. The bare trees that stood silent through winter are now filled with life. The air is softer, the days are a little longer and the world is reawakening.

Life moves like that, too: quiet shifts, small moments and subtle transformations that shape us in ways we don’t always notice immediately. Sometimes it’s in the challenges we face, the lessons we learn or the simple decision to keep going, even when the path ahead is unclear.

This newsletter isn’t only about information; it’s about connection. It’s a way to share stories, ideas and pieces of wisdom that might make a difference in someone’s day. Maybe it’s a recipe that brings people to the table, a thought that lingers or a reminder that during the rush of life, space exists for peace, stillness and joy.

Whatever this season brings you, I hope you find time to pause, to breathe it in, to notice the quiet beauty in the everyday. And if you ever need a conversation, a helping hand or just a familiar voice, I’m here.

Wishing you warmth, renewal and all the good things this season offers.

With gratitude,

Gino Pezzani

ChickenA one-pan dish bursts with fresh spring flavors by combining juicy chicken, roasted potatoes and tender asparagus for a hearty yet light dinner.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

1 lb baby potatoes, halved

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey (optional)

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp paprika

1 tbsp fresh rosemary + 1 tbsp fresh thyme

½ cup chicken broth

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

Toss potatoes with oil, salt and pepper and roast for 15 minutes.

Coat the chicken with a marinade containing the oil, butter, Dijon, honey, garlic and spices.

Toss the lemon with the coated chicken. Nestle this into the pan with potatoes. Pour the chicken broth over everything and roast for 20 minutes.

Add the asparagus and roast an additional 10-12 more minutes. Switch to broil for 2-3 minutes to add extra crispiness and then serve with pan juices.

Why You'll Love This:

• One-Pan Simplicity – fewer dishes and easy cleanup.

• Fresh, Seasonal Ingredients – bright lemon, fresh herbs, asparagus, and tender potatoes bring spring flavors to life.

• Hearty Yet Light – perfect for a satisfying meal without feelingheavy.

• Great for Meal Prep – leftovers reheat beautifully for lunch.