Canadian seasonally-adjusted retail sales decreased 2.5 per cent in July to $61.3 billion. Sales fell in 9 of 11 subsectors, but were led by higher sales at gasoline stations and clothing or clothing accessories. Core retail sales, which strips out gasoline and motor vehicle and parts dealers, fell 0.9 per cent in July. In volume terms, sales were down 2 per cent. 

In BC, seasonally-adjusted sales fell 1.5 per cent in July. Compared to the same month last year, retail sales were up 4.2 per cent in the province. In the Greater Vancouver region, sales fell 2.2 per cent month-over-month and were up 5.6 per cent year-over-year. 

In July, Canadian e-commerce sales were flat month over month, corresponding to 4.7 per cent of retail sales. This percentage remains elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels, but is lower than during core months of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. 

Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-retail-sales-july-2022

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

No matter how much you enjoy your work, you may wonder what another profession would be like. But you should be careful not to wind up wandering off your desired career path. Before pulling up stakes, be sure you:

Know what you want. Your manager has offered you a promotion. Before you jump at the chance, consider whether the promotion is in line with your long-term career goals. If not, find the courage to be honest with your boss and to act in your own best interest, even if others disapprove or are disappointed.

Listen to your instincts. We all have an inner voice that tries to get our attention when something’s not quite right. The problem is we frequently silence our inner voice by focusing on what we think we should do. Thoughts like, “It’s not what I want, but if I pass up this opportunity, I may not get another,” or “I’m not comfortable here, but I can adapt.” Pay attention to your feelings before making big decisions about your career.

Change your mind when you need to. You’ve lobbied for an opportunity and now it’s yours. Before you act, ask yourself a few questions. Is the timing right? Is the salary adequate? Have your ambitions changed? You’re better off changing your mind than taking a job you don’t really want, perhaps depriving a better-suited person of the opportunity. Make the choice that’s right for you today.

Click here to view the September 2022 Mortgage Rate Forecast. 

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Did you know that Sept. 21 is International Gratitude Day?

I’m certainly grateful for having autumn creeping upon us. The nights aren’t as warm as they were even a few weeks ago and stores have already begun stockpiling everything pumpkin-related.

However, I’m also grateful for something much more traditional as many people return to school in the fall—teachers. We are constantly learning—from the time we are born to our last days. This learning occurs not just in a classroom for the first 18 or so years of life, but also as young adults finding our way in the world, as parents and grandparents, and late in life when we have more time to spare and choose to learn something purely for ourselves.

I am most appreciative of the teachers who turn up when we are not looking to learn something new. Those unexpected teachers come out of nowhere. They are the elderly ladies with time to chat, the child who surprises us with insight that many adults overlook, and the average person who takes the time to explain a process, in common terms, that is specific to his or her field of expertise.

Who are the unexpected teachers in your life? Have you told them that they positively changed you, irrevocably, by teaching you something new? Perhaps this would be a good week to share your gratitude.

A teacher who made a difference at some time in your life would probably appreciate a simple card, an unexpected phone call, or even an email from you. This gesture might just lead to a larger conversation and a deeper friendship. If nothing else, you made someone’s day with a positive comment by simply expressing your gratitude. After all, one of the first things we are taught in preschool or kindergarten is to say, “Thank you.”

In Gratitude,
Gino Pezzani
DIEN Realty
604-418-9366

A 55,000-year-old human skull has shed new light on human development, according to the Sci-News website. The skull, discovered in Israel’s Manot Cave, belonged to an anatomically modern human who lived in the region at the same time as Neanderthals, suggesting that modern humans and Neanderthals coexisted some 10,000 years earlier than scientists previously thought. The Manot humans may in turn be closely related to the humans who eventually migrated to Europe between 20,000 and 30,000 years ago.

Are you in the right career? Don’t waste your time if you’re running up against these obstacles. Zenopa suggests you consider these three things:

1.  You feel unappreciated. Your managers don’t show your work and results the respect you believe they deserve.
 
2.  You’ve lost your passion. You no longer believe in the mission of your organization.
 
3.  You’re not being challenged. You’re doing the same job day after day without learning new skills.

If you're not satisfied in these three areas, it may be time for change. Or you may find you're happier than you realized and no change is needed!

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 7 per cent on a year-over-year basis in August, down from 7.6 per cent last month. This was the second consecutive month of decelerating price growth driven primarily by declining gasoline prices. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 6.3 per cent year over year in August, down from 6.6 per cent in July. This reduced pace of price appreciation was driven by slowing increases in the price of transportation (+10.3 per cent) and shelter (+6.6 per cent), although grocery prices rose quickly (+11.9 per cent). Month-over-month, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, prices were up 0.1 per cent, the slowest rate since December 2020. In BC, consumer prices rose 7.3 per cent year-over-year, down from 8 per cent last month. Average hourly wages grew 5.4 per cent year-over-year in August, indicating a decline in purchasing power. 

August's CPI numbers continued to provide encouraging signs that inflation may be slowing. The latest data show declines not just driven by falling gas prices, but a softening in the rate of appreciation in core inflation including transport and shelter. However, markets will want to see sustained declines in the rate of inflation over the next several months before mortgage rates decline significantly. Bond yields are continuing to trend upwards, meaning that markets are still expecting an aggressive Bank of Canada singularly focused on bringing inflation back to its 2 per cent target.

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-inflation-august-2022

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

A man found a cocoon resting on a branch. He sat and watched for several hours as the butterfly inside struggled to push its body through the small hole at the top.

Suddenly the butterfly stopped making any progress. It seemed to be stuck. The man decided to help the butterfly. He used a knife to snip off the cocoon. The butterfly emerged with a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man sat waiting for the wings to enlarge and support the butterfly. But that didn’t happen. The butterfly was unable to fly, and it crawled around with its tiny wings and swollen body until it fell to the ground and died.

The man didn’t understand that the butterfly’s struggle to get free of the cocoon was nature’s way of forcing fluid from its body into its wings to prepare it for flying once it was out of the cocoon.

Moral: Our struggles in life often develop our strengths.

As more and more people return to work, it's obvious that Zoom meetings aren’t going away. Some of us will continue working from home at least part-time, and there will always be long-distance meetings that require video. If the thought of another Zoom meeting fills you with anxiety — which is not uncommon these days — consider this advice from the Psych Central website:

Minimize yourself on screen. Many of us are self-conscious about our appearance, and being in a Zoom meeting can make that worse. Choose a view that doesn’t put you front and center. Zoom has a “Hide Self View” option so you don’t have to look at yourself while you’re talking.

Turn off your video. You may be intimidated by the sight of all those faces on your screen. You can go audio only and turn the Zoom meeting into a typical conference call. You may not be able to do this all the time, but it can relieve anxiety if you're able to do this. You can also switch to “Speaker Only”—many virtual meeting platforms allow you to adjust your settings so you can only see one person at a time as they speak.

Be mindful when moving. You may feel like you can’t move at all when you’re on video, but that will only make you more uncomfortable. The key is to move slowly, with intention, when you have to stretch, take a drink of water, or handle something temporarily offscreen. You’ll feel better in general if you keep both feet firmly on the floor to ground yourself during the meeting.

Canadian housing starts fell by 7.7k (2.8 per cent) to 267.4k units in August at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Comparing year-over-year, starts were up from August of 2021 (2.5 per cent). Single-detached housing starts rose 1 per cent to 73.4k, while multi-family and others declined 4.2 per cent to 194k (SAAR). 

In British Columbia, starts increased by 0.8 per cent in August, rising to 49.5k units SAAR in all areas of the province. In areas in the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts fell 6.7 per cent m/m to 6.7k units while multi-family starts rose 1.6 per cent to 39k units. Starts in the province were 5.7 per cent above the levels from August 2021. Starts were flat month over month in Vancouver, up by 6.5k in Kelowna, and down by 1.3k in Abbotsford and 6.8k in Victoria. The 6-month moving average trend rose 5.4 per cent to 47.1k in BC in August. 

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-housing-starts-august-2022

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

She signaled to the waiter—who politely informed her that she must be mistaken because each table always had one salt shaker and one pepper shaker. The woman quietly picked up the first shaker and sprinkled a little pepper on the side of her plate.Then she picked up the second shaker and did the same. The waiter apologized profusely, then rushed to bring a salt shaker. He returned with the maitre d’ who offered complimentary desserts to atone for the mistake.

"My goodness,” the woman said, somewhat embarrassed by the attention. “It’s not that important. It was just a simple mix-up.”

“But, madame,” the maitre d’ replied, “what if you had been the Queen?”

Metro Vancouver’s housing market is experiencing a quieter summer season marked by reduced sale and listing activity. With inflationary pressure and interest rates on the rise, home buyer and seller activity shifted below our long-term seasonal averages this summer. This shift in market conditions caused prices to edge down over the past four months.