It’s a happy day when a lost dog finds its way home, but how does it get back? A New York Times article offers two explanations. One is that a dogs’ hypersensitive sense of smell allows them to create a map of scents around their neighborhood, using gardens or grocery stores and human aroma as markers.

In addition, they may be sensitive to magnetic orientation. One study of dozens of canines observed that dogs tend to adopt a north-south orientation when they 'go potty', but that preference vanished when the magnetic field around them was disturbed.

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 7.7 per cent on a year-over-year basis in May, up from 6.8 per cent last month. This was the fastest growth rate since January 1983. According to Statistics Canada, price rises were broad-based, with groceries up 9.7 per cent year-over-year, gasoline up 48 per cent, and shelter costs up 7.4 per cent. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 6.3 per cent year over year in May. Month-over-month, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, prices were up 1.1 per cent, the fastest pace since the introduction of the series in 1992. In BC, consumer prices rose 8.1 per cent year-over-year. Average hourly wages grew 3.9 per cent year-over-year in May, indicating a decline in purchasing power. 

A steep trajectory for the overnight rate implies that the 5-year fixed mortgage rate could reach the 5 per cent level for the first time since 2009 while variable mortgage rates may rise to as high as 4.5 per cent. With the stress test for both insured and uninsured borrowers, prospective homebuyers are currently being qualified at a rate of 6.49 per cent with a strong possibility of qualifying at 7 per cent soon, a rate that has not been a reality in the Canadian mortgage market since the early 2000s.

Given how aggressive markets expect the Bank of Canada to be, any good news on inflation, or any significant deterioration in the Canadian economy, could see a significant reversal in the most recent jump in Canadian bond yields. However, the baseline case for now is a Bank of Canada that is single-minded in its pursuit of lower inflation.

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

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Canadian seasonally-adjusted retail sales increased 0.9 per cent in April, hitting $60.7 billion. Sales grew in 6 of 11 subsectors, but were led by higher sales at general merchandise stores (+4.2 per cent). Core retail sales, which strips out gasoline and motor vehicle and parts dealers, increased 1 per cent in April. In volume terms, sales were up 0.9 per cent. 

In BC, seasonally-adjusted sales rose 1.3 per cent in April. Compared to the same month last year, retail sales were up 0.6 per cent in the province. In the Greater Vancouver region, sales rose 1 per cent month-over-month and were up 4.2 per cent year-over-year. 

In April, Canadian e-commerce sales rose 7 per cent to 3.3 billion, corresponding to 5.2 per cent of retail sales. This percentage remains elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels. 

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

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Once you’re on the road to success, you may need to protect some of your trade secrets, but when you’re just starting out, you need all the help and advice you can get. Here’s why:

Your idea isn’t really unique. No matter how brilliant you are, chances are that someone else has had the same idea. And if you haven’t heard about it, the reason could be that it didn’t work. You need to find out why so you can avoid the same mistakes, and that means opening up about what you’re trying to do.

The real key is execution. Ideas don’t succeed because they’re creative or different. What’s important is how well they work and the experience your end user has. The more input and feedback you gather, the better you can meet the needs and expectations of your customers (whoever they are).

You can’t do everything yourself. Businesses rarely fail because a competitor stole an idea. They’re far more likely to crash and burn because their founders didn’t know how to manage growth. Once you’ve got the basic concept down, you’ll need talented people to help you get off the ground, and you won’t find them unless you’re willing to share the details of your plan.

Click here to view the June 2022 Mortgage Rate Forecast. 

Highlights:

• Bond markets expect very aggressive Bank of Canada
• Is Canada in a recession?

Bank of Canada tightening aggressively now, only to cut rates in 2024?

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

A king decided to find and honor the greatest person among his subjects. Before him was a man of wealth and proper, one who possessed incredible healing powers, one for his knowledge of the law, and another for his business instincts.

Many successful people were brought to the palace, and it became evident that the task of choosing the greatest would be difficult. Finally, the last candidate stood before the king. It was a woman with white hair, and her eyes shone with the light of knowledge, understanding, and love. 

"Who is this?" asked the king. "What has she done?"

"You have seen and heard all the others," said the king’s aide. "This is their teacher." The people applauded as the king came down from his throne to honor her.

Canadian housing starts rose by 21.5k (8.1 per cent) to 287.3k units in May at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Comparing year-over-year, starts were up from May of 2021 (1.2 per cent). Single-detached housing starts declined 3.1 per cent to 78.9k, while multi-family and others rose 13.1 per cent to 208.4k (SAAR). 

In British Columbia, starts declined 22.7 per cent in May, falling to 40.2k units SAAR in all areas of the province. In areas in the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts declined 13.8 per cent m/m to 8.1k units while multi-family starts fell 26.1 per cent to 29.6k units. Starts in the province were 13.7 per cent above the levels from May 2021. Starts were down by 6.4k units in Vancouver, 1.2k in Kelowna, and 1.4k in Abbotsford from last month, while rising by just over 100 in Victoria. The 6-month moving average trend rose 0.3 per cent to 42.4k in BC in May. 

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

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Balancing work and your home life has never been easy, and the pandemic made it more complicated. Whether you’re back in the office or still working from home, remember this advice from the Military.com website for staying healthy and even- keeled:

Goals. Make sure you’re focused on realistic, manageable job goals. Talk to your boss about their priorities, and discuss options so that your workload doesn’t become too much of a burden.

Breaks. Take regular breaks throughout the day. Get away from your desk and computer for a quick walk—outside, if possible. Remember to stretch.

Downtime. You may be tempted to put in longer hours if you’re working from home, finishing up tasks after dinner and continuing late into the night. Resist the urge. Spend time away from your workspace with your family, partner, pet, or just outdoors and away from whatever reminds you of work. It’ll still be there tomorrow.

Self-care. Remember to eat a healthy diet with lots of water. Visit your doctor regularly. Get enough sleep. You’ll perform better at work and at home if you’re healthy.

Perfection. Don’t be a perfectionist. Do the best you can, but learn to let go when a project is finished, even if you could do a little more on it. Most of the time what’s important is completing a task and moving on, not polishing every last detail.

Technology. Don’t stare at screens all day. Get away from social media. Turn off your devices at a specific time every night and get back into the real world for a while. You’ll sleep better.

Help. Don’t try to do everything yourself. Communicate with your boss and your team when you have a problem or hit a roadblock. Get the assistance and support you need to do a good job. Be honest to avoid surprises.

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

Vancouver, BC – June, 2022. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,214 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) in May 2022, a decrease of 35.1 per cent from May 2021. The average MLS^® residential price in BC was $1 million, a 9.3 per cent increase from $915,392 recorded in May 2021. Total sales dollar volume was $8.2 billion, a 29.1 per cent decline from the same time last year. 

“Canadian mortgage rates continue to climb,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “The average 5-year fixed mortgage rate reached 4.49 per cent in June. That is the highest mortgage rates have been since 2009.”

Provincial active listings were 4.4 per cent higher than this time last year, the first year-over-year increase in active listings since 2019. However, active listings still remain below what is typical for a balanced market, though current market conditions have a high degree of variation across regions and product types.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 14.5 per cent to $46.7 billion, compared with the same period in 2021. Residential unit sales were down 26.3 per cent to 43,921 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 16 per cent to $1.06 million.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Canadian employment edged up by 39,800 to 19.64 million in May. The labour market continued to tighten, with the Canadian unemployment rate declining by 0.1 to 5.1 per cent, the lowest rate on record for a second consecutive month. Average hourly wages were up 3.9 per cent on a year-over-year basis, increasing from April's 3.3 per cent. Wage gains are below the inflation rate, however, which hit 6.8 per cent year-over-year in the most-recent data. The employment rate held steady at 61.9 per cent.

Employment in BC grew by 5.1k to 2.74 million in May. Metro Vancouver's employment grew by 7.1k (0.5 per cent) month over month. The unemployment rate declined sharply in May to 4.5 per cent, approaching record lows set in the mid 2000s. Of the provinces, only Quebec currently has a lower unemployment rate. 

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-employment-may-2022

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Are you plagued by self-doubt no matter how much you accomplish? Many talented professionals in every field suffer from “imposter syndrome”—the fear that they’ll be revealed as incompetent if they make a single mistake. You can overcome it with this guidance from the Training Zone website:

Track negative thoughts. Learn to turn away from doubt in your abilities. When you think, “I can’t do this,” remember the times you rose to a challenge and succeeded. Refocus your worries into affirmations:

“I can do this.”

“I’ve done this before.” “People believe in me.”

Look for support. Surround yourself with people who are on your side. Pay attention to constructive critiques, but listen closely to people who know what you’re capable of and who value your contributions.

Focus on your purpose. Remember what you’re trying to do in your career—it's not just making money, but helping people, creating better products, building a better society, supporting your family, and so forth. This will help you make clear decisions without needless worry.

Don’t procrastinate. The longer you put off a task, the more time your doubts have to multiply. Tackle challenging jobs promptly. Completing them will reinforce your confidence.