Valentine’s Day celebrates love and happiness, and although real life offers plenty of true stories with happily-ever-after endings, many of us look to literature for inspiring tales of passion’s power.

Romeo and Juliet. Teenagers from feuding families meet, fall in love, marry, and ultimately end their lives rather than live without each other.

Odysseus and Penelope. Penelope remains faithful to her absent husband for 20 long years; Odysseus persists in his quest to return home after the Trojan War. Both overcome temptations and obstacles to be reunited at last.

Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. Charlotte Brontë’s classic 19th century novel tells the tale of a young governess and a gruff, lonely landowner with a dark secret. But love triumphs in the end.

Canadian housing starts fell to 230.8k units in January at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Housing starts were down by 7.7k (3% m/m) in January (SAAR). Comparing year-over-year, starts were down from January of 2021 (26.9% y/y). Single-detached housing starts rose 8.9% in January to 78.5k, while multi-family and others dropped 8.5% to 152.2k (SAAR). 

In British Columbia, starts were down 29.2% in January, falling to 39.4k units SAAR in all areas of the province. In areas in the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts fell 23.4% m/m to 7.2k units while multi-family starts declined 33.4% to 28.2k units. Starts in the province were 33.7% below the levels from January 2021. Starts were down by 4.4k units in Vancouver, 4.2k in Victoria, 5.2k in Kelowna, and 0.1k in Abbotsford. The 6-month moving average trend declined 4.4% to 42.3k in BC in January. 

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

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

On Valentine’s Day, love is all around and for one day people are encouraged to express love with flowers, chocolate and cards of all shapes and colors.

The best part is... you can be super cheesy, enthusiastic, or deeply sentimental. Valentine’s Day is your excuse to let your feelings fly.

But how well do you know the feelings and preferences of the people you care about most?

We have all heard of the golden rule, which says, “give love the way you want to receive love;” there is also a platinum rule, which says, “give love the way they want to receive love.”

Some people like to hear the words, “I love you,” some people prefer a hug, while others are happiest with gestures of love. There are 1000 ways to say, “I love you!” without even using words.

Valentine’s Day is not just about how you show love, but with whom you show love. Look around and notice who else needs some love today – hint, it doesn’t have to be a romantic partner.

Maybe it could be one of the greatest sources of unconditional love and attention - pets! Is there an animal shelter nearby that needs a dog walker or cat cuddler? Or perhaps taking the day to pursue your own hobbies and interests as an expression of self-love.

Giving love isn’t something that should be limited to one day in the middle of winter. Valentine’s Day shows us that we have the capacity to share the love for more than one day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Gino Pezzani

Vancouver, BC – February, 2022. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 6,138 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) in January 2022, a decrease of 14.7 per cent from January 2021. The average MLS^® residential price in BC was $1,042,169, a 23.5 per cent increase from $843,918 recorded in January 2021. Total sales dollar volume was $6.4 billion, a 5.3 per cent increase from the same time last year. 

“Sales activity is down compared to record levels at the start of last year,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “However, the level of sales activity remains strong compared to the long-term average and inventory is still incredibly low. As a result, it will take quite some time to get back to healthy balance in the BC market.”

Total active listings remain near record lows with just 13,000 total listings in the province. For context, a healthy level of re-sale listings for the province is closer to 40,000 listings. As a result of this listings drought, markets all over the province are seeing significant upward pressure on prices.   

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

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

Of all the creatures that came to the watering hole, Frog was the only one that did not have a tail. The other animals taunted him over it, making him feel inferior and ugly. So Frog visited the Sun God and asked him for a tail. The Sun God granted Frog his wish on the condition that Frog watch over the Sun God’s special lagoon. Frog agreed. Soon a terrible drought seized the area, and the Sun God’s lagoon was the only watering hole available for many miles.

Creatures from all over the land came to Frog’s new home in need of water. But Frog was very full of himself with his new long tail and his powerful position as keeper of the only watering hole. His sense of entitlement had mushroomed, as had his self-esteem. And because he had never forgotten how the other creatures used to tease him, he turned away every animal from the lagoon without giving them so much as a sip. After a while, word of Frog’s antics reached the Sun God, who decided to verify this behavior firsthand.

He found Frog swishing through the water, gleefully flaunting his tail. As the Sun God approached the water’s edge, he heard Frog shout, “Whoever you are, move along! This water is not for you! This special lagoon is mine to do with as I please —because I am the most beautiful of all creatures.” Angered, the Sun God exiled Frog and cursed him for the rest of his days. Now, every spring Frog is born a tadpole with a long tail. As he grows, the tail shrinks until it disappears—to remind Frog that the only reward for spiteful and arrogant behavior is the loss of things one truly cherishes in life.

Canadian employment declined by 200,000 (-1.0%) in January following seven consecutive months of gains, according to Statistics Canada. Employment losses in January were driven by stricter public health measures implemented to control Omicron in Ontario, Quebec, and in the Maritimes during the survey reference week of January 9 to 15.

In January, youth, core-aged women, and workers in food and accommodation suffered the largest drops in employment. Part-time workers saw steeper losses (-117,000; -3.3%) relative to full-time workers (-83,000; -0.5%). In January, 10% of workers reported being absent from work due to sickness or injury. The Canadian unemployment rate rose 0.5% to 6.5% in January, while the labour force participation rate declined 0.4% to 65%. 

In BC, the economic story diverged from much of the rest of the country. Employment rose modestly (+4,200; 0.2%), remaining at the highest level since the pandemic began. The unemployment rate continued declining in January, reaching 5.1%. For the first time since the pandemic began, the unemployment rate in BC reached pre-pandemic levels, falling below the level of  February 2020. BC is now tied with Manitoba for the lowest unemployment rate among the provinces. 

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

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

It’s never too late to get started on success in your career, or in your personal life. The Ladders website offers these tips for moving forward:

Start small. Don’t set too many big goals for yourself. Instead of eating healthy at every single meal, start by vowing to eat just one nutritious meal every day. Increase only when you get used to it.

Read more. You’re busy, but stop making excuses. It should be possible to carve out 20–30 minutes a day to read something new and different. Find a business or motivational book to read at lunch or just before you go to bed. 

Get high-quality sleep. You need six to eight hours of sleep every night to maintain good physical and mental health. Establish a nighttime routine that helps you drift off to dreamland. Go to bed at the same time every night, don’t eat right before bed, turn off the TV for at least half an hour before bedtime, and try meditation to relax.

Start the day right. Identify your most important priority for the day and start with that. You’ll get a sense of accomplishment and confidence that will help you press on through the other tasks ahead of you.

 Exercise regularly. Like sleep, exercise is good for the body and the mind. Instead of trying to tackle long, tough workouts... start on a plan you can stick to - like fifteen minutes every other day.

To view the BCREA Housing Forecast Update PDF, click here.

BCREA 2022 First Quarter Housing Forecast Update

Vancouver, BC – February, 2022. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its 2022 First Quarter Housing Forecast Update today.

Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) residential sales in the province are forecast to decline 17 per cent from a record high 2021 to 103,250 units this year. In 2023 MLS^® residential sales are forecast to fall an additional 12 per cent to 90,200 units.

“We expected home sales in 2022 do moderate from the frenetic pace of 2021,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “However, sales activity will remain high by historical standards.”

The BC housing market is entering 2022 with the lowest level of active listings on record and significant demand-side momentum. That means strong sales should persist through the first few months of the year and supply will remain severely limited. As a result, continued upward pressure on home prices is expected in all markets.

As a result, home prices are expected to rise by 8.5 per cent in 2022 with much of that gain happening in the first half of the year. With sales activity normalizing in 2023 and inventories rebuilding, market conditions around the province should improve and price growth is anticipated to slow to 2.7 per cent. 

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

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

The Canadian economy expanded 0.6 per cent in November on a month-over-month basis, propelled by strong growth across essentially all sectors. Canadian real GDP is now 0.2 per cent above its pre-pandemic, February 2020 level. Preliminary estimates suggest that output in the Canadian economy was essentially flat in December.

At its most recent meeting, the Bank of Canada noted that the slack in the Canadian economy has been largely absorbed. Growth in the economy accelerated in the fourth quarter with real GDP growth tracking at 6.4 per cent annualized. Even with an expected Omicron driven slowdown in the first quarter of 2022, the Canadian economy is clearly on a very strong growth path. With inflation elevated and the robust growth, the Bank of Canada will begin raising its overnight rate at its March 2nd meeting, continuing quarterly rate hikes until the overnight policy rate reaches 1.75 per cent. Canadian 5-year fixed rates have already risen substantially, returning to their pre-pandemic level of about 2.9 per cent.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.
Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-monthly-economic-growth-november-2021

How did the Groundhog Day tradition start? Many historians believe that it’s related to Candlemas Day, a medieval celebration that falls on Feb. 2. An old sailor’s saying from English lore states:

"If Candlemas Day is clear and bright, winter will have another bite. If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter is gone and will not come again."

Another possible source for the belief may be that the first official day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere’s western lands comes almost seven weeks after Feb. 2, while under the early Julian calendar, the spring equinox fell on March 16— exactly six weeks after.

I know what you might be thinking - how could I possibly be thinking about Spring in what feels like the dead of winter? The days are chilled, there are, in fact, many clouds in sight, and some days it feels as if the sun may never come again.

I want you to remember the last time you felt like something wasn’t going to end. What did it feel like, taste like, and smell like? Can you recall how you felt? Personally, I remember a time less than one year ago, when the house was covered in DIY half-done projects, and the aroma of my third and final attempt at banana bread filled my home. Working from home no longer felt like a staycation, and oh boy, did I brush my teeth this morning? I remember thinking, “Is this how life is now?”

Looking back, I can see that for better or worse, things always shift, and then they shift again, and then they, you guessed it, shift again. This year, can we simply be with the shift? Can we flow with the currents of life? Shifting and adapting are what keep our species alive. It’s our superpower.

Remember this as your moment of darkness before dawn. Soon, the flowers will bloom, and the sun will warm your chilled skin. You’ll take a walk with your friends, kids, parents, or maybe just with yourself, and you’ll remember that blip in time that felt like an eternity, and you’ll compare it to the sweetness you’re feeling at that moment.

When we understand that all things seemingly good or seemingly bad inevitably change, we learn to let go of those labels entirely. Nothing is good and nothing is bad; it’s just life. And with every evolutionary moment, we learn, grow, and yes, we change.

Kind Regards,

Gino Pezzani

Your Real Estate Consultant For Life

Vancouver, B.C. – January, 2022 – The increased activity seen in the Lower Mainland’s commercial real estate market in the first half of 2021 carried into the third quarter (Q3) of the year across all categories.

There were 640 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, a 64.1 per cent increase from the 390 sales in Q3 2020, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $3.250 billion in Q3 2021, a 30.7 per cent increase from $2.487 billion in Q3 2020.

"Commercial real estate activity recovered steadily in the first three quarters of 2021 against 2020 levels as consumer and business confidence returned from the initial uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic caused," Keith Stewart, REBGV economist said. “In particular, the strength of land acquisition activity points to new development interest across the region.”

Q3 2021 activity by category

Land: There were 228 commercial land sales in Q3 2021, which is a 137.5 per cent increase from 96 land sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of land sales was $1.839 billion in Q3 2021, a

15.5 per cent increase from $1.592 billion in Q3 2020.

Office and Retail: There were 235 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, which is up 42.4 per cent from 165 sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of office and retail sales was $489 million in Q3 2021, a 41.7 per cent increase from $345 million in Q3 2020.

Industrial: There were 153 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, which is a 43 per cent increase from 107 sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of industrial sales was $544 million in Q3 2021, a 116.7 per cent increase from $251 million in Q3 2020.

Multi-Family: There were 24 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, which is up 9.1 per cent from 22 sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $378 million in Q3 2021, a 26.4 per cent increase from $299 million in Q3 2020.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.