Here are some random observations about life:
• The older I get, the earlier it gets late.
• It’s the start of a brand-new day, and I’m off—like a herd of turtles.
• I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days.
• When you lose a sock in the dryer, it comes back as a Tupperware
lid that doesn’t fit any of your containers.

As you embrace the start of the New Year, it’s important to give yourself room to grow. It’s also important to remember that growth is not always easy or obvious. I’m reminded of the following story, a valuable metaphor for embracing adversity:

A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. A small opening appeared. The man sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no farther.

The man decided to help, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that at any moment the wings would expand, and the body would contract to the proper proportion.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It never was able to fly.

In his kindness and haste, the man had not understood something. A restricting cocoon and the struggle for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need to become stronger in character and determination. If nature allowed us to go through life without any obstacles, we would not learn how to be resilient and powerful. We might never fly!

“Visit the Zoo Day” happens every year on December 27, dating all the way back to when the world’s oldest scientific zoo, the Zoological Society of London, opened their facility to the public as a fundraiser in 1847.

Beyond the traditional image of zoos as a place to spend the day observing wildlife, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums supports contemporary animal management, husbandry, and veterinary care; 160 facilities reported spending $20.5 million in 2020 on research alone.

Why not start a new family tradition and pay a visit to your local zoo and visit the animals this December? If the zoo isn’t open or you’re not able to get there, look for online options offered by many zoos around the country. Rawr!

Podcasters Eric Eliasson and Lara Mitra asked 30 top business leaders what they’d learned on their path to success. The MIT Sloane School of Management website presents some of their insights:

1. Diversify your passions. Don’t limit yourself to just one area of interest. Look around and seek out new possibilities throughout your career.

2. Be open to changing views of success. “Success” can mean making lots of money, having power, earning the love of a family, or an infinite number of other things. As you learn and grow, your definition of success may shift and you may find that you have very different ideas of what’s valuable at different stages of your life.

3. You may have to adjust your plan as your circumstances and views change, but you’ll be in a better position to pivot if you have a firm foundation to stand on.Remember to plan. Set some goals early on and develop a plan for moving forward. 

4. Take action to build confidence. You may be unsure that you’re doing the right thing, but if you do nothing, you’ll never achieve any of your goals. Taking action can give you the confidence you need to keep moving forward.

Canadian seasonally-adjusted retail sales rose 1.6% to $57.6 billion in October. The rise was driven by a rebound in sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers (+2.2%) as new car sales (+2.8%) recovered from previous declines. The effects of the semiconductor shortage which had curtailed sales of new cars eased somewhat in October. Preliminary estimates, based on roughly 40.9% of respondents reporting so far to Statistics Canada, indicate that retail sales rose 1.2% in November. 

In BC, seasonally-adjusted sales rose 0.3% in October. Compared to the same month last year, retail sales were up 1.6% in the province. Clothing sales rose the largest amount on a year-over-year basis in October, up 13.3%. In the Greater Vancouver region, sales rose 1.5% month-over-month and were up 10.8% year-over-year. 

In October, Canadian e-commerce sales rose from $3.2 billion to $3.3 billion. As a result, e-commerce increased from 5.4% of total retail sales in August to 5.5% in October. This percentage is lower than at most points since the onset of the pandemic but is elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. 

Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-retail-sales-october-2021

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

The December holidays are a time of joy, tradition, and food... a whole lot of food, which can make it hard to stick to a healthy diet. However, you don’t have to wait until New Year’s Day to renew your commitment to good nutritional habits, and you don’t have to practice complete denial, either. Follow this advice to maintain some balance:

1. Don’t skip meals. If you avoid lunch in order to offset a big family dinner, you’ll probably eat more because you’re extra hungry. Eat breakfast and lunch so you’re able to control your appetite when the platters are passed your way.

2. Exercise portion control. Don’t overload your plate. Take sensible portions of whatever comes your way, and you won’t feel compelled to consume every last bite in order to avoid wasting food.

3. Eat slowly. Your stomach can fill up before you’re aware of it, which means you may eat more than you really want or need to consume, leaving you stuffed and uncomfortable. Make an effort to put down your fork and chew thoroughly between bites, and drink plenty of water before and during your meal.

4. Sit with the right people. If possible, sit next to a companion whose eating habits mirror the example you want to follow. If your partner is an athlete with an enormous appetite, you’ll tend to eat a similar amount; but if you’re sitting next to someone who is watching his or her weight, chances are you’ll exercise the same self-control.

5. Focus on the holiday. Remember that holidays are about more than just eating. Make an effort to talk to people and enjoy the season itself, in the moment.

6. Get right back on track. If none of this advice works, then don’t waste time beating yourself up over it. Just remind yourself of the long-term benefits of healthy eating to motivate your return to good habits.

This story uniquely captures how it can feel getting ready for the holidays.

During a winter hayride, a wagon pulled by a friendly mule slid on a patch of ice sending the back of the wagon into a steep snowbank. The farmer who was steering the cart, unhitched the mule to help guide the travelers out of the snow and said, “Come on Jasper, I’m going to need your help.”

He hitched the mule to the rear axle and shouted, “Come on Molly, pull!” The mule didn’t move.

The farmer then yelled, “Come on Gus, pull!” Again, the mule didn’t move.

Once more the farmer commanded, “Come on Francis, pull!” Nothing happened.

The farmer then said, “Come on Jasper, pull!” And the mule moved and dragged the wagon out from the pile of snow.

The passengers thanked the farmer, but being somewhat puzzled one of them said, “You called the mule three times by the wrong name. Why did you do that?”

The farmer laughed and said, “Oh, Jasper is a blind old mule, if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn’t even try!”

Most people are busy this time of year and it often feels like we are the only one pushing and pulling to get everything done. Just a quick reminder that you are not alone and everything you are doing will be appreciated.

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 4.7% on a year-over-year basis in November, matching the rate in October. On a month-over-month basis, the CPI was up 0.2% in November. The Bank of Canada's preferred measures of core inflation (which use techniques to strip out volatile elements) rose an average of 2.7% year-over-year in November. Higher prices for gasoline (+43.6%), furniture (+8.7%) and food (+4.4%) were the main drivers of growth in the headline CPI. Continuing supply-chain difficulties continued contributing to price gains, but the flooding in BC had no effect as data was collected prior to the floods in November. In BC, consumer prices were up 0.2% month-over-month, and up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. 

Inflation continues to run ahead of the Bank of Canada's 2 per cent target. The driving force behind rising prices in November year-over-year was a 10% increase in transportation costs due to rising gasoline prices. Inflation from shelter costs was up month-over-month as home prices trended higher after flattening out over the summer. Those categories account for about 65% of the year-over-year rise in consumer prices in November. We expect this elevated level of inflation to persist through next year before prices begin moderating. The Bank of Canada is clearly concerned about rising consumer prices and have signaled that it will begin raising its policy rate in the second or third quarter of 2022.

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

Canadian housing starts rose to 301.3k units in November, reversing 5 months of consecutive declines. Housing starts were up by 62.9k (26.4% m/m) in November at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Comparing year-over-year, starts were up strongly from November of 2020 (15% y/y). Single-detached housing starts dipped 1% in November to 73.3k, while multi-family and others jumped 38.9% to 228k (SAAR). 

In British Columbia, starts were up 9.8% in November, rising to 39.8k units SAAR in all areas of the province. In areas in the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts dropped 2.8% m/m to 7.2k units while multi-family starts offset this drop with a 13.7% rise to 28.5k units. Starts in the province were 20.1% below the levels from November 2020. Starts were down by 2.2k units in Vancouver but were offset by a 3.6k unit rise in Kelowna in November. The 6-month moving average trend declined 1.3k in November in BC. 

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-housing-starts-november-2021

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

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

For immediate release

Vancouver, BC – December, 2021. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 9,159 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) in November 2021, a decrease of 3.4 per cent from November 2020. The average MLS^® residential price in BC was $993,922, a 22.1 per cent increase from $814,310 recorded in November 2020. Total sales dollar volume was $9.1 billion, a 17.9 per cent increase from the same time last year. “Provincial MLS^® home sales reached a new annual record in November with still one month to go in 2021,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “Home sales have already surpassed the previous annual record of 112,425 units set in 2016.”

Total active residential listings continued to tumbler lower, falling 39 per cent year-over-year to a record low for the province. Active listings are now about half of the level reached prior to the pandemic. 

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume is up 63.6 per cent to $108.7 billion compared to the same period in 2020. Residential unit sales were up 37.7 per cent to 117,973 units, while the average MLS^® residential price was up 18.8 per cent to $921,806. 

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

If you’re planning your holiday shopping, you may have lots of competition at the mall and online. A Roku and Harris Poll survey on consumer shopping trends in 2021 found that spending could hit new records this season, as consumers expect to increase their spending for the holiday season.

The survey found that 72% of holiday shoppers feel confident the economy will improve in the next 12 months. Thirty-six percent of consumers expect to spend more this year, the highest number reported since 2018. Holiday spending is expected to reach a record $937 per person on holiday purchases - a 5% increase from 2020.

In-store shopping may be coming back as well. Forty-three percent of respondents said they plan to shop in person on Black Friday, an 11% increase from 2020, when concerns about COVID-19 kept many shoppers at home. However, online shopping isn’t going away— 57% of consumers say they plan to do most of their shopping online.

Children are naturally creative and inventive because they don’t know what’s impossible. Try checking out these inventions created by kids across the years:

1. Trampoline. Sixteen-year-old George Nissen was captivated by the sight of trapeze artists dropping into nets at the finish of their shows in the 1930s. In his parents’ garage he developed the “bouncing rig,” a metal frame with canvas stretched over it. Years later he switched out the canvas for nylon and came up with a new name— a “trampoline,” adding the letter 'e' to the Spanish word for diving board.

2. Earmuffs. At age 15, Chester Greenwood’s ears grew painfully cold while ice skating. A scarf around his head didn’t help, so he went home, built a wire frame, and asked his grandmother to sew some beaver skin pads to it. Greenwood patented his earmuffs in 1877 and eventually sold them, and they were used by soldiers fighting in World War I.

3. Popsicle. One cold night in San Francisco in 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson mixed up a concoction of soda water powder and water and left it outside all night. In the morning he looked at the frozen mixture with the stirring stick still inside and realized it might be fun to eat. He began giving them out as treats, and as an adult, he patented the product with the name “Eppsicle,” later changing it to “Popsicle” - after his own children started calling it by that name.