Canadian 5-year bond yields jumped in February and are now about 70 basis points above their pandemic lows. Yields moved sharply higher due to increased optimism about the economy, particularly as vaccinations progress. There may also be some pressure as Canada competes for capital with other sovereign governments looking to fi...
Today the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released statistics showing national home sales hit another all-time high in February 2021. Canadian home sales increased a whopping 6.6% month-on-month (m-o-m), building on the largest winter housing boom in history. On a year-over-year (y-o-y) basis, existing...
Canadian employment gained 259k jobs in February (1.4%, m/m), almost making up for the 266k jobs lost in the previous two months. This left the employment level 3.1% (-599k) below its February 2020 pre-pandemic level. The rise was largely in part-time employment with full-time positions continuing to see positive growth in February. Notable job gai...
This morning's Stats Canada release showed that economic growth in the final quarter of last year was a surprisingly strong 9.6% (annualized). The surge in growth in January was even more interesting, estimated at a 0.5% (not annualized) pace. If these numbers pan out, it means that Canada did not suffer a contraction during the second wave and ens...
The Canadian economy expanded at a 9.6 per cent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2020. Growth was led by increased government spending, business investment and investment in new home construction and renovations as well as a large change in business inventories as large drawdowns of inventory from previous quarters reversed. For 2020 as a whole...
Home buyer competition intensifies across Metro Vancouver’s housing market
Competition amongst home buyers is putting upward pressure on home prices across Metro Vancouver’s* housing market.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 3,727 in February 2021, a 73.3 per cent increase f...