Canadian Retail Sales (September 2020)
Posted on Nov 22, 2020 in Economics
Retail sales rose for the fifth consecutive month in September by 1.1% on a seasonally-adjusted basis, which is higher than Statistic Canada's preliminary estimate of no change. Sales were up in 9 of 11 subsectors, representing 93.2% of retail sales. The increase was led by higher sales at auto dealers. General merchandise stores increased for the...Canadian Inflation (October 2020)
Posted on Nov 18, 2020 in Economics
Canadian inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.7% in October year-over-year, up from the previous month's increase of 0.5%. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose by 1.1%. Prices rose in five of eight components year-over-year in October, with food contributing the most to the increase due to rising prices for lettuce as a re...Canadian October Home Sales Slipped for the First Time Since April
Posted on Nov 17, 2020 in Market Update
Today's release of October housing data by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) shows national home sales fell 0.7% month-over-month (m-o-m) from September's record high (see chart below). This is the first decline in five months, as market conditions remained tight and prices continued to rise. Competition remains intense in the detached-ho...Canadian Housing Starts (October 2020)
Posted on Nov 17, 2020 in Economics
Canadian housing starts increased by 3% m/m to 214,875 units in October at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), following a decline in September. Housing starts increased in 6 of 10 provinces with strong gains in Manitoba and Alberta. Building activity gained momentum in the single-detached segment, while multi-unit starts declined slightly. O...BC Housing Market Continues Record Pace in October
Posted on Nov 12, 2020 in Market Update
The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 11,051 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in October 2020, an increase of 43.8 per cent from October 2019. The average MLS® residential price in BC set a record of $812,960, a 12.5 per cent increase from $722,333 recorded the previ...Canadian Employment (October 2020)
Posted on Nov 08, 2020 in Economics
Canadian employment gained 84k jobs in October (0.5%, m/m), following a gain of 378k in September. This is the sixth consecutive month of increases, putting national employment within 636k of its pre-COVID February level. The national unemployment rate was little changed at 8.9%, as some provinces reinstated containment measures targeted at restaur...