BC Covid-19 Reopening Dashboard
Posted on Oct 31, 2020 in Economics
The BCREA Economics team has created the COVID-19 Reopening Dashboard to help REALTORS® monitor the evolution of the economy as BC navigates the recovery. This dashboard focuses on the sectors and activities that have been most significantly impacted by the pandemic and the province’s subsequent state of emergency.To monitor the province’s progress...
Canadian Monthly Real GDP (August 2020)
Posted on Oct 30, 2020 in Economics
Canadian real GDP grew 1.2 per cent in August, following a 3.1 per cent increase in July. That is the fourth consecutive monthly increase in GDP following the steepest contraction of the Canadian economy on record. The overall level of economic output remains about 5 per cent below its per-pandemic level.Third quarter real GDP growth is currently t...
Bank of Canada Recalibrates Quantitative Easing
Posted on Oct 28, 2020 in Mortgage News
As expected, the Bank held its target overnight rate at the effective lower bound of 25 basis points with the clear notion that negative policy rates are not in the cards. Instead, the central bank will continue to rely on large-scale asset purchases--quantitative easing (QE). The central bank is recalibrating its QE program as promised in recent w...Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcement
Posted on Oct 28, 2020 in Mortgage News
The Bank of Canada held its overnight rate at 0.25 per cent this morning, a level it considers its effective lower bound. The Bank is also continuing its quantitative easing (QE) program, though re-calibrated to target longer-term bonds and slightly scaled back from purchasing $5 billion per week in Government of Canada bonds to $4 billion per week...Canadian Inflation (September 2020)
Posted on Oct 21, 2020 in Mortgage News
Canadian inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.5% in September year-over-year, up from the previous month's increase of 0.1%. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose by 1.0%. Prices rose in six of eight components year-over-year with notable increases in shelter (1.7%), food (1.6%), and health/personal care (1.6%), while price...Record September for BC Housing Markets
Posted on Oct 14, 2020 in Market Update
The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 11,368 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September 2020, an increase of 63.3 per cent from September 2019. The average MLS® residential price in BC set a monthly record of $803,210, a 15.3 per cent increase from $696,647 record...