Canadian Real GDP Growth (April 2023)
Posted on Jul 01, 2023 in Economics
Canadian real GDP was flat from the prior month in April, following a 0.1 per cent increase in March. Goods-producing sectors of the economy grew 0.1 per cent while services-producing sectors were flat. Construction activity rose 0.4 per cent as lower residential construction activity was offset by other subsectors, including engineering constructi...Lower Mainland's commercial real estate market down in the first quarter of 2023
Posted on Jun 29, 2023 in Market Update
Commercial real estate sales and dollar volumes had a slow start to 2023, with year-over-year declines across all property types.There were 273 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q1 2023, a 58.1 per cent decrease from 651 sales in Q1 2022, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Rea...
Will the May Inflation Decline Thwart Another Rate Hike in July?
Posted on Jun 29, 2023 in Mortgage News
The May inflation data, released this morning by Statistics Canada, bore no surprises. The year-over-year (y/y) inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 3.4% was just as expected--down a full percentage point from the April reading. This is the smallest increase since June 2021. Economists hit this one on the head because we knew dro...Canadian Housing Starts (May 2023)
Posted on Jun 24, 2023 in Market Update
Canadian housing starts fell 23 per cent to 202,494 units in May at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Starts were down 28 per cent from the same month last year. Single-detached housing starts rose 3 per cent to 55,967 units, while multi-family and others fell 29 per cent to 146,528 (SAAR). In British Columbia, starts fell by 33 per cent in...
Canadian Employment (May 2023)
Posted on Jun 13, 2023
Canadian employment fell by 0.1 per cent to 20.11 million in May. The Canadian unemployment rate rose to 5.2 per cent after holding steady at 5 per cent since December. A decline in employment of 77,000 for youths (aged 15 to 24) more than offset a 63,000 rise in employment for middle-aged workers (aged 25 to 54). Total hours worked were up 2.2 per...
Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcement - June 7th 2023
Posted on Jun 08, 2023
The Bank of Canada raised its overnight policy rate this morning by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent. In its statement accompanying the decision, the bank noted that the Canadian economy was stronger than expected in the first quarter and spending in interest rates sensitive sectors, like the housing market, has picked up. On inflation, the Bank co...
