Economic Outlook Archives - Page 3 of 10

28Nov

How long can interest rates stay low once a vaccine arrives?

[CBC - November 10. 2020] Jubilation over the good news about a vaccine has taken markets by storm. Shortly after the news broke on Monday that the U.S. drugmaker Pfizer had a COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough that appeared 90 per cent effective, the Dow Jones industrial average soared more than 1,500 points, , a rise of more than four per cent. The Toronto market also took off. Canadian oil and gas shares shot up on the prospect of people climbing back into cars for road trips [...]

British Columbia, Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

28Nov

Condo listings increase in Greater Vancouver but prices expected to remain flat over next two years

[The Georgia Straight - November 25, 2020] Prices of condos have flattened since the start of the pandemic. Also, the supply of apartment units on the market is rising. Economists have used these terms to describe what is happening with the condo sector. These are accurate, according to Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association, when asked for his read. Is it time for sellers and condo owners to panic? Not if one appreciates the economist’s historical analysis of the condo [...]

Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

01Nov

Bank of Canada phasing out 3 programs set up in early days of COVID-19 to provide emergency liquidity

[CBC - October 16, 2020] Demand has waned in recent weeks, a sign things may be getting back to normal. The Bank of Canada is winding down three emergency programs it set up to provide support to financial institutions during the early days of the pandemic, as demand for all three programs is falling now that things are getting back to normal. In a news release late Thursday, the central bank said it will close two programs known as the Bankers' Acceptance Purchase Facility, or BAPF, and the [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook

28Oct

Bank of Canada keeps key interest rate unchanged, says COVID-19 economic recovery likely by 2022

[News 1130 - October 28, 2020] OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold Wednesday as it said the country’s economy won’t fully recover what was lost to COVID-19 until 2022, with the road to there dependent on the path of the pandemic. The central bank held its overnight rate target at 0.25 per cent. In July, the Bank of Canada said it believed the country had been spared from a worst-case scenario. The bank’s updated outlook in [...]

Bank of Canada announcements, Economic Outlook

12Oct

Vancouver well positioned for housing market recovery, industry experts say

[Globe and Mail - October 7, 2020] Winter is coming. But once the pandemic is over and immigration numbers return, Vancouver will be well positioned for a housing market recovery, said industry experts at the Vancouver Real Estate Forum held last week. The annual forum, held virtually this year, is the largest in the Lower Mainland, and covers all matters related to development. Opening speaker Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC, was frank about the fact that the dark days [...]

Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

10Oct

Bank of Canada: Negative interest rate, ‘in the toolkit’

[RCI - October 9, 2020] Around the world economies are suffering from the effects of the pandemic and central banks have lowered interest rates as one measure to mitigate the effects. Here in Canada, several reports have indicated that an economic recovery which seemed to be underway in mid summer, has now stalled. COVID rates are up, especially in Canada’s two most populous and hardest hit provinces, Ontario and Quebec. Each has imposed new restrictions which further hurt the economy, especially businesses [...]

Economic Outlook, Mortgage Rate Outlook

05Oct

Vancouver home sales surge 56.2% to record level for September

[CBC - October 2, 2020] 3,643 were sold in September this year, up from the 2,333 sold last September The real estate market in Vancouver had its best September on record this year in terms of the number of homes sold. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) said on Friday that 3,643 homes were sold last month, up 56.2 per cent from the 2,333 sold in September 2019. Sales were also up 19.6 per cent from the 3047 homes sold in [...]

Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

26Sep

Vancouver real estate: early September numbers show steep drop in sales from August highs

[Georgia Straight - September 25, 2020] Home sales in the city of Vancouver are dropping big time. This is based on tracking by real-estate site fisherly.com as of late morning Friday (September 25). Compared to record highs in August, early numbers for September show a steep decline in transactions. In August, a total of 490 condo units sold in Vancouver. As of this posting September 25, fisherly.com recorded 202 condo sales so far this month. Last month, 212 detached homes changed owners. September sales so [...]

COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

23Sep

Home prices to drop, new report predicts — and even Toronto and Vancouver won’t be immune

[Financial Post - September 23, 2020] Moody's predicts prices for all housing types to fall more than 7 per cent The pandemic will punish Prairie house prices the most in Canada, but even hotspots Toronto and Vancouver will see prices drop on the back of rising rental market vacancies and lower immigration rates, according to a new report. Average single family detached house prices will fall by 6.7 per cent next year as the recovery stalls, economic stimulus fades and debt problems [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

22Sep

Toronto and Vancouver now joined by two more Canadian cities with ‘overvalued’ homes

[Financial Post - September 21, 2020] Canada's housing market moderately vulnerable, CMHC says Overvalued homes continue to be a feature of Canada’s largest cities during the second quarter as the pandemic bit into the number of houses entering the market, according to the country’s largest public mortgage provider. And other Canadian cities are also seeing home prices heat up. “There was sharp pullback in new listings and resulting low levels of inventory,” the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation said in its second [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook