The Canadian economy is able to deal with the challenges posed by large movements in resource prices, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen S. Poloz said today.

In a speech at Calgary Economic Development’s 2016 Economic Outlook event, Governor Poloz said that it’s far better for Canada to have natural resources than not, even if swings in their prices can complicate the management of companies and economic policy.

“Even when prices are falling, as they have been recently, our endowment represents a store of value and a source of future riches,” the Governor noted.

The fundamental...

A record number of office and retail sales kept the Lower Mainland’s commercial real estate market trending above long-term averages in the second quarter of 2015, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The total dollar value of commercial sales in the region was $1.9 billion in the second quarter (Q2) of 2015, a 41.2 per cent increase from Q2 2014.

There were 591 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2015, according to Commercial Edge. This is a 16.1...

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According to statistics1 released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity posted a small month-over-month increase in August 2015.

Highlights:
• National home sales edged up by 0.3% from July to August.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 4.0% above August 2014 levels.
• The number of newly listed homes rose 0.5% from July to August.
• The Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 6.43% year-over-year in August.
• The national average sale price rose...

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent.

Inflation has evolved in line with the outlook in the Bank’s July Monetary Policy Report (MPR). Total CPI inflation remains near the bottom of the target range, reflecting year-over-year price declines for consumer energy products. Core inflation has been close to 2 per cent, with disinflationary pressures from economic slack being offset by transitory effects of the past depreciation of the Canadian...

The trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 196,565 units in August compared to 185,642 in July, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“Housing starts have been trending up, supported by strong condominium activity in Toronto. This is in line with CMHC’s most recent forecasts that would see demand shift from new higher-priced single-detached homes towards lower-priced alternatives,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist. “While...

The Bank of Canada announced on September 9^th, 2015 that it was keeping its trend-setting target overnight lending rate at 0.5 per cent.

Little has changed since the Bank’s previous announcement and revised economic forecast published in July. Its September announcement serves as a placeholder as the Bank awaits more economic data prior to the release in October of its Monetary Policy Report which will be published two days after the federal election.

Previously, the Bank said it expected most of economic damage from the oil price shock would be “front loaded”, with the hit to...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,811 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in August, up 20 per cent from the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume was $5.5 billion, a 32.8 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $619,881, up 10.6 per cent from August 2014.

“Housing demand continued at an elevated level in August,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “More homes...

Metro Vancouver* home buyers spent the summer months searching for their next home. Between June and August, home sales were between 25 and 30 per cent above the ten-year sales average.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Metro Vancouver reached 3,362 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in August 2015. This represents a 21.3 per cent increase compared to the 2,771 sales recorded in August 2014, and a decrease of 15.5 per cent compared to the 3,978 sales in July 2015.

Last month’s sales were 27.9...

The BCREA Commercial Leading Indicator (CLI) declined in the second quarter by 0.4 points to 120.6, the first decline in the index since the beginning of 2014. However, due to strong gains over the past four quarters, the trend underlying the CLI continues to push higher.

"Uncertainty in the global economy roiled financial and commodity markets in the second quarter," said BCREA Economist Brendon Ogmundson. "However, BC's nation leading economic growth should help to sustain commercial real estate activity through the end of the year."

The CLI trend smooths the often noisy economic data that comprises...