Welcome to May
Economic & Real Estate Market Update
Here’s your monthly economic and real estate market update for British Columbia (BC), Alberta, and Canada:
Bank of Canada:
The Bank of Canada’s governing council members were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates.
Retail Sales:
Canada’s retail sales were flat in the first quarter of 2024.
GDP Growth:
The Canadian economy was not in recession in 2023, but it was one of its weakest recent years. The real GDP increased by an annualized rate of one percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Capital Gains Taxes:
The impact of Ottawa’s move to raise the inclusion rate on capital gains taxes will impact financial corporations the most.
Open Banking:
Open banking measures in the budget could spur competition in Canada’s lending landscape.
British Columbia (BC):
The BC Northern Real Estate Board suggests that home ownership in northern British Columbia remains very affordable, despite prices skyrocketing over the last couple of years1.
The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that 73,109 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in 2023, a 9.2 per cent decline from 80,506 units sold in 2022.
The annual average MLS® residential price in BC was $971,144, a 2.6 per cent decrease from $996,943 recorded the previous year.
Alberta:
Alberta’s benchmark home price was $507,900, up 9.8% year-over-year3.
Average home prices in Alberta have increased by 0.7% in a year to $497,4733.
The average price of a home in the Edmonton area reached an all-time high of $420,959 for March 2024, a 7.9% yearly increase and a 3.3% monthly increase4.
In Calgary, the average home price for March 2024 was $596,193, which is 11% higher than last March’s average sales price5.
Canada:
The national benchmark home price increased by 1.3% monthly and 0.7% annually to reach $729,7006.
The average Canadian home price was $698,530 in March 2024, a 1.9% monthly increase and up 1.8% year-over-year6.
Nationally, there were 38,963 home sales, seasonally-adjusted, during the month of March 2024, a seasonally-adjusted 6.4% decrease year-over-year7.
Stay tuned for more updates next month!
Best,
Your Real Estate Update Team