National Overview Residential building construction costs increased 5.6% in the first quarter of 2022, the highest increase since the second quarter of 2021. Non-residential building construction costs were up 2.6% in the first quarter. Contractors surveyed attributed part of the growth in building construction costs to the rise in labour costs, and a surge inRead more
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Home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems dropped by 12.6% between March and April 2022. The decline placed monthly activity at the lowest level since the summer of 2020. While the national decline was led by the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) simply because of its size, sales were down in 80% of local markets, withRead more
The Bank of Canada today increased its target for the overnight rate to 1%, with the Bank Rate at 1¼% and the deposit rate at 1%. The Bank is also ending reinvestment and will begin quantitative tightening (QT), effective April 25. Maturing Government of Canada bonds on the Bank’s balance sheet will no longer beRead more
The size of companies represented in the survey ranged from 1–25 employees to 500+, with 43% of the brokerages having 26–100 employees. Among the respondents, 50% were classified as brokerages, 36% were lenders, and the rest are in the technology, network, or ‘other’ categories. This year’s 5-Star winners gained high scores for putting the workingRead more
Statistics released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales were up in February 2022 as buyers jumped on the first batch of spring listings. Home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems climbed 4.6% between January and February 2022. The monthly increase in activity was likely the result of a rebound inRead more
Because of China-U.S. trade tensions and the pandemic, many corporations and governments had already made long-term plans to diversify supply chains and re-shore production in key sectors in order to break their reliance on geopolitical rivals for key goods. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will accelerate this trend. One example of how recent sanctions will furtherRead more
The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ %, with the Bank Rate at ½ % and the deposit rate at ¼ %. With overall economic slack now absorbed, the Bank has removed its exceptional forward guidance on its policy interest rate. The BankRead more
This note is part of a series that will be published after important data releases, documenting mechanical updates of the nowcast for Canadian GDP coming from the Scotiabank nowcasting model. The evolution of this nowcast will inform Scotiabank Economics’ official macroeconomic outlook. The Canadian labour market continued to power ahead in December according to StatisticsRead more
Canadian home sales rose by 8.6% (sa m/m) in October, the largest increase since July 2020. Listings moved in the same direction, albeit by a much smaller 3.2% (sa m/m). The larger increase in sales carried the sales-to-new listings ratio, an indicator of how tight the market is, to 79.5%, up from 75.5% in September,Read more
Canadians have built up a record amount of savings during the pandemic. By some estimates, it totals around $300 billion. This stockpiled spending firepower has fueled concerns that inflation could be higher and more persistent than currently thought, especially at a time of growing supply-side constraints. However, there are a few reasons to suggest theRead more
