A sliver of hope has emerged for the Canadian economy as the labour market added nearly 380,000 jobs in September. The unemployment rate is slowly coming down, now hovering at 9%, surpassing most economists expectations on the recovery front. However, those job gains could prove temporary, with the Ontario government reintroducing rolling lockdowns once again. Toronto, Ottawa and Peel region will once again be closing indoor restaurants, bars, gyms, and asking people not to travel. In other words, fiscal and monetary support is going nowhere anytime soon. While the benefits of such programs are helping to support jobs, and ease financial pain, there is no such things as a free lunch. In a speech this past week, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, noted “our policy path will eventually have an impact on financial system vulnerabilities. As much as a bold policy response was needed, it will inevitably make the economy and financial system more vulnerable to economic shocks down the road.” Macklem is referring to Canada’s private debt loads, which currently rank third highest amongst the G-20 nations. They need to keep these debt loads growing in order to avoid a painful debt deleveraging. This requires keeping interest rates at zero

It was another feel good headline for the Vancouver Real Estate market in September as media outlets promoted the record breaking 56% year-over-year increase in home sales. The incredible surge in activity has trounced all market forecasts, even surpassing the most optimistic scenarios initially touted by local real estate brokerages, who are obviously inclined to remain upbeat, even in the worst of times. However, behind the buzz of the media headlines, something is brewing. The health of the housing market is diverging at an unprecedented pace. The single family housing market is ripping hot, sales were up a whopping 72%, the highest total for September in over a decade. Inventory has collapsed to a six year low, sparking bidding wars for families desperate for more space during work from home orders. This is forcing prices higher, with both the average and median sales price ripping 13% and 12% respectively. This flurry of activity has also shown up in the condo market, where sales activity for the month of September was the highest in over two decades. There’s just one problem, new listings are piling up faster than sales. New listings ripped to record highs, and were 42% above the ten