Economic Indicators: 1) Consumer Spending Index, 2) Average Asking Rent Prices In Canada Reach $2,193 In February, Up 10.5% From 2023, 3)Households Owed $1.79 For Every Dollar Of Disposable Income In Q4: Statistics Canada

1) Consumer Spending Index

The Index of Consumer Spending (ICS) averaged 114.3 points in December 2023, a 2.9‑point drop from November (the month of April 2022 = 100).

Ontario

ICS decreased 5.9 points.

Ontario’s revised December ICS fell to 107.0 points. However, January preliminary data (up to January 6) showed the province retreating to 84.0 points.

• The ICS drop parallels the year prior, with both years having an increase in November followed by a pullback in December.
• Preliminary data for January showed spending declines across all the provinces. This is expected, as spending is typically restrained in the first couple of months following the holiday season as consumers smooth out spending.
• Inflation increased in December, reaching 3.4 per cent year-over-year. The largest contributors to inflation’s increase were airfares, fuel oil, passenger vehicles, and rent.
• Despite consumption lowering, consumer confidence in December saw a marked improvement. This was largely a shift away from negative responses toward neutrality, possibly indicating that consumers’ expectations for the economy are settling.
• Consumer spending is likely to improve mid-year when interest rate cuts begin and households become more optimistic about the economy.
• Alberta was the only province to see an ICS increase in December. Part of this could be pent‑up spending from new residents. Alberta’s population rose 3.8 per cent in 2023, tied with Prince Edward Island for the strongest growth in the country.

2) Average Asking Rent Prices In Canada Reach $2,193 In February, Up 10.5% From 2023

Courtesy of Barrie360.com and Canadian PressPublished:
Mar 11th, 2024A new report says the average asking price for a rental unit in Canada was $2,193 per month in February, marking a 10.5 per cent jump year-over-year and the fastest annual growth since September 2023.

The data released Monday by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, which analyzes monthly listings from the former’s network, shows the average monthly cost of a one-bedroom unit in February was $1,920, up 12.9 per cent from the same month in 2023. The average asking price for a two-bedroom was $2,293, up 11.3 per cent annually.

In Barrie, the average monthly cost of a one-bedroom unit in February was $1,915, down 0.7 per cent from the same month last year. The average asking price for a two-bedroom was $2,189, down 12.1 per cent annually.

The report says asking rents in Canada have increased overall by a total of 21 per cent, or an average of $384 per month, from two years ago, just before the start of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada.

Alberta maintained its status as the province with the fastest-growing rents, with total average asking prices up 20 per cent annually last month to reach $1,708.

British Columbia and Ontario posted the slowest growth in February, with annual increases of 1.3 per cent and one per cent, respectively. But the provinces remain Canada’s most expensive for renters, with total average asking rents of $2,481 in B.C. and $2,431 in Ontario.

On a municipal basis, the largest cities in those two provinces also remain the most expensive major cities to live in Canada for renters. The average asking price for a one-bedroom unit in Vancouver last month was $2,653, down 1.1 per cent from a month earlier, though still 0.5 per cent higher than February 2023.

In Toronto, landlords were listing one-bedroom units for $2,495 on average, down 0.6 per cent on a month-over-month basis and 0.2 per cent from a year ago.

Traditional purpose-built rental apartments posted the fastest year-over-year price growth in February with a 14.4 per cent increase, as rents averaged $2,110. Condominium rentals, with an average rent of $2,372, and apartments in houses, at $2,347, had slower annual growth of five per cent and 5.3 per cent, respectively.

The report also highlighted a surge in roommate listings last month.

It says the number of listings for shared accommodations tracked in Canada’s four largest provinces grew 72 per cent in February compared with a year ago.

The average asking rents for shared accommodations increased 12 per cent to $1,010, led by 13 per cent annual growth in B.C. to $1,186 and 12 per cent in Alberta to $873.

In Ontario, average roommate rents increased nine per cent to $1,099 and in Quebec by five per cent to $920.

Read the report here: https://rentals.ca/national-rent-report

3) Households Owed $1.79 For Every Dollar Of Disposable Income In Q4: Statistics Canada

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian PressPublished: Mar 13th, 2024

Statistics Canada says households owed $1.79 in credit market debt on average for every dollar of disposable income in the fourth quarter.

The federal agency says seasonally-adjusted household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income fell for the third quarter in row.

The figure dipped to 178.7 per cent in the fourth quarter from 179.2 per cent in the third quarter.

It says disposable income outpaced growth in credit market debt because of relatively slow mortgage borrowing in the fourth quarter.

StatCan also noted households were wealthier in the fourth quarter.

The agency says total household net worth increased almost two per cent to $16.4 trillion, driven largely by strength in financial markets as both bonds and equities rallied.