It’s safe to say that ongoing trade issues with the United States are causing a great deal of concern for the average Canadian. In turn, this is heavily impacting the regional and national economies, which has a notable cooling effect on real estate and consumer confidence.

In this current climate, and as we continue to recognize BCREA’s 50th anniversary, it’s increasingly interesting to take a look back at Association content from the past. Some of it, even content from four decades ago, can feel oddly prescient.

We recently unearthed an article from early 1985, written by then BCREA Board of Directors President Herman Wiebe. The article references “the volatile conditions of the early 1980s” before noting the provincial economy finally slipping into “recovery mode.”

Wiebe shows optimism, noting that the new Investment Canada federal agency was set to usher in – ironically – significantly broader free trade structures with the US. The article also pinpoints the “substantial reduction of tariff rates” as a likely driver of increased commerce and higher employment levels.

“Provided the US economy ‘levels off’ in 1985 as predicted,” Wiebe wrote, “these new developments will herald the return of badly needed consumer confidence.”

Sound familiar?

There’s no particular lesson to be learned from this article, save the facts that geopolitical tensions and evolution are nothing new, and that real estate is a boom-bust cyclical sector. For those with only a few years under their belts and who have only experienced the growth and boom phase of the BC market, it’s important to understand and perhaps take a little bit of comfort that downturns are a natural part of the cycle.

Here’s hoping that Canada can negotiate their way past the current roadblocks and our economy can move into that desirable “recovery mode” by early 2027.

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