Five Things REALTORS® Should Know About Real Estate and the Economy

Clients rely on REALTORS^® to have ample knowledge of the housing market while guiding them through the buying and selling process. To be as effective as possible in advising your clients, a general understanding of what influences the market is essential.

With this in mind, BCREA recently created the self-paced online course Economics for REALTORS^®: How to Apply Economic Data and Trends to Help Your Clients. Here are five learning outcomes from the course that Realtors should know about real estate and the economy:

1. How do real estate and the economy interact?

• direct and indirect contributions of the real estate sector to Canadian GDP,
• the ways in which home prices are measured,
• the supply and demand framework.

2. What are the economic fundamentals that impact housing demand?

• the short-run and long-run economic fundamentals that affect housing demand,
• short- and long-run economic indicators that impact housing demand
• how government policies impact real estate markets,
• the role of the Bank of Canada in the economy and its impact on the housing market.

3. What impacts housing supply?

• what causes the supply curve to shift and how does this affect prices,
• measures of new and existing housing supply including the stock,
• the new housing supply process from construction permit to MLS listing

4. What determines home prices?

• the short-run and long-run economic supply curves that affect prices,
•  the most important drivers of home prices in BC according to BCREA research,
• how is a seller vs a buyer’s market determined and how does it affect prices,
• how to apply market metrics like the sales to active listings ratio to gauge the direction of home prices.

5. How does one measure housing affordability?

• understand what determines housing affordability,
• define important housing affordability measures and explain their usefulness,
• analyze the impact of government policy on housing affordability.

Realtors who understand economic trends can incorporate this knowledge into their practice and help their clients make more informed decisions. To learn more, register for Economics for REALTORS^®: How to Apply Economic Data and Trends to Help Your Clients.

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