Retail sales

Presentation to the Real Estate Council of Alberta 23 November 2022

26Nov

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Presentation to the Real Estate Council of Alberta 23 November 2022

This past Wednesday I was invited to speak to the directors and executive management at the Real Estate Council of Alberta, or RECA. RECA is the regulatory body for Alberta's real estate market. Alberta is unique as regulation of the real estate market is mainly in the hands of industry. For example the licensing and disciplining of real estate agents is conducted by RECA's board of directors and councils. This is termed "industry self-regulation." There is government oversight in the sense that the government appoints three of RECA's seven-person board. RECA's annual report a wealth of information for the various segments of the real estate market (real estate brokerage, mortgage brokerage, property management, and condominium management licensees). The website also hosts a great d...

21Jul

By albertarecessionwatchNo Comments

Retail sales

Retail Sales

Originally posted 21 July 2016 Consumer spending is an integral part of the economy. Usually retail sales constitute about 50-70 per cent of an economy. Alberta, with its high level of capital investment, generally would rely less on consumer spending. That said, Albertans are still the highest per capita consumers in Canada, with an appetite for big trucks and dining out. At least up until the current recession. As would be expected consumer spending has softened over the past couple of years.