Is the commercial real estate market finally turning a corner? The latter half of 2024 provides compelling clues. Founder & Managing Broker of William Wright Commercial Cory Wright sits down with Adam and Matt this week to dive deep into BC's ever-evolving commercial real estate landscape. From surprising activity levels across multiple asset class…

As urbanization continues to grow worldwide, affordable housing is a rare commodity in many cities. Sao Paolo­, South America’s biggest city, has gained over 2 million new residents in the past decade alone. Elizabeth Johnson heads Brazil research at TS Lombard and has been studying Sao Paolo’s latest attempt at strengthening its housing strategy. …

When does waiting for the perfect market moment become a costly mistake? Adam & Matt sit down to ponder that question and unpack the 2024 real estate market - a year where inventory surged 46% while sales volumes remained stubbornly low. From downtown's struggles to a transformative shift in the investment landscape, this episode tackles the trends…

While housing markets play a significant role in economies, new research shows houses across 40 countries are less affordable than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis. IMF economist Deniz Igan helped develop the Housing Affordability Index. In this podcast, she says the pandemic triggered an unusual sequence of events that housing markets a…

Interest rate forecasts, shifting investment strategies, and signs of market momentum have investors eyeing 2025 with renewed interest after a lackluster year. Founder of the Green Mortgage Team Kyle Green sits down this week with Adam & Matt to unpack the year's defining moments & dissect the recent seismic shifts in real estate investing with an …

Driving Change: Women-Led Development Economics from the Ground Up The International Economic Association’s Women in Leadership in Economics Initiative (IEA-WE) connects women economists worldwide and helps showcase their important empirical research, especially in developing countries. IMF Podcasts has partnered with the IEA-WE to produce a specia…

Driving Change: Women-Led Development Economics from the Ground Up The International Economic Association’s Women in Leadership in Economics Initiative (IEA-WE) connects women economists worldwide and helps showcase their important empirical research, especially in developing countries. IMF Podcasts has partnered with the IEA-WE to produce a specia…

Driving Change: Women-Led Development Economics from the Ground Up The International Economic Association’s Women in Leadership in Economics Initiative (IEA-WE) connects women economists worldwide and helps showcase their important empirical research, especially in developing countries. IMF Podcasts has partnered with the IEA-WE to produce a specia…

The push for affordability and the growing connection between market and non-profit housing is dramatically reshaping development across Metro Vancouver. Principal at CitySpaces Noha Sedky sits down with Adam and Matt this week to explore how municipalities are engaging the non-profit housing sector & requiring affordable housing components in new …

There's a widespread belief that high-density living somehow leads to social isolation - that towers create vertical suburbs where neighbors never interact. But thoughtful planning tells a different story. This week Century Group’s VP of Development Bob Ransford sits down with Adam & Matt to discuss smart strategies for community building near Skyt…

With sub-Saharan Africa soon to have one of the largest working-age populations in the world, removing barriers to business growth and encouraging higher productivity industries will help provide the employment opportunities it needs. But reforms don’t come easy. Wenjie Chen and Andrew Tiffin are economists in the IMF’s Africa Department and produc…

Is the elusive real estate bottom in the presale world finally here? This industry insider - armed with visibility into almost all new construction contracts written in BC - says all signs point to yes. President & CEO of Avesdo Ben Smith sits down with Adam & Matt this week to share exclusive insights from his unique vantage point in the presale w…

Ever wish you could hit pause on a great conversation? Today we're doing just that - exploring some of the unique, interesting, and counterintuitive ideas that emerged from our most recent podcast episodes. Adam & Matt sit down this week to unpack the most compelling insights from their recent discussions. From Brian Yu's analysis of Vancouver's se…

Ever wanted to be in the room when Western Canada's largest developers, REITs & policy makers parse the data behind their multimillion-dollar decisions? Us too. And today is our lucky day. Ryan Berlin, Vice President of Intelligence and Head Economist at Rennie, sits down with Adam & Matt to break down today's complex market landscape. With insight…

As inflation and interest rates continue to decline and the likelihood of a recession slowly fades, financial markets have seen big equity gains. But the latest Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) warns of several factors that could upend the recovery, including the apparent disconnect between market buoyancy and heightened uncertainty, especi…

In the near decade of the Vancouver Real Estate Podcast, we have never been in a moment where this question even made sense to ask: are rents actually going down in Vancouver? Founder of the Vancouver Rental Group, Seva Roberts, has answers - and they come from managing 300+ rentals day in & day out across the lower Mainland. Seva sits down with Ad…

The British Columbia provincial election is upon us & the choices for premier & party are stark. This October 19th election will shape our province in profound ways for years to come. So how do the candidates stack up in regards to arguably the most important issue facing British Columbians - housing? This week BCREA's Senior Vice President of Gove…

While 21st-century globalization and international trade dramatically changed how multinational corporations operate, the way they are taxed is largely based on early 20th-century thinking. Recent efforts by the OECD and the UN to modernize the international corporate tax system include a minimum corporate tax to make it more equitable. The IMF has…

This is not your usual Vancouver Real Estate Podcast episode. Long time listeners will remember Love It or List It Vancouver star Todd Talbot on the show nearly 3 years ago discussing his Okanagan “Eh” Frame project. This net zero, passive house, passion project was set to ultimately be the subject of a TV series when fully built. But then disaster…

Stories can unify or divide but our ability to imagine them is uniquely human. Cooperation and trust, built through shared stories and narratives, are the foundation of human societies and economies. So what happens when humans no longer hold the pen? Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and author of several books on human evolution, inc…

The local economy is the backdrop for every conversation we have about our real estate market. And yet we rarely get a chance to focus specifically on the economy of Metro Vancouver. How are we actually doing as a region? Should we be uneasy or optimistic about the future? Are you richer or poorer than you think? Central 1 Credit Union’s Chief Econ…

With all the instability within the Middle East and North Africa region of late, Egypt has nonetheless managed to reign in soaring inflation and win its largest-ever foreign investment. Egypt’s efforts to restore macroeconomic stability in recent years have led to an arrangement under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility for Egypt, which makes availabl…

Supply chain disruptions, rising construction costs & tepid buyer demand have all been watchwords in Metro Vancouver development for the last few years. But are these highly challenging days finally behind us? BM Group’s President of Real Estate Development and Construction, Milan Mann, knows both sides of this equation intimately. Milan joins Adam…

“Sellers Await Buyers’ Return” was the headline that marked the end of the summer 2024. And the same could be said for the spring. And 2023. And most of 2022. As goes interest rates, so goes Canadian real estate apparently. But are high interest rates the total story? Former President of Mortgage Architects Dustan Woodhouse has spent a lot of time …

The BC provincial government stunned observers late last year when it legislated all BC municipalities change zoning regulations to permit multiplexes on single family lots by June 30, 2024. The provincial order was clear. But implementation has been another thing altogether. Architect Tara Gronlund joins Adam & Matt to discuss how different munici…

Working from home was not an option for most people before March 11, 2020, when work and home life suddenly collided. The pandemic upended many aspects of doing business, but the daily commute is one routine that seems unlikely to return to what it was. Nicholas Bloom was studying the potential impact of remote work long before the pandemic launche…

The Fraser Valley's real estate landscape is evolving rapidly & few know its contours better than Zenterra’s VP of Marketing & Sales, Derek Fenton. Derek sits down with Adam and Matt this week to discuss the Fraser Valley on the cusp of the 2024 fall market, a conversation that ranges from regional market conditions to in depth analysis of certain …

The world has changed since postwar economic thought placed GDP growth as its guiding principle. 20th-century progress has pushed planetary resources to the limit and brings the sustainability of traditional macroeconomic models into question. In this podcast, Kate Raworth talks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about her alternative model Doughnut Ec…

It is rare to find a consistent push toward innovation in the real estate industry. Today’s guest first sat down with Adam & Matt years back to champion the benefits of building with mass timber, the little understood but increasingly popular building material in Vancouver & beyond. Rocky Sethi returns this week, in his new position of Managing Dir…

Today we revisit our classic (and timely!) episode with Harvard's Teo Nicolais. Everyone knows that markets are cyclical, but how do they work and where are we at in Vancouver? Harvard Extension School Instructor Teo Nicolais sits down with Matt & Adam to detail the 4 stages of a real estate cycle and how it relates to the Vancouver real estate mar…

For many emerging market economies, moving from an export-oriented strategy with labor-intensive manufacturing to a more sophisticated production process was key to their development. But the world is quickly changing, and Raghuram Rajan says India need not follow that same path. In their new book, Breaking the Mold, the former Reserve Bank of Indi…

The most recent Greater Vancouver Realtors Housing Market Report paints a surprisingly grim picture of the Vancouver real estate market. New listings are up 20% year over year and transactions are down 17.6% below the 10 year average. And this is with two Bank of Canada rate cuts! What is going on? And, more importantly, what does this mean for the…

For decades, governments have been tapping into global sovereign debt markets to smooth ups and downs in revenue with the hope that it would help spur investment. But what happens when government borrowing fails to deliver, and the citizens are left paying the bill? Mark Aguiar says emerging market and developing economies are especially vulnerable…

We often talk about Vancouver exporting real estate talent throughout North America. But what are the best & brightest in the industry actively learning from other cities? And what can these creative ventures outside of Vancouver tell us about ourselves? This week, Chad Boorman, Chief Financial Officer of Rize Alliance, sits down with Adam & Matt t…

The world is changing so quickly it’s hard to think of one aspect of our economic lives that hasn’t shifted from what it was only a few years ago. Trade is no exception. New technologies, the re-emergence of industrial policy, and rising geopolitical tensions are all putting added pressure on the international trading system. Michele Ruta is a trad…

It is time to take stock. We are more than halfway through 2024 and this year’s real estate market has been a doozy. We have seen sales volumes well below historical norms, a surprising spike in inventory, a number of new impactful housing policy measures & now a BoC second rate cut with signs of more to come. But what does this all mean for the fu…

Here’s something few could have predicted: inventory in Metro Vancouver has almost doubled in six months and a rate cut has done little to spark sales. Many investors are sitting on their hands. But smart money continues to target Vancouver and there are many reasons why. Wendy Waters, Vice President, Research Services & Strategy at GWL Realty Advi…

Last week, we covered buying properties in the USA as Canadians. This week is all about financing and investing in the USA. Alain Forget and Hatim Tichout, RBC Cross Border Banking & U.S. Home Equity Financing, join Matt & Adam to discuss opportunities for investment, emerging US Markets, navigating market dynamics, and how Canadians can best secur…

Aging populations in many advanced and emerging market economies mean shrinking workforces, weighing on growth. However, the opposite is true in low-income countries where populations are growing, and the expanding workforce may lack the skills for the job market. How can these two scenarios offset each other? Lisa Kolovich says women hold the key.…

When buying in the US, the puck stops here. Former Canuck Goaltender turned Scottsdale Luxury Realtor Eddie Lack helps a lot of Canadians buy real estate in Arizona. And when we say a lot, we mean it: 80% of his clients are from Canada! Eddie sits down this week with Adam & Matt to detail the buying process in the US & why so many Canadians are cho…

Nigeria’s new administration has set out on an ambitious reform path to stabilize its currency, regain market confidence, and tame inflation. In this podcast, Governor Olayemi Cardoso and IMF Africa Department head, Abebe Aemro Selassie discuss the role of Nigeria’s central bank in restoring macroeconomic stability. The conversation took place as p…

All real estate is local but all opportunity is not. And today’s guest knows this better than most. Taylor Steele from Integrated-integrities sits down with Adam & Matt to discuss opportunities in a down market, from the future of the North Shore to multifamily in the US to ultra passive ways to add real estate to your portfolio. Where are the buyi…

Do you have a 10 year plan? How about just a plan? If you don't, you are in the majority and don't worry - our guest today can help you set and achieve your goals and you can start right now. Clint Murphy, real estate developer, real estate investor, CFO, and prolific finance influencer, sits down with Matt & Adam in Kokomo Studios to unpack his in…

Someone said, "if opportunity doesn't knock, build a door" and this sums up the story of Sunny Dhillon. From getting his real estate license in the early 2000s, to becoming a deal finder, and to eventually developing himself, Sunny saw the writing on the wall for our city and took action. Now the CEO of Dimex Group, with projects throughout the Low…

Economic growth is often seen as the core ingredient to social development, but it’s a relatively new idea. So what did pre-growth society look like and how much growth can modern society sustain? In his latest book, Daniel Susskind argues that economic policy should consider the costs of growth more carefully and realign the drivers to better fit …

Sometimes you walk into a space and just feel good and you're not sure why. But it's not an accident and, more than anything, that feeling is the result of a design team making painstaking decision after decision - and trust us, God is in the details. But what makes good design and what decisions should be paramount when buying, selling or renovati…

Central banks worldwide share common practices in how they operate, but the UK’s central bank is unique in how it makes its rate decisions. Catherine Mann is a Professor of the Practice at Brandeis University and one of four external voting members of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England. In this podcast, Mann says the pickup in cap…

It’s no mystery where the IMF was born but its origin story might surprise you. While the spotlight was on the charismatic British economist John Maynard Keynes during the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, a little-known American economist was working in the shadows. Harry Dexter White’s plan would lead to the creation of the IMF and forever change th…

We talk a lot about opportunities and revitalization, but it's not typically in tony neighbourhoods with some of the most expensive postal codes in the country. This week, Barrett Sprowson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Peterson Group, sits down with Matt & Adam to share a long term vision of Vancouver's west side - one characterized by …

While African countries have little to do with what’s causing the climate crisis, they are feeling the brunt of the extreme weather patterns and left footing a climate-mitigation bill they can’t afford. Michael Olabisi is an assistant professor at Michigan State University and studies sustainable development in low-income countries. In this podcast…