Housing And Manufacturing Helping Canadian Economy

In recent weeks, it has appeared as if the recession “roller coaster” has broken down. The struggling economy, seemingly going through a series of ups and downs, was apparently stagnant in a “down” state with very few positive developments taking place as of late.

Today, it would appear as if the wheels have been oiled on the old coaster and the economic ride is headed upwards again. At least it is, for now, anyway.

Kristine Owram of The Canadian Press reports that there are signs that Canada could be digging itself out the recession after all. The heroes, note Owram, would appear to be the resale housing market and the manufacturing sector.

Owram provides some statistics to strengthen her claim: “The Canadian Real Estate Association reported that 50,270 homes traded hands on the Multiple Listing Service in July. This is up 18.2% from a year ago and set a record for the month of July. Meanwhile, manufacturing sales rose 1.9% to $39.7 billion in June, partially reversing the 4.9% decline seen in May, according to Statistics Canada.”

While Owram’s report admits that there is still a long way to go before the nation sees its economy grow to the point it was at before the recession, CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfield is quoted as saying that we are currently seeing “the beginning of the climb out of the hole”.

Shenfield agrees that the real estate market and the manufacturing industry will both play key roles in the rebounding of Canada’s economic status. In support of this prediction, Owram notes that home sales within Canada have been seeing steady increases since the beginning of the year.

She quotes CREA chief economist Gregory Klump as saying, “Home sales through the MLS systems in July provide clear evidence that sentiment about making major purchases continues to improve.”

And although “The manufacturing sales data from Statistics Canada was less unabashedly positive than that out of the housing sector… it still represents an important reversal from a weak May…New manufacturing orders jumped 18.4% in June, the largest gain on record,” writes Owram.

For now, Canadians are hopeful that such a report is true. If such trends continue, the “roller coaster” ride that is the struggling economy will soon be over. There are a lot of people anxious to get off the ride.