B.C. Real Estate Association says June sales still far above 10 year average + MORE Jul 13th

Canadian seniors look to the health care system in the United States – currently under attack from the Trump administration – and breathe a sigh of relief about our universal health care system.
We can count our blessings, relatively speaking, but that doesn’t mean health care costs – including eldercare, nursing homes and the like – won’t be a significant out-of-pocket expense in our golden years.
A recent conference on this topic sponsored by Toronto-based TriDelta Financial drove this point home. A majority of seniors or soon-to-be retirees are concerned whether their finances will be able to stretch far enough to cover serious future health issues. According to Healthcare “Navigator” Virginia Miles, owner of Compass Health Care Solutions, 33% of Canadians are “very concerned” and another 39% are “somewhat concerned” about their ability to meet future healthcare expenses.

Read more of “Retired Money” column

Furthermore, 81% find our health care system to be too complicated and 78% find navigating the system a challenge…

The British Columbia Real Estate Association says June home sales fell short of record levels set last year but demand remains well above average.
The association says 11,671 homes sold in June, down 9.6 per cent from the same period in 2016.
The total amount of money changing hands was $8.47 billion, a 5.6 per cent dip compared to the year earlier.
The average price of a home continues to climb, nudging $726,000 last month, a jump of 4.4 per cent over June 2016.
Association economist Brendon Ogmudson says the health of the B.C. housing market is supported by a strong provincial economy and vigorous job growth.
He says the lack of homes for sale is responsible for continuing increases in property prices.
“Supply remains a challenge, which means most areas are seeing tight market conditions and significant upward pressure on prices,” Ogmudson says in a news release.
Figures from the real estate association show when 2016 is taken out of the mix, residential sales in B.C. continue to rival the heights of the 2015 housing market, which was also well above the 10-year average for home sales…

Investors have more than doubled the amount of cash invested in a key financial sector fund

Canada’s main stock index is down following a mid-morning decline that swept across the market.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index dropped 17.96 points to 15,126.03, after 90 minutes of trading.
Most of the TSX subsectors were in the red and the rest were well off their morning highs.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 7.70 points to 21,539.84. The S&P 500 index inched up 1.43 points to 2,444.68 and the Nasdaq composite index added 2.46 points to 6,263.63.
The Canadian dollar was trading at 78.49 cents US, up from Wednesday’s average price of 78.16 cents US.
The August crude contract was up 44 cents to US$45.93 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was unchanged at US$2.99 per mmBTU.
The August gold contract was down $1.60 to US$1,217.50 an ounce and the September copper contract gave back one cent at US$2.67 a pound.
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Lawyers for Sears Canada employees are asking an Ontario judge to have the struggling retailer reinstate or continue their health benefits until October as the company restructures under court protection from creditors.
The request is one of several motions to be heard today by Justice Glenn Hainey at the Ontario Superior Court, which granted Sears Canada temporary protection from creditors three weeks ago.
The employees’ lawyers argue that their clients and retirees are the “most vulnerable” groups affected by the company’s financial difficulties and its plan to close dozens of stores.
They also argue that the company is proposing excessive payments for about 43 head office employees who are being kept on.
The motion says $7.6 million in discretionary retention payments for key employees should have a lower priority than the claims by employees who have been laid off or given notice that they will lose their jobs without severance in the coming months.
About 400 employees from the Toronto head office were immediately let go on June 22 without notice and salary payments were immediately cut off for 1,000 employees who had received termination notices prior to June 22…