. however, even before the pandemic hit our shores earlier this year, there was increasing evidence that consumption growth was slowing as households were becoming more cautious, perhaps because of elevated debt levels and a somewhat less robust economy. when the containment measures were imposed in canada in mid - march, many households had to suddenly prepare for a prolonged stay inside their homes to reduce their exposure to covid - 19. as a result, spending habits changed significantly. in particular, household consumption was affected by the reduction of goods and services available for purchase. many non - essential stores and restaurants were forced to close, while others had only online access or takeout service. 8 these demand and supply effects not only lowered consumption during the containment period but also changed what canadians were buying. the volume of consumption, as measured by the national accounts, plummeted by nearly 9. 0 percent in the first quarter of 2020 at an annual rate, and the 7 on the demand side, sharp declines in stock markets had negative wealth effects, and lower commodity prices reduced canada ’ s terms of trade. both factors also weighed on consumption. 8 according to a survey by statistics canada, 40 percent of retailers closed their doors in march, including 91 percent of clothing retailers. most remained closed until recently. in contrast, grocery and pharmacy stores remained open. - 6preliminary release for april indicates a further decline as nominal retail sales fell 15. 6 percent ( chart 4 ). 9 chart 4 : retail trade activity declined sharply across canada nominal retail trade deflated by provincial cpi for goods, index : april 2018 = 100 index apr - 2018 aug - 2018 canada dec - 2018 apr - 2019 energy - intensive regions aug - 2019 dec - 2019 rest of canada note : the april 2020 value for canada is a preliminary estimate. source : statistics canada apr - 2020 last observation : april 2020 consumption patterns during the early stages of the shutdown saw a boom in demand for necessities. many households stocked up on food, alcohol and personal care products — creating the infamous runs on toilet paper, flour and cleaning products. in the first week of march, sales of hand sanitizer rose 792 percent over the same week last year ( chart 5 ). chart 5 : sales of health and household cleaning items spiked in march 52 - week percent change january hand sanitizers february masks and gloves note : data are experimental and subject to revision. source : statistics canada consumer prices program, special tabulation march soap april bathroom tissue % -

have risen sufficiently to move a noticeable number of underwater households – that is, those who owe more on their mortgages than the market value of their homes – from negative equity to positive equity. however, housing markets differ greatly both across regions and within metropolitan areas, and the positive signs in the aggregate data do not apply to all neighborhoods equally. for example, even within those metropolitan areas that have experienced rising average prices in the two years after the end of the most recent recession ( q2 : 2009 ), existing home sales rose only 4 percent, house prices fell by 4 percent, according to the corelogic price index, and residential investment averaged only 2 – 1 / 2 percent of gross domestic product ( gdp ) – half of the average gdp between 1949 and 2006. a summary of long - term vacant typologies, background on analysis, and data by metropolitan statistical area ( msa ) is available on the federal reserve board website. bis central bankers ’ speeches over the past year, one - fourth of zip codes saw a decrease in prices over the same period. 3 moreover, those zip codes with falling prices have also experienced rising vacancy rates more often than in other zip codes. 4 these struggling high - vacancy areas provide evidence of the hard work that remains even as housing markets show signs of improvement. although many of these areas share a high level of vacancy, they differ significantly in other characteristics : the concentration of vacancies, age of the housing stock, cause of the problem, and even the demographics of the residents. by looking more closely at the differences, we will gain a better understanding of these markets and of the policies or program solutions that will address their vacancy issues most effectively. one measure that is frequently cited when describing recent improvements in the national housing market is the inventory of vacant homes for sale. this measure had fallen to 1. 6 million units in the second quarter of 2012, substantially below its peak of about 2 million units in 2010 and the first half of 2011. 5 however, many vacant homes are not on the market at all. these vacant units include properties that are in the foreclosure process, bank - owned properties that are not yet for sale, as well as properties for which the cause of vacancy has no connection to the foreclosure process. indeed, the stock of non - seasonal homes held off market is nearly two and a half times as large as the for - sale vacant stock. 6 but unlike the inventory of vacant homes for sale, this