CIBC’s Benjamin Tal on inflation, interest rates and CRE

RENX  Residential  •  Industrial, Office, Retail, Apartments  •  National

The Bank of Canada is trying to convince people it’s serious about decreasing inflation, which reached 6.9 per cent last month – the highest in 31 years. But CIBC’s Benjamin Tal sees rising interest rates as just as big a concern.

Dava acquires Vancouver’s Il Mercato mall

Commercial  •  Daily Hive

Richmond-based Dava Developments has acquired Il Mercato Shopping Centre at 1641 Commercial Dr. in Vancouver. The 1986-built, four-storey mall has 66,000 square feet of retail area including its Super Valu grocery store anchor. The property’s latest assessed value is $42 million.

Brick-and-mortar confidence fuelling surge in leases

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

As many Canadians no longer fear congregating and vaccine passports have been dropped, real estate firms say retail and restaurant chains are scrambling to pick up space again, says Jonathan Gitlin, chief executive of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust.

Great Gulf, Dream propose 41-storey mixed-use tower

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

Dream Unlimited Corp. and Great Gulf Group propose a 41-storey mixed-use tower for Phase One of a five-building, mixed-use development at 351 Lake Shore E. The Schmidt Hammer Lassen-designed building would include 691 residential units – 42 studios, 339 one-bedrooms, 241 two-bedrooms and 69 three-bedrooms.

Quebec unveils plan to limit urban sprawl

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

After coming under fire from Quebec mayors, the Legault government announced Monday it will work from now on to limit urban sprawl.

Real Estate by the Numbers › Vancouver’s proposed empty stores tax is not the best approach

Volodya Gusak: President, Denciti Development

Franklin Empire launches 190K-sq.-ft. Montreal HQ

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Franklin Empire Inc., the largest independently owned electrical distributor in Canada, has launched construction of its 190,000-square-foot headquarters in Montreal’s borough of Saint-Laurent. The building by MONTONI, which will triple the firm’s warehouse space, will complete in summer 2023.

Mtl. Chinatown mall to be redeveloped as hotel

Commercial  •  La Presse

The moribund Plaza Swatow shopping centre, in the heart of Montreal’s Chinatown, will change its vocation to become a hotel establishment. According to the information appearing in the building permit, techno-real estate company Sonder will operate the hotel.

CRE landlords invest in quality post-pandemic

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Pre-pandemic, landlords didn’t need to invest in fully leased buildings, says CBRE’s Jon Ramscar; “. . . as available space increases, we’re going to see landlords getting much more competitive to offer compelling rate structures but also investing in their buildings and lobbies.”

No full return to the office for five years: Rose

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  RENX

Remote work is here for another five years, says Avison Young CEO Mark Rose. “The beginning of the full return to office is two years from now,” Rose said.

Mphasis opens a delivery centre in Calgary

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

India-based IT solutions provider Mphasis, specializing in cloud and cognitive services, announced the opening of its Canadian delivery centre at First Tower in downtown Calgary. The company plans to create 1,000 technology jobs over two years in Alberta.

Canmore to appeal development order by Alta. tribunal

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Canmore will try to appeal a Land and Property Rights Tribunal of Alberta decision ordering it to allow two major developments – Three Sisters Mountain Village and Smith Creek – that would almost double the town’s population in the coming decades.

U.S. CRE sales decline for first time since January 2021

Commercial  •  Bisnow

For the first time since January 2021, U.S. CRE sales volume declined, spurred to a double-digit drop in part by rising interest rates. Commercial property sales dropped 16% nationwide in April year-over-year, according to MSCI Real Assets data. Property sales totalled $39.4 billion.

Remote work could slash U.S. office values $500B

Commercial  •  Globest.com

A research team from NYU and Columbia University projected the “value destruction” in the U.S. office sector could top $500 billion by 2029 if hybrid work takes root and lease revenue shrinks along with office footprints.

Manhattan apt. rent soars 38.7% year-over-year

Residential  •  Newsweek

Apartment rent prices are skyrocketing in New York City, beating out fast-rising rents nationwide. In April, the net effective median rent in Manhattan soared to a new high of $3,870 at the fastest annual rate on record, up 38.7 per cent year-over-year.

Small investors eye single-family rentals in Arizona

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

In search of cash flow for small-scale rental investors, Amy Leong, a sales advisor with Engel & Volkers Vancouver and business partner Ally Ballam are suggesting buyers shift their gaze from the coast to the desert of the American south-west.

Interest rate hikes could cause housing-related recession

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Canada could be at risk of a recession induced by a rapidly correcting housing market if the Bank of Canada gets too aggressive with its rate hikes, according to a report from Capital Economics senior Canada economist Stephen Brown.

Canada’s housing markets rebalancing quickly: RBC

Residential  •  RBC blog  •  Financial Post  •  Business In Vancouver

The wind is definitely shifting — and becoming a lot chillier — for Canada’s housing market. Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and Hamilton were among the areas experiencing significant pullbacks in home resale activity in May.

Some T.O. real estate markets hot while others not

Residential  •  Toronto Star

According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, The Bridle Path, a tony area in North York, saw a 12 per cent jump in its average home price from April to May, while West Midtown saw a 30 per cent drop.

Moncton named top place in Canada to buy real estate

Residential  •  CTV  •  Daily Hive  •  CTV

The 2022 edition of Money Sense’s “Where to Buy Real Estate in Canada” listed the Greater Moncton area as the top place in the country for homebuyers.