Avenue Living expands its reach, tops $2B in AUM

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Apartments, Industrial  •  National, International, Calgary

Calgary-based Avenue Living Asset Management was founded in 2006 with the purchase of 24 residential rental units in Brooks, Alberta, for $3 million. Recently, the fast-growing company surpassed $2 billion in assets under management.

Dye & Durham buying software DoProcess for $530M

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Canada Newswire

Shares of Dye & Durham (DND-T) soared to a new high Thursday after the Toronto company said it would buy Canada’s largest provider of real estate practice management software, DoProcess LP, from OMERS-owned Teranet Inc. for $530 million.

Uptown plans 28-storey office bldg. next to RBC Tower

Commercial  •  urbanYVR

Uptown Property Group plans a modern, 28-storey glass office tower for a vacant Vancouver lot at 625 West Hastings, next to the 1930s Royal Bank Tower. The MCMP Architects-designed project would include the rehabilitation of the Royal Bank Tower.

HBC takes Queen’s Park to court to fight lockdowns

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  CBC  •  Financial Post

Hudson’s Bay Co. has filed an application with the Ontario Superior Court  in a bid to ease retail lockdowns in Ontario’s Peel Region and the Greater Toronto Area. HBC called the lockdowns “irrational,” “arbitrary,” and “devoid of logic and consistency.”

Airbnb value tops $100B US following IPO

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

San Francisco-based Airbnb (ABNB-Q) made a triumphant debut on the public market on Thursday. Its shares closed at US$144.71, more than double the US$68 price Airbnb had set. The closing price gave the company a valuation of over US$100 billion.

The Saskatchewan Edge › Trust happens when I’m transparent with clients

Barry Stuart: Managing Partner and Senior Sales Associate , ICR Commercial Real Estate

Alberta hotels may be forced to shutter

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

Vancouver paid more than $7.5M for decrepit hotels

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Vancouver paid more than the $7.5 million estimated by city staff two years ago to expropriate two decrepit Downtown Eastside hotels from the Sahota family. The Regent and Balmoral hotels routinely violated city bylaws related to pests, plumbing and fire safety.

Household debt ratio rises to 170.7 per cent

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Statistics Canada says Canadian households owed an average of $1.71 for every dollar of disposable income in the third quarter. That was up from 162.8 per cent in the second quarter, but still down from the $1.81 in Q4 2019.

Champion, Nexst JV on six-storey mixed-use building

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR

A rezoning for a six-storey building is the first new residential project on Vancouver’s Dundas-Powell Street corridor in over a decade. Champion Development Group and Nexst Properties’ mixed-use project will consist of 89 secured market rental units and ground-floor retail.

Lululemon raises holiday sales forecast

Commercial  •  Reuters

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU-Q) raised its holiday quarter revenue and profit forecasts on Thursday, as the COVID-19 pandemic induced popularity of home workouts boosted demand for athleisure apparel. The shares have gained about 60 per cent this year.

Costco tops expectations amid pandemic sales gains

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  Globe Newswire

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST-Q) topped Wall Street’s profit expectations during the first quarter amid continued high demand for food and supplies, even as the warehouse chain said pandemic-related costs remain elevated.

BSR REIT sells Texas lodge for $44.0M

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

BSR REIT (HOM.U-T) announced it has sold West End Lodge located in Beaumont, Texas, built in 2010 and comprising 360 apartment units, for gross proceeds of $44.0 million as part of its portfolio enhancement growth strategy.

Starbucks eyes walk-thru stores, technology

Commercial  •  Reuters

Starbucks Corp. CEO Kevin Johnson said customers will flock back to cafes once the coronavirus pandemic is over, even as the company builds more walk-thru locations without seating in major cities.

AMC gets $100M investment in bid to stave off bankruptcy

Commercial  •  Reuters

AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC-N) said on Friday it will receive $100 million as an investment from Mudrick Capital Management, a shot in the arm for the cash-strapped movie theater operator struggling with delayed Hollywood releases and theater closures.

Minto Apartment files final base shelf prospectus for $800M

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Minto Apartment REIT (MI-UN-T) announced it has filed and obtained a receipt for its final short form base shelf prospectus. The prospectus is valid for a 25-month period with an aggregate offering amount of up to $800 million.

Crescendo leveraging aging assets against Ont.’s housing shortage

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Crescendo Equity‘s most recent ventures involve repositioning underperforming assets in high-potential submarkets throughout Ontario. As such, Crescendo Equity has recently acquired a shuttered retirement home in Niagara Falls, with plans to convert the property into high-end apartments.

Vancouver approves 5% property tax hike for 2020

Residential  •  CTV  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Homeowners in B.C.’s most populous city will be paying higher property taxes in the coming year. The City of Vancouver approved Tuesday an operating budget of $1.6 billion for 2021, which includes a five per cent property tax hike.

Real estate market going to be very busy in 2021: RE/MAX exec

Residential  •  Bloomberg

VIDEO: Christopher Alexander, executive vice president and regional director of Ontario-Atlantic Region for RE/MAX, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss Canada’s anticipated trends for 2021 as the country continues to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.

GTA housing market may avoid traditional holiday slowdown

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Changing housing needs triggered by the pandemic and low interest rates have kept the housing market in Canada boiling, says Royal Bank of Canada senior economist Robert Hogue, who calls the core 416 area code “both hot and lukewarm.”