GTA sees record-breaking CRE investment in 2021

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Industrial, Office, Retail, Apartments, Land  •  Toronto / GTA

The value of Greater Toronto Area commercial real estate transactions hit a record $13.2 billion in the first half of 2021, an increase of 68 per cent over 2020. “Investors don’t see anything slowing us down,” said Altus Group‘s Ray Wong.

Gearbox investing $200M in new Mtl. studio

Commercial  •  La Presse  •  Gearbox Software media release

For its first studio outside of Texas, Gearbox Software chose Quebec City in 2015. The experience obviously pleased the Borderlands game developer, since the opening in Montreal of a second Quebec studio was announced Thursday, representing an investment of $200 million.

Nine-building mixed-use project proposed for Nanaimo

Residential, Commercial  •  CTV

Strongitharm Consulting has submitted a rezoning application to the City of Nanaimo to build eight residential buildings with approximately 700 units, a 120-room hotel and commercial space on the site of the dormant Howard Johnson Hotel in the downtown core.

Kelowna quashes McKinley Beach development sprawl

Residential  •  Kelowna Capital News  •  Castanet  •  Castanet

Despite the offer of 250 acres of parkland, Kelowna city council shot down Kinnikinnik Developments’ revised proposal to build a sprawling development near the city’s northern edge. Originally, McKinley Beach was approved as a resort community mostly comprised of multifamily developments.

SmartStop, SmartCentres open Oshawa facility

Commercial  •  Business Wire  •  RENX

SmartStop Self Storage REIT announced the opening of a newly constructed self-storage facility in Oshawa in partnership with SmartCentres REIT, (SRU-UN-T). The ground-up, four-story development includes 950 units across approximately 95,000 square feet at 600 Fox St.

HBC’s downtown Calgary store downsizing

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

Hudson’s Bay Co. is downsizing its iconic downtown Calgary store to three floors and retail analyst Bruce Winder said that could signal its days are numbered: “They occupy a sector in retail which is dying . . . it’s just changing consumer habits.”

Real Estate with Howard Drukarsh › Podcast: Howard Drukarsh with Royal LePage/Bridgemarq’s Phil Soper

Howard Drukarsh: Co-founder, Right at Home Realty

Toronto condo rental market on fire again

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Condominium apartment rents are rebounding quickly in Toronto, wiping out most of the price reductions and high vacancy rates seen just a year ago. Urbanation data shows a record 5,221 Toronto condo apartments were leased in July, up 40 per cent year-over-year.

One dead as building collapses in North Vancouver

Residential, Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun  •  Victoria Times Colonist

One person is dead and another is in hospital after a building partly collapsed at a demolition site in North Vancouver Wednesday morning. The building is to be replaced by a nine-storey mixed-use building with 75 market rental units by Cressey.

New renderings unveiled for planned Calgary arena

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

Calgarians recently received additional renderings of Calgary’s proposed new arena, but the project’s next steps are likely still months away. The building’s current price tag is estimated at $608.5 million, but the city’s share has been capped at $287.5 million.

National Bank’s Dividend All-Stars include five REITs

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

National Bank’s updated 21-stock portfolio includes: Allied Properties REIT (AP-UN-T), Choice Properties REIT (CHP-UN-T),  Crombie REIT (CRR-UN-T), CT REIT (CRT-UN-T) and Dream Industrial REIT (DIR-UN-T). BSR REIT (HOM-U-T), Summit Industrial Income REIT (SMU-UN-T) and WPT Industrial REIT (WIR-UN-T) were removed.

Outlook for REITs continues to look bright

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

So far this year, the S&P/TSX REIT Index has returned more than 27%, and as of the end of July it was the second-best performer in the broader S&P/TSX Composite Index, according to Bloomberg data.

Florida Colliers employees face felony charges

Commercial  •  Miami Herald

Colliers International Gainesville, Fla., employees, whose offices were earlier stormed by an armed SWAT team, are facing felony charges after a criminal investigation said they bilked a former employer out of a cache of confidential documents and deals worth millions.

Proptech startup funding sets first-half record

Commercial  •  PR Newswire  •  PR Newswire

The number of real estate technology startups has increased 300 per cent globally over the past decade. JLL data (JLL-N) indicates over $9.7 billion US of funding activity in the first half of 2021, the most active first half on record.

CRE lending markets continue recovery: CBRE

Commercial  •  CP Executive

U.S. commercial real estate lending increased 10.8 per cent in the second quarter from the first quarter and neared the February 2020 pre-pandemic close, according to the latest CBRE Lending Momentum Index.

U.S. median home price up 16% from 2020: Redfin

Residential  •  PR Newswire  •  Globe Newswire  •  PR Newswire

The national median home sale price increased 16 per cent year-over-year to $361,225, according to a new report from Redfin. At the same time, the share of home sellers dropping their asking prices each week continues to increase.

Halifax tenants worry about looming end to rent control

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Some Haligonians are worried about quickly rising rents and the end to the federal rent control order. The two per cent cap is set to end in 2022 or when Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted — whichever comes first.

Liberal plan to ban blind bidding ignites skirmish

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Windsor Star

The Ontario Real Estate Association panned the federal Liberals’ plan to eliminate blind bidding in the home market. “One aspect . . . would criminalize the ability for hard-working Canadians to choose how to sell their homes,” president Davie Oikle said.

End of housing market on ‘steroids’ to hit growth: Macquarie

Residential  •  Bloomberg

Macquarie Group‘s David Doyle says the decline in existing home sales is likely to weigh on growth through the back half of the year by about one percentage point due to the domestic economy’s outsized reliance on the housing sector.

Homebuilding expected to stay strong amid high demand

Residential  •  Financial Post

VIDEO: Kevin Lee, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders Association, talks with the Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn about the outlook for residential construction in Canada.

Downtown Edmonton set to return to life

Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal