Canada’s office market outlook improves, but recovery is slow

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  National, Metro Vancouver, Toronto / GTA, Calgary, Greater Montreal, Atlantic Canada

Major Canadian cities saw office vacancies either rise or hold steady from Q1 to Q2 in 2021, except Montreal where the vacancy rate dropped 10 basis points. That’s one of the findings from Cushman & Wakefield’s national Q2 office analysis.

Sunray buys Ontario timeshare resorts to convert to condos

RENX  Residential  •  Hotels and Resorts  •  Ontario

Sunray Group is continuing to diversify, acquiring two Central Ontario resort properties to convert from timeshares to condos. Sunray bought the 172-unit Carriage Hills Resort and the 78-unit Carriage Ridge Resort in Horseshoe Valley for $60 million

Multiple fatalities following Kelowna crane collapse

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC  •  Vancouver Sun

Mission Group CEO Jonathan Friesen said he didn’t know what caused a crane to collapse at the 25-storey Brooklyn residential tower construction site in Kelowna on Monday, resulting in “multiple” fatalities of subtrade workers.

Petra, MACH buy iconic 51-storey Montreal office tower

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Greater Montreal

Groupe Petra and MACH have finally completed a four-year odyssey, announcing they have acquired one of Montreal’s most iconic office buildings, the 51-storey, 673-foot 1000 de la Gauchetière.

Manor Park adds fourth tower to Ottawa proposal

Residential, Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Ottawa’s Manor Park Management has added a fourth tower to a mixed-use proposal in East Ottawa. The revised proposal includes two 30-storey towers, a 20-storey high-rise and an eight-storey building with ground-floor commercial space. The complex would include 870 residential units.

Greatwise, feds to bring 120 rental units to Ottawa

Residential  •  Ottawa Citizen  •  Canada Newswire

The federal government and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. are bankrolling a new nine-storey apartment in Alta Vista with a $33.8-million low-cost loan to builder Greatwise Developments. Playfair Residences will be located on an Ottawa bus route.

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Topfar proposes 14-storey condo in Yorkdale

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Topfar Developments has proposed a medium-density condo development to 3280 Dufferin St. and 12-16 Orfus Rd. in Toronto’s Yorkdale neighbourhood. The IBI Group-designed proposal would have wings of eight and 14 storeys and include 352 condo units – 265 one-bedrooms, 52 two-bedrooms, and 35 three-bedrooms.

CRE sales in Lower Mainland up 46.7 per cent YOY

Commercial  •  Western Investor

There were 576 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q1 2021, a 46.9 per cent year-over-year increase from 392 sales, according to data from Commercial Edge, a CRE system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

Calgary CRE shows signs of life in Q1: Altus Group

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

New data from Altus Group shows signs of commercial real estate market recovery in Calgary while Edmonton continues to struggle. Altus looked at the first quarter of 2021 rebound activity in Calgary and Edmonton’s commercial real estate markets, noting the cities are emerging out of a challenging 2020.

Many Sask. offices not yet ditching COVID-19 restrictions

Commercial  •  CBC

Saskatchewan officially became a COVID-19-restriction-free zone as of Sunday. However, many office workplaces such as Federated Co‑operatives Ltd. are still taking safety precautions even though public health orders requiring masking in indoor spaces and physical distancing have been lifted.

Will Ontario’s $60B transit projects be derailed?

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Over the next decade the province hopes to deliver more than $60 billion worth of transit projects in Toronto and the surrounding area. Given the size of the plan and the challenges it’s facing, can the province get it all done?

Memorial University’s $325M science building unveiled

Commercial  •  CBC

Memorial University’s new core science building will open in a matter of weeks, six years after builders first broke ground on the $325-million project. Work on the hulking, ice-white structure in St. John’s started in late 2015.

Starwood makes bid for Monmouth Real Estate: Report

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance  •  Commercial Observer  •  Globe Newswire

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. received an unsolicited takeover bid from U.S. investment firm Starwood Capital Group, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing sources. The deal values Monmouth at around $1.84 billion. Starwood Capital declined to comment.

Officials across Florida rethink condo inspection policies

Residential  •  Associated Press

Across Florida, people living in the thousands of condominiums rising above the state’s 1,350 miles of coastline wonder if the building collapse in Surfside could happen to their home as state and local officials discuss what they can do to make sure it doesn’t.

Institutional funds zero in on Japan residential sector

Residential  •  South China Morning Post

Institutional investors are flocking into Japan’s residential property market, as value assets in one of Asia’s most prosperous nations outweigh concerns of a resurgence in COVID-19, aging demographics and the trend of remote work that has emptied major urban centres.

Insurance spike forces municipalities to raise taxes

Residential  •  Financial Post

Canadian municipalities reeling from a pandemic-driven hit to revenues are facing an added blow from surging liability insurance costs, forcing them to raise property taxes or even cut services for residents.

Affordability crisis a pandemic legacy: OREA

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Globe Newswire  •  Global News

Fifty-six per cent of Ontario would-be homeowners have given up or are pessimistic they will ever own a home, says the Housing Affordability in Ontario: Perceptions, Impacts, And Solutions report conducted by Abacus Data for the Ontario Real Estate Association.

Canada’s luxury market keeps smashing records

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Global News

Canada’s luxury real estate market continues to see strength as multi-million-dollar home sales smash records. Toronto led the charge with a 400 per cent increase in attached home sales worth over $4 million since last year, according to Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.

Luxury market emerging on Vancouver Island

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

Amid the pandemic, a luxury market has emerged on Vancouver Island – driven by wealthy people seeking a more temperate climate and better lifestyle. Towns and even villages that had long been hidden gems are suddenly very much on the map.