Edmonton’s CRE reached five-year high in 2018

Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal

Groceries help make Crombie ‘Internet-resistant’: CEO

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Grocery stores are helping make Crombie REIT (CRR-UN-T) “Internet-resistant,” chief executive officer CEO Donald Clow said. “We’re very comfortable with the nature of the real estate that we own and looking to build more,” Clow said in an interview

Deloitte leases Vancouver co-working building from Spaces

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Metro Vancouver

Deloitte has signed a deal to lease all of Spaces‘ new Vancouver Granville Street location, a building initially intended for co-working. Deloitte will become, temporarily, the sole tenant of the seven-storey Tom Lee Building at 728 Granville.

Concert to buy 90% of Amazon’s Ottawa distribution centre

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Ottawa

Concert says its CREC Commercial Fund LP will buy a 90 per cent interest in a million-square-foot distribution facility being built in Ottawa for Amazon. The distribution centre will be completed later in 2019, and is fully leased to Amazon.

Hyatt brand returns to downtown Edmonton

Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal

The Hyatt brand is returning to Edmonton’s downtown, as the hotel chain will occupy the space of the former Enbridge Tower. In September, the Hyatt Place branding was pulled from a hotel at 9576 Jasper Ave. in the Quarters district.

Montrealers face off over Royalmount plan

Residential, Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette

Will it be a boon for Montreal’s economy or is Royalmount doomed to become a $1.7-billion white elephant? Proponents and opponents of the project squared off at city hall Wednesday, presenting radically different outcomes should the development move forward.

Capital Commentary › CMHC Flex financing an option for affordable housing

Adam Powadiuk: Business Development Manager , First National Financial

Canderel JV may join LeBreton Flats redevelopment

Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

B.C. CRE assessments process lacks teeth: Critics

Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

B.C. Assessment is doing its job with one hand tied behind its back when it comes to larger industrial, commercial and investment property valuations, according to a recently retired assessor.

National Access Cannabis Corp. acquiring New Leaf

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

National Access Cannabis Corp. (META-X) announced its wholly owned subsidiary, NAC Prairies Ltd. has entered into a share purchase agreement whereby it will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of New Leaf Emporium.

INDOCHINO to launch up to 20 new showrooms in 2019

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  Business In Vancouver

Vancouver-headquartered INDOCHINO, the global leader in custom apparel, has announced it intends to open up to 20 showrooms in North America, expand further into new product categories and start analysis for international expansion in 2019.

Clothing retailer Gymboree files for bankruptcy again

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  PR Newswire

Children’s clothing retailer  Gymboree Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the second time in almost two years, and said it will close more than 800 Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores. The company’s Canadian arm, Gymboree also intends to seek bankruptcy protection.

Canadian architects sign credentials pact with Europeans

Commercial  •  Construct Canada

An agreement between Canadian and European architects to offer reciprocal recognition of credentials will benefit the profession in Canada, enrich Canada’s urban environment and promote better architectural literacy among all Canadians, says a designer involved in drafting the accord.

Brookfield increases European student housing presence

Residential, Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Property Funds World media release

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) has strengthened its presence in the European student housing market with the acquisition of an asset in Paris. Brookfield has acquired ECLA Paris from Harrison Street for an undisclosed sum.

Vacant offices, plus housing crunch, puzzles U.S. cities

Residential, Commercial  •  Reuters

From his office in downtown Washington, D.C., architect Michael Wiencek can see something most people cannot: vacancies. “The 1970s building across the street, the four floors I see are all vacant,” he says.

U.S. medical office rents reach new highs

Commercial  •  National Real Estate Investor

Rents continued to rise in the U.S. medical office sector, reaching new highs as of Q2 2018, according to a late December report from CBRE. The average asking rent rose 1.4 per cent year-over-year to $22.90 per square foot.

Vancouver in ‘full-blown correction mode’: RBC economist

Residential  •  Bloomberg

Vancouver’s housing market is looking more fragile than Toronto a year after policy makers tightened mortgage lending to slow a boom. Data suggests Toronto is faring better and showing signs of stabilizing, while Vancouver continues its slide.

B.C. opens exemption process for speculation tax

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun  •  Global News  •  Victoria Times Colonist

All homeowners in B.C.’s largest urban centres will need to apply for exemptions from the province’s new speculation tax or receive a bill, whether they are speculators or not, the government announced Tuesday.

One-BR rents in B.C. see huge increases: PadMapper

Residential  •  Western Investor  •  Huffington Post  •  Windsor Star

With rental vacancies tight and new rent control caps the price of advertised rents in B.C. are climbing way above inflation. PadMapper reported median advertised rent for a one-bed apartment in Vancouver in December 2018 rose 6.5 per cent year-over-year, to $2,130.

RBC cuts five-year fixed mortgage rate

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Royal Bank of Canada has become the first of the major banks to lower its posted interest rate for five-year fixed-term mortgages, a move that has been widely anticipated amid tumbling bond yields.