The Saskatchewan Edge

Kelly Macsymic Business Manager, Stuart Commercial Inc., Sales Associate, ICR Commercial Real Estate

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

The Saskatchewan Edge

The Bay is resurrecting Zellers

Kelly Macsymic Commercial Retail National Jan. 20 2023

Hear ye, hear ye: news dropped this week as to which Hudson’s Bay (HBC, The Bay) department stores will feature restored Zellers stores within their existing footprints.

Property taxes one of many benefits to setting up in Saskatchewan

Barry Stuart Commercial Taxes Saskatchewan Nov. 28 2022

Altus Group has recently released its 2022 Canadian Property Tax Rate Benchmark Report, which provides some interesting stats. Saskatchewan’s costs are far below the national average.

Debunking (more) commercial real estate myths

Kelly Macsymic Commercial Brokers National Nov. 21 2022

Myths are described as either traditional stories of phenomenon, or more commonly, a widely held but false belief or idea.

Every Saskatoon CRE vacancy rate drops

Barry Stuart Commercial Office Saskatchewan Oct. 26 2022

The raw data for our third-quarter 2022 market reports have been compiled, and the findings are fascinating. All the main categories ― downtown and suburban office, retail and industrial sectors ― have seen positive absorption since the last quarter.

New arena would continue downtown Saskatoon revival

Kelly Macsymic Commercial Development Saskatchewan Sep. 26 2022

Build it and they will come – at least Saskatoon’s city council hopes so. As council endeavours to bring a new downtown arena to fruition, it’s worth noting the changes that have already taken place in the core and how

Where do Saskatoon industrial leasing rates go from here?

Barry Stuart Commercial Market Trends Saskatchewan Sep. 2 2022

Oil and gas prices will continue to drive economic growth in Saskatchewan and Alberta through 2024, according to the Conference Board of Canada. Saskatchewan will also benefit from higher prices for commodities such as wheat and potash. Saskatchewan is reported

Cost adjustments and the slow road to a property sale

Barry Stuart Commercial Buying and Selling Saskatchewan Aug. 22 2022

All parties to a sale (brokers, property managers, buyers, sellers and lawyers) must be prepared for the process necessary to calculate occupancy cost adjustments at sale closing. If you’re selling multi-tenant commercial real estate, the final statement of adjustments that

When the clock is running out to lease business space

Barry Stuart Commercial Brokers National Aug. 12 2022

Lease expiries creep up much faster than most tenants expect. Committing to a five-year term can seem like a lifetime for a business, but that deadline moves up in the blink of an eye. For a tenant considering renewing or

Big divide between Saskatoon downtown, suburban office vacancy

Barry Stuart Commercial Market Reports Saskatchewan Jul. 22 2022

This Saskatoon office vacancy graph (shown below) does a good job illustrating the divide between Saskatoon downtown and suburban office vacancy. We see the relative similarity between the downtown and suburban office vacancy trends for the 12 years between 2008

The pitfalls of verbal commercial real estate negotiations

Barry Stuart Commercial Brokers National Jul. 20 2022

I’ve had two requests in recent weeks to enter into discussions around the price and terms of a transaction. I declined both requests. Let me explain why. One was for a lease renewal negotiation and one was for a building

Tight industrial market calls for compromise from buyers, tenants

Kelly Macsymic Commercial Brokers National Jul. 15 2022

The lack of inventory in Saskatoon’s industrial sector is further stymied by the type of properties which are available. Many industrial users have needs that simply can’t be met by older product. This is not the time to get picky

Value of Saskatchewan farmland continues to rise

Kelly Macsymic Commercial Market Reports National Jun. 23 2022

The pandemic wreaked havoc on many industries, but farmland still remains a hot commodity. Canadian farmland has steadily increased in price since 2012 and Saskatchewan values are no exception. The Farm Credit Canada report Farm Credit Canada (FCC) annually reports

Up to 165 per cent variance in Saskatchewan CRE property taxes

Barry Stuart Commercial Taxes Saskatchewan Jun. 9 2022

My colleague Eugene Hritzuk recently completed an interesting study of property taxes in 16 Saskatchewan cities. In each case, the estimate was calculated based on a $4-million commercial property assessment from 2021. The variance was substantial depending on where he

Can a grocery store work in an area with too few residents?

Barry Stuart Commercial Shopping Centres Saskatchewan May. 16 2022

The current Saskatoon downtown population is 3,106, according to eHealth Saskatchewan, down from a high of 3,331 in 2020. With this limited population base, Saskatoon has struggled to attract a downtown grocery store. The city has been without a downtown

Face your fear and do it!

Barry Stuart Commercial Strategy National Apr. 18 2022

“Face your fear and do it.” That is advice I received from a client many years ago when I was considering investing in my first commercial real estate property. I took his advice, partnered with a colleague, bought the apartment

Required steps to valuing development lands

Barry Stuart Residential Buying and Selling National Mar. 21 2022

As brokers, landowners engage us to provide an opinion of the value of development land. At the same time, those landowners often offer what are believed to be comparable land sales within close proximity to the subject property. What they

Seeking like-minded commercial condo owners

Kelly Macsymic Commercial Buying and Selling National Mar. 11 2022

Condo ownership can be likened to a long-term personal relationship. This is probably most relevant in residential examples; your home tends to be more sentimental than your work environment. However, you spend a lot of time at work. Due to

The gap between CRE financing and returns is narrowing

Barry Stuart Commercial Buying and Selling National Feb. 23 2022

The markets are pricing in five, quarter-point interest rate increases in 2022 which will result in commercial mortgage rates ranging between four to over five per cent. What will be the consequences of this increase to the commercial real estate

Best practices for negotiating commercial real estate

Barry Stuart Commercial Buying and Selling National Feb. 7 2022

There are many working parts in offering to purchase or lease a commercial real estate property. Determining the strategy you will employ in a negotiation, however, can have a big bearing on the outcome. I just received an offer on

Saskatoon industrial market far exceeds my 2021 prediction

Barry Stuart Commercial Market Reports Saskatchewan Jan. 19 2022

I was a bit off the mark! One year ago, I predicted the Saskatoon industrial vacancy rate would slip under five per cent by year end. It was sitting at 5.32 per cent at that time. We’re just about to

Owners and tenants beware: Airbnb vs. Vrbo

Barry Stuart Residential Leasing National Dec. 17 2021

Navigating the differences between Vrbo and Airbnb can be confusing for both guests and owners. Often owners will list their property on both sites and if the two platforms are not analyzed, guests can unknowingly pay more for a property

Why you should sell your commercial real estate now

Barry Stuart Commercial Buying and Selling National Dec. 7 2021

There has never been a better time to cash out of your Saskatchewan industrial and retail real estate. While there is currently also demand from owner occupants for office buildings, that demand is not the same for multi-tenant offices due

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