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Canada’s hot apt. sector: Building boom, rising rents

4 years ago

How much can renters across Canada anticipate paying for their apartments in 2020? Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting have used their experience and expertise to create forecasts for the country’s largest cities and some Ontario secondary markets.

Canada’s commercial real estate market is expected perform well in 2020 with particular strength shown by the rental apartment building sector, according to Morguard’2020 Canadian Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals Report.

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Grouse Mountain resort, the Lower Mainland’s top tourist attraction, has been sold. Again. Vancouver-based Northland Properties Corp., the largest, privately held hospitality group in North America, announced Thursday it had purchased Grouse from CM (Canada) Asset Management Co.

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A judge has ordered dozens of commercial and residential buildings owned by Calgary-based Strategic Group Inc. into receivership, rejecting the company’s plan to reorganize under creditor protection. The order is a blow to Calgary real estate developer Riaz Mamdani.

Romspen Commercial Lender

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The property values of Calgary’s downtown office buildings appear to have stabilized after a sharp drop last year but home prices are still falling, according to assessment data released Thursday by the city.

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The huge Palais des congrès de Montréal will soon welcome two new rooms at the cutting edge of technology. First, a studio can be set up there that can be used to record segments for radio, television or podcasting.

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It’s Casual Tuesday at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. That’s my impression, anyway, as chief executive Evan Siddall arrives for an interview dressed like a Shopify Inc. executive, not the leader of a 73-year-old Crown financial institution.

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It was close … very close. But the largest commercial real estate transaction in Canadian history has beaten out the ongoing WeWork saga as RENX’s top commercial real estate story of 2019.

Harbour Equity

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What will make news in Quebec real estate in 2020? La Presse presents what it has on its radar screen in terms of transactions:

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Market consultant BTY is forecasting Ontario – at six to seven per cent – will lead the national construction industry in growth in 2020 followed by B.C. and Quebec. The Atlantic provinces trail the pack at zero to one per cent.

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Uncertainty dominated the Canadian and global economic landscapes in 2019. Uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade war. Uncertainty about Brexit. Uncertainty about pipelines. The pervasive trepidation roiled global financial markets and eventually led to a wave of interest-rate cuts by central banks.

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As with the prospects for the Canadian economy as a whole, highlighted in Snapshot 23, the near-term outlook for gross fixed non-residential capital formation is hobbled by the recent performance of a number of its key drivers.

Energy Profiles Limited

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Encouraging employees to venture outdoors for part of the work day is a logical next step where research shows nature is beneficial to productivity and wellness. The outdoor office trend is expected to dominate the commercial design conversation in 2020.

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Bell is exploring road condition-monitoring technology for cities and insurance companies. The technology uses smartphones to measure the speed, location, vibration and weather on roads. Bell calls it a way to efficiently repair roads more and avoid lawsuits from drivers.

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Shopping malls will transform into experience centres, forms of payment sweeping China will rise in popularity and Amazon will find out it isn’t invincible. Such are the predictions from digital marketing agency Absolunet on its top 10 eCommerce trends in 2020.

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In two decades, the canal has contributed more than $16.8 billion to Panama’s public finances. The widening of the canal in 2016 (a tripling of capacity with the possibility of carrying up to 15,000 containers) has created a leap in state resources.

Informa - 2020 Events

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A second consecutive downward year in Metro Vancouver prices — after more than two decades of fast-rising values — suggests new B.C. government taxes aimed at limiting foreign and domestic property speculation are having an impact.

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The regulatory agency for B.C.’s real estate professionals is launching a mandatory anti-money-laundering course to show real estate agents and strata and property managers how to recognize red flags and what steps they’re obligated to take to report suspected cases.

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Real estate investors are sensing opportunity and snapping up houses in smaller urban centres in Ontario, driven in part by the rise in home prices in Toronto, the country’s second-most expensive market.

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Toronto construction stakeholders are praising Mayor John Tory’s plan to increase the City Building Levy to support more transit infrastructure and affordable housing, approved Dec. 17 by city council.

Industry Events