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‘COVID catalyst’ to keep driving housing market: Soper

2 years ago

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 will likely act as a stimulant to Canada’s residential real estate market in 2022 by delaying central bankers’ plans to raise interest rates, says Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper.

Gairloch Developments has made its reputation on building mid-rise condominiums, but a proposed 34-storey tower in Toronto’s Mount Dennis area will be its first solo high-rise.

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Rounding up another 365 days of city-building is Urban Toronto’s eighth annual Year-End Readers’ Poll, where readers vote on their favourite new buildings completed over the past 12 months. There are 72 recently finished projects with photographic confirmation of having been completed.

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While everyone seems to think immediately about more condos, many projects are underway to satisfy the demand for more rental housing, too. We identify the largest rental projects either currently under construction, or in the late pre-development stages.

Flamingo Block

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A bold speculation by Sun Life Financial and BentallGreenOak has paid off with the complete pre-leasing of a 343,000-square-foot distribution centre in Campbell Heights, Surrey, B.C., more than six months before its completion.

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Private equity real estate investors are raising money faster than they can spend it. U.S. funds have amassed a record $287.8 billion for commercial-property deals, according to Preqin. That’s up 11% from a year earlier and 57% more than at the end of 2019.

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Every December, professionals across various real estate sectors race around, stressed, trying to get those last few contracts signed before the calendar turns. The fourth quarter, and especially December, almost always sees a surge of deals closed. But why?

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The former home to the OPP at 49 South Service Road in Mississauga, an 8,000-square-foot institutional building located on a polygon-shaped plot of land, is considered “surplus to provincial needs”. It’s up for sale for $1 by Infrastructure Ontario.

Fengate

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OPINION: By 2023 the Port Lands Flood Protection Project will completely re-engineer the Don’s mouth, protecting 240 hectares on the doorstep of downtown Toronto, and opening a huge area for new building. The $1.25-billion effort is overseen by Waterfront Toronto.

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The prevailing storyline ahead of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping period was that 2021 was going to be a very strong one for Canadian retailers. However, the Canadian Black Friday/Holiday Survey 2021, by Leger and DIG360, casts some doubt on that sentiment.

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The Birks Group of Montreal has modified two of its credit lines, entering an $85-million modified senior secured revolving credit facility agreement with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, and a $12.5-million senior secured term loan agreement with Crystal Financial LLC.

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It has been a transformative year for the Weston family businesses, with changes that have shaken up the leadership of the retail empire and jettisoned assets. Most recently it finalized a deal to sell British department store operator Selfridges Group.

100 Ace Drive

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In some ways, 2021 felt like 2020 redux thanks to COVID-19. However, actually quite a lot happened in the CRE world this year as last year’s deep freeze in activity thawed and gave way to one of the hottest investment markets ever.

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Drugstore chain Rite Aid said Tuesday it plans to shutter at least 63 U.S. stores as it reassesses how many locations it needs. The company anticipates it will find additional shops to shut in the next several months.

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American Finance Trust, Inc. (AFIN-Q) is buying a portfolio of U.S. retail centres from subsidiaries of CIM Real Estate Finance Trust for $1.3 billion, expanding its focus on necessity-based shopping. The New York-based REIT will purchase 81 outdoor shopping centres.

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The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced a commitment of $205.6 million to a joint venture with Mitsubishi Estate Co. to pursue investments in commercial and residential assets in Japan. The venture will be managed by Mitsubishi Jisho Investment Advisors.

ProREIT

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Condo transactions flew through the roof this year, spiking in the third quarter with the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reporting 5,279 transactions in that three-month span, a year-over-year jump of over 10.7 per cent.

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Canadian households and housing markets can weather the interest rate increases the Bank of Canada is widely expected to deliver next year. Fewer than half of Canadian households have mortgages or home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs).

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A proposal to turn one house into two is all it took to transform the quiet Toronto neighbourhood of St. Andrew-Windfields into a battlefield. Neighbours flooded local authorities with letters pleading to be saved from the “lot division nightmare.”

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Mere weeks after the record-setting $18.5 million private sale of a historic estate in Westmount, a waterfront mansion in Senneville has officially become the most expensive home ever sold through the MLS in Quebec.

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