CRE investment outlook good, but less capital available

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment  •  National, Toronto / GTA

Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, Canada remains a good place to invest according to senior executives who closed the Sept. 8 RealREIT conference in Toronto with a discussion moderated by RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T) president/CEO Jonathan Gitlin.

PCI invests $1.2B in Surrey’s King George Hub redev.

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Homes  •  Metro Vancouver

The massive King George Hub transit-oriented development in Surrey has reached another milestone as PCI Developments moves forward to complete the project, which responds to burgeoning housing demand in the region.

$99M Cascades Casino Delta to open Sept. 29

Commercial  •  Daily Hive  •  Surrey Now-Leader  •  Delta Optimist

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment‘s $99-million Cascades Casino Delta will open in Delta, B.C., on Sept. 29. The IBI Group-designed complex spans 160,000 square feet. A five-storey hotel with 124 guest rooms, plus meeting and conference space, is attached to the casino building,

National Bank sets 40% for employee office time

Commercial  •  La Presse  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

National Bank (NA-T) announced to its employees Wednesday its intention to accelerate the return to the office. Instead of imposing a number of days for staff in hybrid mode, it expects employees to spend 40% of their time in the office.

American pool-maker building Kingston-area facility

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Latham Group., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of fibreglass pools, is building a 160,000-square-foot state-of-the-art pool manufacturing plant on 148 acres of industrial land just outside of Kingston and will be hiring up to 200 people over the next several months.

Sponsored by FCT No safe bet: CRA tax liens and the challenge for lenders

How can lenders operate in a market with uncertainty and risk? By protecting themselves with a Super Priority Lien Endorsement.

City, UCalgary target under-utilized downtown spaces

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News  •  City of Calgary media release  •  Calgary Herald

The City of Calgary is funnelling $350,000 into research from the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, which has concluded Calgary’s downtown core has about 1,600 spaces that aren’t being used to their full potential.

Concrete on Saddledome roof is crumbling: Reports

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Global News  •  Calgary Herald

Part of the roof of Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome is falling apart. Literally. Documents show that pieces of concrete have fallen loose from the roof’s ring beam while other crumbling pieces have been removed to prevent them from falling.

Vegan food business pulls plug on Van. flagship store

Commercial  •  Daily Hive  •  Vancouver is Awesome

The Very Good Butchers, a Victoria-based vegan food business, has pulled the plug on its planned Vancouver flagship location, a 10,000-square-foot facility slated to open in Mount Pleasant. The company had closed its flagship store in Victoria earlier this year.

Walmart AI technology to replenish shelves faster

Commercial  •  Canadian Grocer

After a 70-store pilot, Walmart Canada is bringing technology that automates out-of-stock detection to its stores nationwide. The AI solution from Focal Systems works by scanning shelves at predetermined intervals via computer vision cameras installed in popular areas.

Summit REIT upgraded to BBB by DBRS

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Summit Industrial Income REIT (SMU-UN-T) announced DBRS Morningstar has upgraded its Issuer Rating and Senior Unsecured Debentures rating to BBB from BBB (low) and maintained the positive trends.

Killam, Summit have dividend yields of over 3%

Residential, Commercial  •  Motley Fool  •  Motley Fool  •  Motley Fool

A growth-oriented Canadian REIT, Killam Apartment (KMP-UN-T) owns, operates and develops apartments and MHCs (manufactured home communities). An open-ended mutual fund trust, Summit Industrial Income REIT (SMU-UN-T) owns and manages a portfolio of light industrial properties in Canada.

Inflation surprise adds more pressure to U.S. CRE

Commercial  •  Bisnow

The prospect of further monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve Board could have more profound effects on the U.S. commercial real estate sector than the last round of hikes, experts told Bisnow Tuesday.

Starbucks to open 2,000 U.S. stores In 3 years

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Globe and Mail

Coffee giant Starbucks (SBUX-Q) wants to be even larger, with plans to roll out a net of 2,000 new stores in the U.S. by 2025, the company said at its 2022 Investor Day event in Seattle. There are about 15,500 locations in the U.S.

CRE remains a bright spot in China

Residential, Commercial  •  CNBC

Chinese commercial property investors and their tenants don’t face the same pressures as residential counterparts who are struggling against slower sales, recessionary and debt pressures, says partner Nicholas Spiro of real estate advisory Lauressa Advisory.

U.S. mortgage rates exceed 6% for first time since 2008

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Freddie Mac (FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.02 per cent, exceeding six per cent for the first time since late 2008.

Home sales fall for sixth straight month: CREA

Residential  •  Bloomberg  •  CTV  •  Canada Newswire

Canadian home sales edged down one per cent month-over-month in August, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) another sign the rising cost of borrowing is taking a toll on residential real estate.

Montreal property tax assessments up 32.4%

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette  •  CBC  •  Canada Newswire

Assessments for property tax are up by 32.4 per cent on the Island of Montreal. That’s a precipitous jump from the 2020-’22 tax roll, which showed a 13.7 per cent increase in values roll-over-roll. Three years before that, the increase was 5.9 per cent.

Pandemic homebuyers did not panic buy: Survey

Residential  •  STOREYS

Most people have probably come away from COVID-19 with a few purchases they now question, but for Canadian homebuyers who purchased a home during the pandemic, that home wasn’t one of them, according to a new survey by Zolo.

Canadians have too much wealth tied up in houses

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

OPINION: Canadians have way too much faith that owning houses and condos will bring them financial success over the long term. An Ipsos poll of 18,000 documents show 77 per cent of Canada’s total household assets are tied up in real estate.