Grosvenor buys 14-acre Vancouver Oakridge dev. site

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Retail, Apartments  •  Metro Vancouver

Grosvenor has acquired the 14-acre former Oakridge Transit Centre (OTC) in Vancouver, where it will become the lead developer of a major mixed-use project designed to deliver 17 buildings and 1,630 new residential units.

Nicola, PC Urban acquire Coquitlam ind. land for $24M

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  RENX  •  RENX

Nicola Wealth Real Estate and PC Urban Properties have acquired 3.4 acres of Coquitlam industrial land for $24 million, $6.4 million above its BC Assessment value. Plans are to develop the space into 100,000 square feet of strata industrial units for owner-users and investors.

Fortress founders charged with fraud

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  CBC  •  Globe and Mail

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have charged founders Jawad Rathore of Markham, Ont., and Vince Petrozza of Richmond Hill, Ont., with fraud in connection with a syndicated mortgages scheme involving Fortress Real Developments, following a years-long investigation.

Slate Grocery REIT to acquire $551M retail portfolio

RENX  Commercial  •  Retail  •  International

Slate Grocery REIT (SGR-UN-T) will acquire a portfolio of 14 U.S. grocery-anchored retail properties for $551 million Cdn., and form a joint venture with Slate North American Essential Real Estate Income Fund L.P. to hold the assets.

Developers on edge over rapid construction cost hikes

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor  •  Western Investor

Rising construction costs could put the brakes on new development in the coming months, but developers including Cadillac Fairview are finding creative ways to keep projects moving forward.

Coca-Cola to build $18M distribution hub in Richmond

Commercial  •  Western Investor  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Coca-Cola Canada Bottling (KO-N) is investing $24 million for a new bottling line at its 2471 Viking Way bottling plant in Richmond, in addition to $18 million to build a 240,000-square-foot distribution centre at 8040 Zylmans Way expected to open in spring 2024.

Calgary’s new BMO Centre shows scope and size

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

As the new $500-million BMO Centre begins to take shape, it is showing the true size of the project — not just from a construction aspect but also in terms of potential impact on Calgary.

Calgary Tower office space may make way for farming

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  Calgary Herald  •  Globe and Mail

Calgary’s Agriplay Ventures expects to convert up to 65,000 square feet of rentable office space in the iconic Calgary Tower — formerly used for record storage by oilpatch giant Encana — to grow commercial quantities of fruits and vegetables.

Annual inflation rate spikes to 7.7%, highest since 1983

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Toronto Star  •  Financial Post

Canadian inflation accelerated to the highest rate in nearly four decades in May as calls broaden for policy makers to find new ways of curbing runaway price growth. The consumer price index rose 7.7 per cent year-over-year.

Real World of Real Estate › Podcast: Proptech and the future of the renovation marketplace

Gerald Tostowaryk:

GWL Realty Advisors wins two HOOPP LEAP Awards

Residential, Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

An innovative rooftop garden and a portfolio-wide hazard and risk assessment helped earn GWL Realty Advisors Inc. (GWLRA) two honours, Stakeholder Engagement and Climate Leadership Innovator, at the 2022 HOOPP LEAP Awards.

North Drive proposes 12-storey mixed-use

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

North Drive has proposed a 12-storey mixed-use building at 1086 Yonge St., a short walk north of Rosedale Subway Station. The Reflect Architecture-designed building would include 30 residential units, five retail units at grade and four commercial office units.

U.S. CRE starts, plans increase despite recession fears

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Interest rates are rising, inflation is at generational highs and a recession may be on the way, but U.S. CRE construction starts are up and projects in planning rose in May. Experts say that isn’t likely to change.

U.S. rents surpass pre-COVID levels by 26.6%

Residential  •  PR Newswire  •  Globe Newswire  •  Globe and Mail

The U.S. median rental price hit its latest new high of $1,849 per month in May, representing a 26.6% increase since 2019 before the pandemic began, according to the Realtor.com Monthly Rental Report released today.

Home prices could decline 20%: Capital Economics

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

An increasingly hawkish Bank of Canada, the widening of mortgage spreads and news that Magenta Capital Corporation has suspended new loan applications has prompted Capital Economics to deepen its forecast of home price declines to 20 per cent.

Variable-rate mortgage payments could increase

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  Canada Newswire

The “trigger rate” interest-rate level, an obscure feature of variable-rate mortgages, may push up the monthly payments for an increasing number of borrowers as the Bank of Canada aggressively hikes interest rates.

Mississauga Canada’s most expensive city: Study

Residential  •  Insauga

A new study, conducted by insurance provider PolicyAdvisor, concludes the five most expensive cities in both Canada and the U.S. when it comes to cost of living versus income are New York City, Mississauga, Vancouver, Hamilton and Toronto.

In Toronto real estate, buyers gain the upper hand

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The reality of a swift and dramatic change in the Toronto-area real estate market is sinking in for sellers and buyers. “It’s crazy how different it has become in only a matter of months,” says Century 21 Legacy’s Pritesh Parekh.

Sale of new GTA homes continue slump in May

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Globe Newswire

Building Industry and Land Development Association CEO David Wilkes is warning the re-elected provincial government must keep its commitment to increasing housing supply, even though sales of new construction homes continued to slump in May.

Alberta housing starts rebound to 2015 levels

Residential  •  Bloomberg

Surging oil prices fuel a fresh building boom in Alberta. According to Statistics Canada, housing starts in Alberta, seasonally adjusted at an annual rate, climbed by 15.2 per cent to a seven-year high of 46,456 units in May.