Bosa launches Gensler-designed Central Park House condo tower

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums  •  Metro Vancouver

Colin Bosa, CEO for Bosa Properties, and his team toured the world seeking the right architect for their new condo tower in Burnaby’s Metrotown, which would become one of the first to launch in Metro Vancouver amid the pandemic.

Bosa building three Victoria residential towers

Residential  •  Victoria Times Colonist

A dozen years after Dockside Green’s former owner announced it was taking a “pause” in development, current owner Bosa Development is building three residential towers with a total of 365 units in the Victoria mixed-use community.

26.5-acre Victoria-area development site on the market

Residential  •  Victoria Times Colonist

The 26.5-acre Two Waters Colwood property – zoned for 707 units – is on the market to pay off a $25.4-million debt in a court-ordered sale. An initial 88 units were built more than a decade ago, but there has been no additional construction.

DMJ Eglinton proposes 30-storey mixed-use building

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

DMJ Eglinton has proposed a 30-storey residential/mixed-use building at 1812 Eglinton Ave. W. in Toronto’s Fairbank area. Designed by IBI Group, the proposal incorporates two 7-storey podium elements, connected by a 23-storey tower with ground-level retail and 381 dwelling units.

Downtown Van. office vacancy tops 2008 level: CBRE

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun  •  Western Investor

Downtown Vancouver’s office vacancy rate is at 6.7 per cent, putting it above the peak levels that followed the global financial crisis in 2008, according to a CBRE report. Cresa‘s Ross Moore predicts vacancy could climb to 18.3 per cent.

Canadian developers have ‘a lot to learn’ from Asia

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

Canadian designers and developers can see the future if they look to Asia, where urban design and development trends in major cities there have yet to establish ground in cities like Toronto and Vancouver, according to a recent webinar.

The Saskatchewan Edge › Saskatoon sees largest industrial vacancy drop in a decade

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

Tightening stress test could have quick impact: RBC

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  CBC  •  Canada Newswire

RBC CEO Dave McKay said the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions‘ proposed tweak to a mortgage stress test could have a swift effect on the housing market, currently beset by limited supply and surging demand.

Dream uses $120M green loan to upgrade GTA complex

BIZ  Energy, Commercial, Real Estate  •  Toronto / GTA

Dream Impact Trust (MPCT-UN-T) is putting a $120-million green loan from HSBC (HSBC-N) to work making significant mechanical and other improvements at its Sussex Centre office complex in Mississauga.

Labour shortage looms for B.C. construction

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor

Because Canadians are retiring at a rate that exceeds workforce entry rates, a skilled labour shortage that has been predicted for about a decade has already arrived for B.C.’s construction sector, according to the Independent Contractors and Business Association (ICBA).

Roots reports $12.3M profit despite pandemic

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  Canada Newswire

Roots Corp. (ROOT-T) earned a profit of $12.3 million in its fourth quarter even as its sales fell due to the pandemic. The retailer says its profit amounted to 29 cents per share for the three-month period ended Jan. 30.

Real estate podcasts

Residential, Commercial  • 

Fraser Roberts, INTECH Risk Management: A difficult insurance market, CRE Podcast
Jeff Kohn, Craig Coleman, Epic Investment Services: Strategy & management, CRE Library: Episode 46
Catherine Marshall, RealAlts: ESG and real estate outperformance, CRE Podcast

U.S. mall vacancies jump at fastest pace on record

Commercial  •  CNBC

The vacancy rate for regional malls in the United States hit a record 11.4 per cent in Q1 2021 from 10.5% in Q4 2020, according to Moody’s Analytics’ commercial real estate division. The 90 basis-points increase marked the highest the firm has ever seen.

U.S. office landlords offer discounts to lock in leases

Commercial  •  propmodo  •  Bloomberg

Office landlords in New York, Chicago and San Francisco are giving tenants discounts of up to 13 per cent compared to Q1 2020 rents, according to data from VTS. The  discounts could lead to lower valuations of office buildings in major cities.

JPMorgan to ‘significantly reduce’ office footprint: CEO

Commercial  •  Bisnow

JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S. by assets, will “significantly reduce” its office footprint in the coming years as it overhauls the design and usage of its workplaces, CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders.

U.S. REIT CEOs highlight silver linings at conference

Residential, Commercial  •  CP Executive  •  CP Executive

During a panel titled “The Long-Term Impact of COVID” at the 25th Annual REIT Symposium hosted by the NYU School of Professional Studies Schack Institute of Real Estate, REIT executives discussed their operational gains and losses.

Calgary world’s most affordable city for housing: Study

Residential  •  Western Investor  •  Calgary Herald

A global study by Derby, England’s Online Mortgage Advisor claims Calgary has become the world’s most affordable city to buy a home, based on changes in average annual net salary and per-square-foot condo prices over a five-year period ending in 2020.

Value of GTA suburban homes bought before COVID-19 jumped

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  BlogTO

Those who bought homes in Oshawa (48 per cent increase in value), Georgina (46 per cent), and Brock (46 per cent) just prior to the pandemic have seen the greatest appreciation in GTA value, according to tech-enabled real estate brokerage Properly.

Low rates have millennials jumping into housing market

Residential  •  Financial Post

A quarter of millennials have purchased homes in the past year, as the pandemic has created a near-perfect window of opportunity for them to buy, according to a new poll from Scotiabank.

Quebec City prices, sales hit historic highs

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Globe Newswire

Quebec City Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) sales rose by 18 per cent to 1,339, representing the highest number of sales recorded in the month of March since the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers’ (QPAREB) Centris system began compiling market statistics.

Value: Weighed and Measured › Infrastructure investment key to Canada’s recovery … if it’s the right investment

John Clark: AACI, FRICS | Vice President, The Regional Group of Companies Inc.