Big deals inflate Calgary, Edmonton CRE investment stats: Altus

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Investment  •  Calgary, Edmonton  •  January 2, 2019

Commercial property investment in Calgary and Edmonton increased in the first three quarters of 2018 compared to the same period last year, Altus Group says. Edmonton investment reached $3.1 billion, up 38 per cent. Calgary transactions reached $2.6 billion, up 11 per cent.

Toronto’s Munich Re Centre receiving class-A upgrade

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Toronto / GTA  •  January 2, 2019

A major renovation will restore Toronto’s Munich Re Centre to class-A status and provide an image upgrade for owner Munich Reinsurance Company of Canada. Crown Property Management is overseeing the project at the 46-year-old, 31-storey, 371,000-square-foot Bay St. building.

Ottawa’s Queen Street revitalized

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Standing at the corner of Ottawa’s Queen and O’Connor Streets is a disorienting experience these days. For years, Queen Street was nondescript at best. Now, you can imagine the future of the street that sits above LRT’s Confederation Line.

A look ahead to the real estate sector in 2019

Residential, Commercial  •  RENX Newsletter

No. 1 on our year-ending newsletter? Canadian CRE investment to remain strong in 2019: Morguard

CEO invests more than $1.9M in Choice Properties

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)  •  RENX

REITs deliver stellar returns, despite rising rates

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Defying expectations, REITs delivered some of the best market returns in Canada during 2018, driven by heavy demand for owners of industrial properties and apartment buildings. Since Jan. 1, the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index has returned 5.6 per cent, including distributions.

Artis, Morguard top REIT picks for future

Commercial  •  Motley Fool  •  RENX

Artis REIT (AX-UN-T) committed the unthinkable sin in the fall. It cut its annual distribution in half from $1.08 per share to $0.54.  Morguard REIT (MRT-UN-T) has been one of Canada’s cheapest stocks on a price-to-NAV basis for years.

Partners REIT announces class-action settlement

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Partners REIT (PAR-UN-T) announced the terms of the class-action settlement previously announced on Oct. 31, 2018 between, among others, certain former trustees and a former officer of the REIT, have been approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Curtain drops on Winnipeg’s Pantages Playhouse

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg’s historic Pantages Playhouse has gone dark after 104 years of hosting live theatre, music and dance performances. The stage has seen the likes of Buster Keaton, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Laurel and boxer Jack Dempsey perform during its long history.

Design winner named for Winnipeg’s Public Safety Building

Commercial  •  CBC

A winning design by Montreal architectural firm Daoust Lestage seeks to turn Winnipeg’s historic city centre into “New Market Square.” The design proposal selected for its perceived “brightness and openness” includes a public market and multi-use plazas.

Modern twist on historic Winnipeg property

Residential, Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

An Exchange District building with a link to Louis Riel that was without a name for 133 years is getting a new lease on life as a 39-unit residential complex. The building has been purchased by Winnipeg’s Legatum Developments.

Manitoba ski resort up for sale

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Ski Valley in Minnedosa, Man., is for sale for $1.3 million. The sale would include the 140-acre property, located about 230 kilometres west of Winnipeg, and everything on-site, from snow-making equipment to the cutlery in the kitchen.

Cheaper Halifax prices draw buyers from Ontario, West

Residential  •  Halifax Chronicle Herald

It’s getting a lot more lucrative for people to sell their homes in other Canadian cities and move to Halifax. The monthly housing price gap between Halifax and the national average of 11 cities has grown to more than $100,000.

Vancouver sees falling values among priciest homes

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun  •  Global News

Many British Columbians have likely jumped on to the new New Year’s Day tradition of looking up their 2019 property assessments, which likely show them declines on detached homes in pricier Vancouver neighbourhoods and increases in Metro Vancouver suburbs.

Real estate industry poised for tech disruption

Residential  •  CTV  •  Financial Post

Real estate agent Shawn Zigelstein remembers a time, just a few years ago, when a printer, scanner and fax machine were the most important tools of his trade. Now, those gadgets are nearly obsolete.

First-time homebuyers tap Bank of Mom and Dad

Residential  •  Vancouver Province

A rising number of first-time homebuyers turning to the Bank of Mom and Dad, compared to a few years ago. Skyrocketing price gains in B.C. have made it rare for a first-time buyer to enter the market.

What to watch for in Ottawa CRE in 2019

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Following a year highlighted by a growing downtown tech presence, local real estate observers say they’ll be watching whether Ottawa’s central office market can continue to accommodate an expanding public and private sector in 2019.

Revisiting 2018’s biggest CRE predictions

Commercial  •  Bisnow

As we consider the new challenges and possibilities 2019 will bring for the industry, Bisnow revisited its commercial real estate predictions for 2018 to determine just how far off we were.

Five hottest B.C. news stories of 2018

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor  •  Vancouver Courier

During a year of major real estate policy and regulation change, it comes as no surprise that WesternInvestor.com’s most-viewed B.C. stories gave readers the insight into these new developments.