Slate continues Calgary buying spree

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Retail  •  Calgary  •  January 9, 2019

Slate Asset Management’s Calgary buying spree continues, with the company adding four more properties to its portfolio, RENX has learned. Combined with its previous purchase of Stephen Avenue Place, Slate now owns a block-long piece of Stephen Avenue frontage.

Sandpiper set to overhaul five more Canadian entities

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)  •  RENX

Sandpiper Group, the private-equity firm that overhauled the boards of two REITs, is getting ready to shake up other Canadian property companies. The Vancouver-based Sandpiper has identified five publicly traded real estate entities it wants to revamp.

Husky aims to get out of the gas station business

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Husky Energy Inc. says it is looking at getting out of retailing fuels to consumers after 80 years in the business. The Calgary-based oilsands producer has more than 500 service stations, travel centres, cardlock operations and bulk distribution facilities.

The People Space › People Space: Changes at the top for Katz Group, Century 21

Don Wilcox: Managing Editor

SVN Rock launches Apartment Crane Watch in Toronto

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments, Technology  •  Toronto / GTA  •  January 9, 2019

SVN Rock Advisors has launched the Apartment Crane Watch, for users to track purpose-built rental apartment construction projects in Toronto. The online map and database details apartment building projects under proposal or under construction in the city.

Condo towers are redrawing the Toronto skyline

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star

A skyline is to a city what a face is to a person — every one is different. Toronto’s skyline tells the story of a city that has many towers but which rarely goes out of its way to impress.

Developers buy up large parcels of Surrey land

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC

2019 could be an unprecedented year for new high-rises in Surrey, B.C. Tien Sher has bought up a large swatch of property on King George Boulevard near 108 Avenue, which the developer plans to transform into the “Yaletown of Surrey.”

CBRE hired to sell NYC’s Chrysler Building

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Bloomberg

The owners of New York City’s iconic Chrysler Building are looking to sell the nearly 90-year-old skyscraper. Tishman Speyer Properties, which owns minority stake in the building, said CBRE Group Inc (CBRE-N) has been hired to market the property.

Softbank to cut $16B investment in WeWork by 88%

Commercial  •  Mingtiandi  •  Bloomberg

Japanese tech investor Softbank is reportedly scaling back a planned $16 billion investment in shared space giant WeWork by nearly 88 per cent, amid market turbulence and opposition from among its investment partners, according to an account by the Financial Times.

Google leases entire former mall in Los Angeles

Commercial  •  CP Executive  •  San Francisco Chronicle

Google has inked a lease for a former shopping mall in Los Angeles. Formerly the Westside Pavilion mall, Hudson Pacific Properties and Macerich is redeveloping the West Los Angeles property into a 584,000-square-foot office campus dubbed One Westside.

Chinese buyers expand reach in U.S. market

Residential  •  CNBC

The Chinese have been the top foreign buyers in both units and dollar volume of residential housing for six years straight, according to the National Association of Realtors, and now they expanding to new, lower price tiers.

Amazon emerges as most valuable U.S. firm

Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

Amazon has eclipsed Microsoft as the most valuable publicly traded company in the U.S. as a see-sawing stock market continues to reshuffle corporate America’s pecking order. The e-commerce leader’s market value is $797 billion.

Sears Holdings to reconsider Lampert’s bid

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Reuters

Sears Holdings Corp agreed on Tuesday to consider a revised takeover bid from billionaire chairman Edward Lampert, temporarily staving off a liquidation that would have spelled the end of the 126-year-old U.S. department-store chain.

Miniso reaches interim agreement to keep stores open

Commercial  •  Financial Post

A lawyer for Miniso Guangzhou LLC says instead of heading to court Miniso Guangzhou LLC and its Canadian franchisee have reached an interim agreement. Lawyer John Grieve says the deal will keep stores operating.

Cannabis licence halt could cost industry $13M: Retailers

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  Ottawa Citizen

Alberta’s moratorium on new cannabis stores is clobbering the fledgling retail industry, putting 1,800 jobs in doubt and possibly costing $13 million in wasted leases, say retailers.

Canada’s pot shortage could last up to three years

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  Business In Vancouver

Canada’s pot shortage could last as long as three years, according to industry executives who say production estimates are too rosy. Shortages have plagued the country since recreational marijuana was legalized in October.

Luxury home sales in Canada down in 2018: Sotheby’s

Residential  •  CBC  •  Newinhomes.com

Sales of luxury properties declined sharply in three of Canada’s biggest cities last year as homebuyers retreated amid tightened mortgage guidelines and higher interest rates. Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary saw large drops in high-end real estate sales in 2018.

Housing starts decrease for fifth time in six months

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

The trend in housing starts was 206,981 units in December, compared to 212,338 units in November. “The national trend in housing starts decreased in December, the fifth decline in the last six months,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC‘s chief economist.

Mortgage growth will be low or flat this year: CIBC

Residential  •  CBC  •  Bloomberg

Canadian mortgage growth will be flat or in the low single digits for the “foreseeable future,” according to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s chief executive Victor Dodig.

Buyers wary of homicide homes

Residential  •  Global News

It was a “stunning” property in the heart of downtown Toronto, but for broker Caroline Baile it was a tough sell. That’s because the home had been the site of a recent murder, a domestic dispute turned fatal.