Altree launches ‘marquee project’ in Toronto’s Forest Hill

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums  •  Toronto / GTA

Early sales have been strong for Altree Developments’ Forest Hill Private Residences, a luxury condominium in Toronto that president and CEO Zev Mandelbaum calls “my marquee project and the one I hold closest to me.”

CIBT acquires two Van. rental buildings for $48.5M

Residential  •  Daily Hive

A pair of four- and six-storey rental housing buildings in Vancouver’s MC1 and MC2 complex have been acquired by CIBT Education Group. The cost for the 110 secured market rental homes is $48.5 million, with the rental properties worth a combined $60 million.

PC Urban proposes four Van. mixed-use towers

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR  •  RENX

The TELUS Boot office tower on the Vancouver-Burnaby border could soon be joined by four new towers. PC Urban proposes redeveloping the site, retaining the 21-storey ‘Boot’ office tower, and demolishing the other buildings to make way for the project.

T.O. officials slam Queen’s Park over planning

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC  •  Globe and Mail

Toronto councillors and Mayor John Tory are decrying Queen’s Park’s use of a power to sidestep city planning for development sites in the West Don Lands. The province’s move would allow for towers as high as 50 storeys without city consultation.

HBC suing Oxford over alleged breached agreements

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

On Tuesday, Hudson’s Bay Co. ULC filed a lawsuit against Oxford Properties and its affiliates, claiming Oxford is in breach of its lease agreements at seven shopping malls it owns, co-owns or manages.

Cenovus-Husky merger more bad news for Calgary

Commercial  •  National Post  •  RENX

The merger of Cenovus Energy and Husky Energy is going to have a spillover effect into downtown Calgary, where high-rise office space has sat vacant for months as the economic downturn and COVID-19 have battered the oil and gas industry.

The Title Page › Real estate fraud: Is Canada’s digital transformation the problem or the solution?

Lori Sartor and Eric Haslett: Lori Sartor and Eric Haslett

Minto launches high-rise air tightness testing

Residential  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Minto Communities has completed an air tightness pilot project test on its Minto Yorkville Park condominium in Toronto to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings. Minto will use the findings to establish a baseline air leakage measurement.

Day-use hotels offer respite from home offices

Commercial  •  CBC

As the hotel industry continues to face staggering COVID-19 losses, a handful of properties in Vancouver are pivoting the business — and joining others around the world by offering day-use rooms for people who find working from home too distracting.

C-Suite at The Open: Flagship Communities REIT

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

VIDEO: Kurt Keeney, president & CEO, Flagship Communities REIT (MHC-U-T), shares his company’s story in an interview with TMX Group. The C-Suite at The Open video interview series highlights the unique perspectives of listed companies.

Podcasts from the real estate world

Residential, Commercial  • 

Austin Joynes, Rhapsody: Marketing apartments, Canadian Real Estate Forums

Lee Piccoli, Fusion Homes: Residential home construction, CRE Library: Episode 41

Joe Brady, The Instant Group: Is the office dead? National Real Estate Investor, Common Area Podcast: Episode 44

REIT third-quarter financial results

Residential, Commercial  • 

Morguard North American Residential REIT, (MRG-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Slate Grocery REIT, (SRT-U-T), Business Wire

Las Vegas Sands exploring $6B sale of casinos

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance  •  CNBC

Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. is exploring the sale of its casinos in Las Vegas, according to sources, a move that would leave the mogul focused on Asia and mark his exit, for now, from the U.S. gambling industry.

Speed to market biggest obstacle for data centres

Commercial  •  BDC Network

Spending on data centre infrastructure globally is expected to rebound strongly next year, by six per cent to $200 billion, according to market research firm Gartner. Any skepticism about the potential growth of the sector has been swept aside by quarantining.

83% of U.S. small business owners optimistic about 2021

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

A new sentiment survey of small and medium-sized business owners by GGV Capital and Hello Alice, describes their outlook for 2021 as optimistic. The report also suggests business owners expect upticks in hiring, technology purchases and overall growth.

Airbnb looks to list on Nasdaq

Residential  •  Reuters

Airbnb Inc. plans to list its shares on Nasdaq, setting the stage for one of 2020’s most high-profile stock market debuts. Earlier this month, Reuters reported the company was aiming to raise $3 billion in its IPO.

GTA new single-family home sales continue to soar

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Globe Newswire

September’s sales of new construction single-family homes in the GTA have hit the highest levels for the month since 2003, with the benchmark price rising 9.1 per cent to about $1.2 million year-over-year, according to the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).

T.O. neighbourhoods seeing the quickest rent decrease

Residential  •  blogTO  •  Toronto Star

A newly released, regional rent report from Torontorentals.com and Bullpen Research & Consulting shows average monthly rent prices for condos in pre-amalgamation Toronto have fallen 16.9 per cent, year-over-year, since September 2019.

Toronto-area lot sizes continue to shrink

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Even in suburban Toronto, new buyers are finding the average lot size is shrinking – from the 40- to 41-foot range over the past five years to 37 feet in 2020. The weighted average of all ground housing frontages dropped from 29 feet to 25 year-over-year.

Vancouver home sellers turning to sales bonuses

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

The sale bonus is a relatively new phenomenon in Vancouver, but one that is showing up more frequently in today’s uncertain real estate market. The bonus is generally offered on top of the usual commission paid to the buyer’s agent.