Condo boom again puts Toronto atop Crane Index

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Office, Apartments  •  National, International

The booming GTA has again taken top spot on the North American Crane Index, hosting an astounding 27 per cent of the cranes counted in 14 large urban markets. The Q1 2020 report was compiled by international construction services firm Rider Levett Bucknall.

April apartment rent defaults ‘nothing horrible’

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  National

Seventy-three per cent of apartment tenants paid their rent for April 1, a number expected to rise as more results come in, according to a survey by SVN Rock Advisors Inc., Brokerage. It received more than 150 responses from building owners/managers.

Feds should help out CRE landlords: BOMA

Commercial  •  Retail Insider  •  Toronto Star

“Our industry is stepping up to do our share and then some, but we will need support to ensure that thousands upon thousands of Canadian businesses remain viable . . . ,” BOMA Canada president/CEO Benjamin Shinewald says.

Sabia new chair of Canada Infrastructure Bank

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Bloomberg

The federal government is replacing the top leadership of the Canada Infrastructure Bank and appointing Michael Sabia, the former head of Quebec’s pension fund, to chair the board. Sabia will replace Janice Fukakusa.

Ex-RadioShack CEO now an ER doctor

Commercial  •  National Post

Brian Levy served as RadioShack’s CEO until parent corporation InterTAN was sold, a deal that netted him $11 million. Today, Brian Levy MD works on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight in the Emergency Department at Brampton Civic Hospital.

CF Pacific Centre ‘assessing’ whether to stay open

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  RENX

Most businesses within CF Pacific Centre have closed and owner Cadillac Fairview is evaluating whether to simply close the doors on the 719,212-square-foot shopping centre, the largest in downtown Vancouver.

Stock investors shun Canadian REITs in downturn

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

For the longest time, Canadian REITS were a stalwart for income investors. Now, dividend payments hang in the balance as commercial and residential tenants struggle to pay rent during a pandemic that has shut down much of the economy.

Suits launched as insurers allegedly refuse to pay

Commercial  •  Global News

As COVID-19 forces businesses to close or limit their operations, Thomas Siarkos, owner of Regina’s Memories Dining & Bar, has joined a national class action lawsuit against indemnity insurers in Canada, alleging they are refusing to pay business interruption insurance.

Ottawa airport traffic plunges 90 per cent

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Passenger traffic at the Ottawa airport has plummeted more than 90 per cent since the COVID-19 pandemic began, officials said Friday, adding they believe it could be years before volumes return to pre-crisis levels.

Sens offer arenas, parking lots for COVID-19 care

Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen  •  CBC

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has offered the free use of the Canadian Tire Centre, its parking lots and possibly three Sensplex arenas as temporary care centres to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bars, cannabis sector can access $40B credit program

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Financial Post

Devastated bars and lounges as well as the country’s hard-hit cannabis sector will have access to $40 billion in new credit being made available via the Business Development Bank of Canada during the COVID-19 crisis, CEO Michael Denham said on Sunday.

REIT/REOC COVID-19 business updates

Commercial  • 

Choice Properties REIT, (CHP-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Lakeview Hotel Investment Corp., Canada Newswire

Five REITs with resilience in tough times

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Canadian real estate investment trusts with sustainable distributions despite the economic wallop of COVID-19, ranked from No. 1 to No. 5: Choice Properties REIT (CHP-UN-T); NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (NWH-UN-T); Dream Industrial REIT (DIR-UN-T); CT REIT (CRT-UN-T); WPT Industrial REIT (WIR-UN-T).

PSP Investments acquires stake in SitusAMC

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

SitusAMC, the leading provider of services and technology supporting the real estate finance industry, announced the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has made a strategic investment in the firm. Stone Point Capital remains the largest shareholder in SitusAMC.

What COVID-19 means for future U.S. CRE

Commercial  •  CleanTechnica: Part II  •  CleanTechnica: Part I

As COVID-19 burns, we foresee a softening of new commercial construction, a reduction in cosmetic renovations of existing stock, an increase in renovations focused on improving the net operating income . . . and an increased shift to distribution-centre business models.

London’s Ritz sold to wife of former Qatari emir

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

A wife of the former Emir of Qatar bought London’s Ritz Hotel, Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper reported, citing sources. The hotel was acquired by a money manager acting for Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, consort to Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Can Airbnb survive coronavirus?

Residential  •  CityLab

Across the world, Airbnb bookings have tanked. Data analysts at AirDNA say bookings across Europe collapsed in March, dropping 80 per cent week-over-week beginning March 9 and another 10 per cent on top of that in the week of March 16.

COVID-19 will take time to be felt in Van. market

Residential  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Vancouver Sun

Real estate brokers, analysts and investors are bracing for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what could be a rough ride for residential real estate in Metro Vancouver throughout the rest of 2020.

T.O. home sales will come back strong: Soper

Residential  •  Toronto Star

COVID-19 has pushed Toronto area home sales off a cliff. However, real estate experts including Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper predict they will pick up where they left off once the crisis passes.

Co-housing converts wait for their keys

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

For Tara Gallen, it started with a cargo bike. Gallen was looking through a Facebook page for families who bike and saw mention of a co-housing style project – Tomo House, on Vancouver’s Main Street – that was cargo-bike friendly.