Pension funds hunt for pandemic real estate bargains

Commercial  •  Reuters

Canadian pension funds are seeking to boost their real estate investments, betting the slumping property market will recover as office workers and city dwellers return to downtown properties. Canadian pension funds held $278.7 billion in property assets in 2019, up four per cent from 2018.

Dream Ind. acquiring $465M in Canadian, global assets

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Greater Montreal, International

Dream Industrial REIT (DIR-UN-T) has waived conditions and will acquire a 527,000-square-foot distribution facility in Montreal with significant land available for expansion. The announcement was part of $465 million in global acquisitions it has closed on, or is planning to purchase.

Manulife, Investa buy Australian office project

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Investa media release  •  RENX

Investa Commercial Property Fund has partnered with Manulife (MFC-T) to acquire a 323,000-square-foot Sydney office development from Macquarie. IPE earlier reported Investa and Manulife were in talks to buy 39 Martin Place with pricing rumoured to be around an $785 million Cdn.

The People Space › People Space: New faces, titles at Colliers, AY, Altus, OMERS, Mackenzie…

Don Wilcox: Managing Editor

More than 239,000 small businesses may vanish: CFIB

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Financial Post  •  Canada Newswire

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is warning more than 239,000 businesses could vanish because of COVID-19 as the new wave of restrictions and lockdowns leave a growing number of entrepreneurs considering giving up.

Telsec Property acquires two Calgary retail sites

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

Telsec Property Corp. has acquired a 40,000-square-foot former Chevrolet Oldsmobile dealership in Calgary and plans to restore it for permanent quality retailers. Telsec also purchased a retail shopping centre anchored by a Sobeys and including a 100,000-square-foot former Target store.

SAP Canada opening new downtown Montreal office

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  La Presse

Enterprise software company SAP Canada will open a new research and development office at Place Ville Marie in downtown Montreal for its SAP Labs division and plans to add 30 new employees as part of the expansion.

2020 a record year for Quebec supermarkets

Commercial  •  La Presse

Supermarkets had a record year marked by an unprecedented 13 per cent increase in food sales in Quebec. There have also been unexpected phenomena, such as the fashion for homemade bread, which is still going strong, according to data by NielsenIQ.

T.O. SmartTrack plan loses another two stations

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

Mayor John Tory’s signature transit plan shrunk again on Wednesday, when a new city report revealed two stations have to be dropped from his SmartTrack program because they conflict with provincial subway projects.

Queen’s Park moves to acquire site of first parliament

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

Ontario and Toronto could be headed for another showdown over the fate of local historical sites, as Premier Doug Ford’s government moves to acquire land that once housed Ontario’s first parliament buildings in order to construct a new transit station.

Investors can take advantage of big changes in REITs

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

There are some fundamental changes taking place in the REIT industry, and savvy investors can take advantage of them. That’s the message from Samuel Sahn, managing director, Portfolio Management, Public Real Estate Investments at Hazelview Investments.

Value investor sinks another $1M into Cominar

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

Sime Armoyan, with an ownership position exceeding 10 per cent, invested over $1.3 million in Cominar REIT (CUF-UN-T) units. She purchased 166,900 units at a cost per unit of $7.88 for an account in which she has control or direction over (G2S2 Capital Inc.).

Prince Rupert port sets shipping record

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  Daily Commercial News

The port in Prince Rupert, B.C., has set another record in defiance of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The port authority announced Monday 32.4 million tonnes of cargo moved through the port in 2020, up nine per cent year-over-year.

Partners Group buys $439M U.K. industrial portfolio

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Global private markets investment manager Partners Group has bought$439 million (Cdn) of U.K. industrial assets from Paloma Capital and plans to make a further $347 million of add-on acquisitions to the portfolio over the next two years.

Golf real estate: Booming markets changing club life

Residential, Commercial  •  USA Today

Many U.S. golf communities are seeing soaring prices for houses and memberships. “. . . the golf real estate component is certainly on fire, and I don’t see any signs of that stopping or slowing down,” said Golf Life Navigators’ Jason Becker.

Trump pardons real estate figures

Commercial  •  The Real Deal  •  Reuters  •  Halifax Examiner

President Donald Trump granted pardons to several members of the real estate sector, including Eliyahu Weinstein, who was sentenced to prison in 2014. He and his company, Pine Projects, were convicted for a Ponzi scheme that resulted in $200 million in losses.

Real estate industry an attractive target for cyberattacks

Residential, Commercial  •  Lexology

The real estate industry appeals to cyberattackers in many ways. Real estate transactions contain significant amounts of personal information, including, but not limited to, financial data, Social Insurance Numbers, driver’s license numbers, passports numbers, insurance information, and passwords.

Big-city residents flocking to Halifax

Residential  •  CTV

In her 40 years in Halifax real estate, agent Sandra Bryant has never seen as many buyers flocking to town shopping for homes as she did in 2020. Bidding wars occur where low prices and glacial growth were once the norm.

Edmonton looking to deter problem infill builders

Residential  •  CBC  •  Edmonton Journal

The City of Edmonton will look at ways to make sure infill developments are done with minimal damage to surrounding properties. Council’s urban planning committee agreed to the motion Tuesday.

B.C. regulator clamps down on ex-property manager

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun  •  Globe and Mail

B.C.’s real estate regulator has issued what it described as an urgent order against a former property manager, Colton Roberts. The regulator alleges he was taking security deposits from prospective renters for properties he purported to manage.