Financial Management
Canadian developers navigate uncertainty
The bulk of findings in the newly released Altus Group Global Property Development Trends Report are tied to opinions collected in early 2020 before COVID-19’s full hit landed in the world’s commercial real estate markets.
Ontario capital markets set for rule revamp
Proposals address a range of issues that are likely to be of interest to listed real estate entities and their investors, as well as start-up ventures and other publicly traded service providers to the industry.
Stop-gap September CECRA coverage offered
Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance will be offered for a sixth month. The announcement comes eight days after the portal for new applications for the relief program appeared to be closed.
CECRA now closed to new applicants
With the August 31 deadline for first-time applications for Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) now passed, the three-month program that evolved into five months of relief is closed to new recipients.
Preference for multifamily assets signalled
Under COVID-19-induced pressure, investors, lenders and public markets are signalling a preference for multifamily assets. The asset class was the top attractor of investment dollars in Canada’s commercial real estate market during the first half of 2020.
Commercial office watchwords attuned to COVID
Market analysts typify a second quarter uptick in downtown sublet activity as a spurt, not a glut. However, they project the trend is likely to continue.
COVID-19 expected to drive transparency metrics
Canada once again places in the top tier of “highly transparent” nations in the newly released 2020 edition of the JLL/LaSalle Global Real Estate Transparency Index.
Office-using sectors show relative resilience
There is plenty of uncertainty and little consensus on the economic outlook for Canada and the United States. It is becoming clear that it will not be a V-shaped recovery, and it is more likely to be uneven and prolonged.
Retail landlords absorb and counter economic hit
Results of a wide-ranging survey show many major Canadian commercial real estate players braced for the erosion of consumer confidence, tenant solvency and their own investment returns.
Solid pre-pandemic fundamentals buttress market
Thus far, in most markets, there’s been no spurt of office sublets or rent discounts that conventionally signify an economic downturn, but there has been a flurry of conjecture about the forces COVID-19 may have unleashed.
Details of CECRA program rollout still emerging
The CECRA program is voluntary. Not all eligible landlords will necessarily take advantage of this program for various reasons.
Black swan triggers business continuity plans
Commercial real estate operators are seeking advice across a wide spectrum of expertise as they deploy their crisis management, business continuity and recovery plans.
COVID-19 ripples through to commercial leasing
Landlords and tenants are continuing to move lease transactions forward in anticipation of a return to business as usual in the near future.
Ontario to delay next property tax cycle
The move was announced in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, but additionally opens a window to adjust the mechanics of the assessment process itself.
Property funds possess stabilizing mechanisms
REALPAC’s recent survey of 15 Canadian open-end real estate funds offers insight into when and why fund administrators would suspend the ability for investors to redeem their holdings.
Canadian cities fertile for tech job growth
The rankings reflect CBRE's assessment of each market's competitive appeal based on 13 variously weighted indicators that collectively present a picture of employment trends and other factors helping to attract and sustain a tech labour force.
Real estate flies red flags of money laundering
Some of the signals of potential malfeasance in real estate transactions are not obvious or only appear ominous when they are part of a pattern of questionable conduct.



