Canadians received two of three platinum-level awards bestowed to top investment performers in conjunction with the annual IPE Real Estate conference for pension fund executives.

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.

Participation in the global benchmarking exercise increased 18 per cent from 2019 and represents more than USD $5.3 trillion worth of assets under management.

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.

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.

Confidence in industrial markets has also slipped since 2020 began, but still hovers on the up side of neutral on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

The downtown office vacancy rate surpassed 20 per cent, while Dartmouth Crossing enjoyed a 768 basis point drop in vacancy, pushing the rate below 12 per cent.

Following what’s characterized as the most difficult quarter yet recorded for Canadian hotel owners and operators, industry analysts are tracking the arduous climb back from the early April trough.

Static cap rates reflect limited transactions in the second quarter of 2020, but commercial real estate analysts express confidence that asset values are holding under COVID-19-related pressures.

Pension funds and life insurance companies appeared most anxious to get back into the game, with more than 50 per cent of reporting they were pursuing acquisitions.

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.

Second quarter vacancy rates and rent trends provide a first look at Canadian commercial real estate markets during widespread COVID-19-triggered business shutdowns.

Proposed policy changes would embed United Nations sustainable development goals in ESG criteria and adjust parameters for allocations to real assets.

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.

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.

Following similar actions in B.C. and Alberta, the Ontario government will temporarily halt evictions of tenants eligible for Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA).

The announcement accompanies a promise to disperse grants of up to $5,000 to help businesses and non-profit organizations with the costs of relaunching after COVID-19-triggered shutdowns, but few details are yet available.