Real Estate – Canadian Investor

Online real estate auctions try to shake up sales with novel approach

March 24, 2019 CanadianInvestor

An online auction for a luxury home in Abbotsford, B.C., is drawing attention for its novel approach, which some observers say has potential to inspire new sales even if it doesn’t have any notable impact on the housing landscape. Bidding opens Tuesday on the 12-bedroom, 10-bath restored train power station known as the “Sumas Powerhouse,” which was previously listed for $5 million and... Read More

Luxury sales down in formerly hot housing markets, but up in Montreal

March 20, 2019 CanadianInvestor

TORONTO — Sotheby’s International Realty Canada says luxury home sales fell in three of Canada’s major cities over the first couple months of the year, but rose in Montreal, which is set to break records in 2019. The real estate brand says Vancouver saw continued buyer’s market conditions in the first two months of the year with 52 per cent... Read More

Budget 2019: Five things to watch for in the Liberals’ final fiscal blueprint

March 18, 2019 CanadianInvestor

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Bill Morneau will release the Trudeau government’s final budget of its mandate Tuesday, just seven months before the next federal election. Here are some things to watch for: A boost to skills training The government says it wants to help workers adapt to the rapidly changing needs of the modern workforce. The budget is expected to announce measures to help Canadians cover... Read More

Canadian home sales fall in February, average price down; CREA updates outlook

March 15, 2019 CanadianInvestor

OTTAWA — The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in February fell compared with a year ago and the average selling price also moved lower. The association says sales last month were down 4.4 per cent compared with February of 2018. On a month-over-month basis, national home sales in February were down 9.1 per cent compared with January. The... Read More

Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week

March 10, 2019 Editor

TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week: Quebecor earnings Quebecor and Quebecor Media will release fourth-quarter earnings and host a conference call on Wednesday. Quebecor’s TVA Group announced in February that is has an agreement to buy the Incendo group, a Montreal-based producer and distributor of television programs for international markets,... Read More

CMHC reports annual pace of housing starts slowed in February

March 8, 2019 CanadianInvestor

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in February slowed compared with January. The housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts fell to 173,153 units in February compared with 206,809 units the month before. Economists had expected an annual pace of 205,000, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon. The overall... Read More

Airbnb acquires last-minute booking service HotelTonight

March 7, 2019 CanadianInvestor

SAN FRANCISCO — Airbnb is acquiring last-minute booking service HotelTonight in order to boost its offerings. The two San Francisco-based companies announced the deal Thursday. Terms weren’t revealed. HotelTonight co-founder and CEO Sam Shank will lead Airbnb’s boutique-hotel category. HotelTonight will operate separately, offering discounted rooms for last-minute trips. It has partnerships with thousands of hotels in North and South... Read More

Growing trend of solo living creating opportunities for businesses

March 7, 2019 CanadianInvestor

TORONTO — One of the fastest-growing demographics in Canada and around the world has long been ignored by mainstream businesses and politicians, but that may be about to change. “Society is geared towards families,” says Jean-Pierre Bissonnette, a 52-year-old single medical physicist at the Princess Margaret Hospital who counts himself as part of a growing cohort of people who choose to live... Read More

Sidewalk Labs may lose interest in Quayside project if transit isn’t built, CEO says

March 7, 2019 CanadianInvestor

TORONTO — The chief executive officer of an Alphabet-backed entity planning a high tech neighbourhood in Toronto revealed Thursday that mass transit might be the project’s deal breaker. Dan Doctoroff of Sidewalk Labs told The Canadian Press in an interview that his company may lose interest in the project if transit to the area isn’t built. “At the end of the day, if there... Read More

Montreal home sales rise 8% in February to cap off four straight years of growth

March 6, 2019 CanadianInvestor

MONTREAL — Home sales ramped up in Montreal last month, marking four years of continuous growth. Quebec’s real estate broker association says home sales in metropolitan Montreal rose eight per cent to 4,370 in February compared with the same month in 2018. Condominium sales shot up 14 per cent to 1,588 while single-family home sales increased four per cent to 2,436. Sales of... Read More