Real Estate – Page 2 – Canadian Investor

Ontario may allow disclosure of prices in real estate bidding wars

January 31, 2019 CanadianInvestor

TORONTO — Ontario home buyers may soon be able to find out the prices and conditions of other offers in bidding wars. The government launched a consultation Thursday looking at the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, and that’s one rule they’re looking at changing. Currently, if there are multiple bids on a home, the seller’s broker can only disclose... Read More

US average mortgage rates edge up; 30-year at 4.46 per cent

January 31, 2019 CanadianInvestor

WASHINGTON — U.S. long-term mortgage rates edged up after declining in recent weeks. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.46 per cent, from 4.45 per cent last week. Despite the recent declines, home borrowing rates are above last year’s levels. The key 30-year rate averaged 4.22 per cent... Read More

Caisse accelerates industrial real estate shift with deal for logistics firm

January 30, 2019 CanadianInvestor

MONTREAL — With a growing number of consumers moving away from shopping malls to online shopping, the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec is accelerating its shift in industrial real estate by getting hold of U.S. firm IDI Logistics for nearly $4.7 billion. The amount was put forward at the end of November by the pension fund manager’s real estate subsidiary,... Read More

Homeowner equipment caused California wine country fire

January 25, 2019 CanadianInvestor

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In a long-awaited report, state investigators said Thursday that a 2017 wildfire that killed 22 people in Northern California wine country was caused by a private electrical system, not equipment belonging to embattled Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. The state firefighting agency concluded that the blaze started next to a residence. It did not find any violations... Read More

Tech sector drives demand for office space in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal

January 24, 2019 CanadianInvestor

TORONTO — The office vacancy rate in downtown Toronto has hit a record-low amid strong demand for work space by the burgeoning tech sector, according to a report by CBRE Group. The commercial real estate services and investment firm says the vacancy rate fell to 2.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018 in Canada’s largest city due to a “chronic shortage” of office space. In Toronto,... Read More

Tall timber towers taking root in Canada as builders look to go green

January 20, 2019 CanadianInvestor

TORONTO — Six years ago architect Michael Green took the stage at a TED conference and called for an global era of wood-framed skyscrapers. Some were skeptical. “People really thought I was an idiot,” said Green in a recent interview. “I got constant comments from my peers just saying this guy didn’t know what he was talking about, this will... Read More

Sears staves off liquidation, stores to remain open

January 16, 2019 CanadianInvestor

NEW YORK — Sears will live on— at least for now. The company’s chairman and largest shareholder, Eddie Lampert, won a bankruptcy auction for Sears, averting liquidation of the iconic chain, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The person agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiation publicly. Lampert is... Read More

Home sales down in December to cap weakest annual sales since 2012: CREA

January 15, 2019 CanadianInvestor

OTTAWA — The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of home sales in December was down for a fourth month in a row, capping the weakest annual sales since 2012. On an month-over-month basis, home sales fell 2.5 per cent in December, reaching 36,759 on a seasonally adjusted basis. Sales were down in about 60 per cent of all local markets... Read More

Tiny coffeeshops help owners save on rent in high-cost Toronto, Vancouver

January 11, 2019 CanadianInvestor

VANCOUVER — Customers who don’t work in the building that houses Kento Kitayama’s tiny cafe near Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood better be prepared to settle for takeout. He can only take orders through a little window facing the sidewalk. Iktsuarpok Coffee Stand, which opened late last month, has no seating and sparse furnishings. Kitayama could likely stand in the middle of the roughly 17-square-metre... Read More

Annual pace of housing starts in Canada fell in December: CMHC report

January 9, 2019 CanadianInvestor

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts fell last month. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in Canada was 213,419 units in December, down from 224,349 in November. Economists had expected an annual rate of 205,000, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon. The annual pace of urban starts dropped by 5.8 per... Read More