Cushman & Wakefield LePage's Outlook '09 and Annual Market Review was conducted in 11 Canadian markets, and captures both quantifiable data and the qualified opinions of those working in the market, covering the office, industrial, retail and investment sectors. It also provides forward looking statistical projections for the 2009 market.
"There remains little doubt that Canada is headed towards a recession stretching into at least the first quarter of 2009," said Pierre Bergevin, President and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield LePage. "However, we don't expect to see any radical market corrections in Canadian commercial real estate - thanks to solid lending practices and conservative development strategies over the past decade."
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Quebec pension fund forced to dump $10-billion worth of shares into plunging markets
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, hammered by losses on international holdings, has been forced in recent weeks to sell billions of dollars of stocks into a falling market.
A fund that began the year with $155.4-billion of assets has sold $10-billion of stocks in the past two months, sources said.
Canada's biggest pension fund needed cash to shore up or shut down money-losing positions in areas such as currency hedging and derivatives, along with international real estate and private equity. Part of the problem, sources said, is that the fund's hedging strategy was sideswiped by the recent fall in the Canadian dollar.
"The Caisse is dumping stock into a collapsing market, so losses are no longer just on paper, they've been realized," said one executive familiar with the fund's operations.
A fund that began the year with $155.4-billion of assets has sold $10-billion of stocks in the past two months, sources said.
Canada's biggest pension fund needed cash to shore up or shut down money-losing positions in areas such as currency hedging and derivatives, along with international real estate and private equity. Part of the problem, sources said, is that the fund's hedging strategy was sideswiped by the recent fall in the Canadian dollar.
"The Caisse is dumping stock into a collapsing market, so losses are no longer just on paper, they've been realized," said one executive familiar with the fund's operations.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Toronto Real Estate Market Remains Slow Mid November
Home sales continue to slide in Toronto's real estate market.
The Greater Toronto Area recorded 1,991 home sales during the first half of November 2008, a 44% decline from the 3,544 sales during the same period last year. Prices appear to have stabilized with the average price for a home in the GTA dropping 4.5% to $375,712. Prices in the 905 region remained virtually unchanged over last year while prices in the city of Toronto dropped by 7.5% over last year.
As I've noted in previous posts, the decline in average price for the city of Toronto is exaggerated because of the effects of the land transfer tax last year.
‘It’s particularly important to interpret the 416 area statistics in context given the market surge we saw a year ago when buyers moved to avoid the new Toronto Land Transfer Tax,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ms. O’Neill. “At midmonth a year ago, transactions in the 416 area had increased 24 per cent over the same period in 2006.”
The Greater Toronto Area recorded 1,991 home sales during the first half of November 2008, a 44% decline from the 3,544 sales during the same period last year. Prices appear to have stabilized with the average price for a home in the GTA dropping 4.5% to $375,712. Prices in the 905 region remained virtually unchanged over last year while prices in the city of Toronto dropped by 7.5% over last year.
As I've noted in previous posts, the decline in average price for the city of Toronto is exaggerated because of the effects of the land transfer tax last year.
‘It’s particularly important to interpret the 416 area statistics in context given the market surge we saw a year ago when buyers moved to avoid the new Toronto Land Transfer Tax,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ms. O’Neill. “At midmonth a year ago, transactions in the 416 area had increased 24 per cent over the same period in 2006.”
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Toronto's MaRS project a step too far
It's one trip to Mars that's going to take longer thanks to a slowing economy, says the vice-president of the $300-million Medical and Related Sciences complex in Toronto's hospital district.
The second phase of the two-square kilometre project, dubbed MaRS, has been put on hold because the developers can't find enough tenants ready to move into the 750,000 square foot complex by the completion date set for 2010. Phase I of the project was finished in 2005 and its 700,000 square feet are filled.
"The construction has been suspended. It's a reflection of the market conditions right now," says Randal Froebelius, vice-president of real estate for MaRS, a not-for-profit corporation. "We don't want to build an empty building."
The second phase of the two-square kilometre project, dubbed MaRS, has been put on hold because the developers can't find enough tenants ready to move into the 750,000 square foot complex by the completion date set for 2010. Phase I of the project was finished in 2005 and its 700,000 square feet are filled.
"The construction has been suspended. It's a reflection of the market conditions right now," says Randal Froebelius, vice-president of real estate for MaRS, a not-for-profit corporation. "We don't want to build an empty building."
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