Eagle Quest Properties

His decision was upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal when the landlords challenged it eight months later. Undeterred, the landlords made an application to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal, at which point the Ontario Human Rights Commission became involved in the case, along with an affidavit from Ms. Hall outlining the arguments the Commission would make if allowed to intervene.

In its submission to the Court, the Commission said that the effect of the zoning bylaw was to restrict students' access to rental housing because of the nature of the students' relationships to one another. It argued such a restriction is inconsistent with the Ontario Planning Act, which states that a municipality does not have the authority to pass a bylaw that distinguishes between people who are related or unrelated with respect to the occupancy or use of a building, including the occupancy or use as a single housekeeping unit.

via Court slams door on student housing case.

A surge in office construction in Toronto’s downtown may push the city’s vacancy rate higher than New York and Boston after developers added space during the first recession in 17 years.

The proportion of empty space in Toronto’s office market, lower than the 12 largest U.S. business districts last year, will more than triple by 2011 to 13.6 percent, according to Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Brookfield Properties Corp., Cadillac Fairview Corp. and Menkes Developments Ltd. each added a glass skyscraper to the downtown of Canada’s most populous city in the last five months.

via Toronto Office Vacancies May Top Boston, Manhattan (Update1) – Bloomberg.com.

Canadian commercial real estate may be a profitable investment in coming years, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Prem Watsa said.

“Commercial real estate is interesting, because of course it’s got the refinancing risk that’s coming in, particularly in the United States,” Watsa said today at a private-equity conference sponsored by ACG Toronto. “In the next few years, we think that might be an area that you might want to invest in.

”Watsa, 59, said there are fewer investment opportunities now than there were a year ago, when stock markets had dropped by about 50 percent and there were “many, many opportunities.” The head of Toronto-based Fairfax since 1985, Watsa has patterned his company after Warren Buffett’s model of value investing.

“Value investing means trying to figure out what a company’s worth, and buying it significantly at a discount,” Watsa said.

via Canada Real Estate May Be Good Investment, Watsa Says Update2 – Bloomberg.com.

The city has tried again and again — and again and again and again — to sell a pair of surplus properties nobody seems to want.

For the sixth straight time, city council has agreed to lower the price on two municipally owned buildings that have been vacant since Windsor consolidated its social services department and moved its operations into the new government building at 400 City Hall Square.

The city had originally hoped to pocket almost $1.3 million from the sale of the two buildings, which were put on the market in 2007, but now it would be satisfied to get half that.

A building at 3905-3911 Tecumseh Rd. E., originally listed at $749,000, can now be had for $399,000.

Another building at 755 Louis Ave. was originally listed for $529,000 but is now being offered at less than half that price — $229,000.

via How low will city go, to sell these buildings?.

The value of industrial land in Metro Vancouver decreased by as much 30 per cent in the last year as speculators desperately unloaded land bought near the market’s peak into a market with little demand.

“If there is no demand to build, it is no surprise vacant land is the first asset to be disposed of,” said Avison Young principal Rob Gritten. “Speculators who entered this market in the late stages of the bubble, and with no income to support carrying costs, have been forced to discount significantly to attract bids.”

The market saw prices double between 2003 and 2008, with prices reaching $600,000 an acre in Abbotsford and as much as $4-million an acre in Vancouver.

via Industrial land prices fall in Vancouver – The Globe and Mail.

Avison Young, Canada’s largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company, announced today the opening of a newly-formed Washington, DC office, and that industry veteran Keith Lipton has been recruited as Managing Director.

The new American office, the first of several planned for the region, will be located in downtown DC. It will mark Avison Young’s second location outside of Canada and represent the next step in the company’s aggressive growth and expansion strategy.

Lipton, who also becomes an Avison Young Principal, was most recently Executive Vice-President and Managing Director of Grubb & Ellis’ Washington, DC area offices. In his new role, he will be responsible for building Avison Young’s DC metro region – Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. Also joining the Washington office are Margaret Donkerbrook as Vice-President, U.S. Research, and Sarah Peyton as Regional Operations Manager. Both were formerly with Grubb & Ellis in Washington, DC.

via AVISON YOUNG (CANADA) INC. | Avison Young opens new U.S. Capital-region office in Washington, DC.

A landmark investigation by the federal Competition Bureau may dramatically change the way homes are bought and sold in Canada.The Canadian Real Estate Association has informed its members that a two-year inquiry by the Competition Bureau has been completed and that significant changes to their practices have been requested.CREA is still negotiating a settlement with the Competition Bureau, but it is expected that the industry will be forced to loosen its restrictive access to the MLS system and allow discount brokers into the market.

via REAL-ESTATE SHAKEUP.

McGuinty Government Balances Needs Of Landlords And Tenants

Ontario’s rent increase guideline for the year 2010 will be 2.1 per cent.The rent increase guideline is the maximum amount by which a landlord can increase the rent of an existing tenant without seeking the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.The 2010 guideline applies to rent increases that occur between January 1 and December 31, 2010.The calculation is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index, a reliable and objective measure of inflation that is calculated by Statistics Canada. This calculation method was implemented by the province and came into force on January 31, 2007.

QUICK FACTS

• The 2010 guideline is calculated under the Residential Tenancies Act, which created a new system of rent regulation that includes linking the rent increase guideline to the Ontario Consumer Price Index.
• The first rent increase guideline was calculated in 1975 at 8 per cent.

via CORRECTION: 2010 Rent Increase Guideline.

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay and opposition leaders said a public inquiry must be called if reports of price fixing and collusion for municipal infrastructure projects among Quebec construction firms are confirmed by police.In a report which aired Thursday night on Radio-Canada’s investigative news program Enquete, Paul Sauve, president of the masonry company LM Sauve, said a group of contractors nicknamed “the Fabulous 14″ control most of the bids in Montreal and have colluded to keep rates high, taking turns “winning” contracts.Construction costs in the Montreal area are 35 per cent higher than they should be because of the price fixing, one entrepreneur who spoke on condition of anonymity told Radio-Canada.

via Montreal construction costs 35% higher because of price fixing: report.

“Prices have moved up 10 per cent in the last six months, so people are worried that if they wait for the perfect house, it won't be affordable,” says Mr. MacKay, whose client offered $62,000 over the asking price on the Commercial Drive home, but landed near the bottom of the pack because her offer was contingent on getting two weekdays to finalize the financing. “So if someone is offering on a house that's $950,000, but they can afford $1.1-million, they think they'd better pay it now because that house will cost $1.75-million before they know it.”Still, experts say that even though Vancouver posted record sales in August – a whopping 117 per cent over the previous year – the overheated market is not likely to last. The backlog of buyers will purchase homes, and more sellers will enter the market, marking a return to a more balanced situation.

via The bidding war is back – The Globe and Mail.