AVISON YOUNG SELLS MONTREAL OFFICE BUILDING FOR RESIDENTIAL CONVERSION
Avison Young announced the sale of a Montreal office building that will be converted into residential housing, and said it sees other opportunities for conversions in the city. In a press release Thursday, Avison Young announced the sale of 1434 Sainte-Catherine St. West to 5AM Capital, saying the office building will be used for student housing due to its proximity to Concordia and McGill universities. “Repurposing this property into a home for students will give it a new life and contribute...
read moreB.C. GOVERNMENT TO LAUNCH WEBSITE TO COMBAT ‘BAD FAITH’ EVICTIONS
The B.C. government says a new online portal launching this month will combat bad-faith evictions made by landlords who falsely claim to be putting a property to “personal use,” only to increase rent on the unit. The Ministry of Housing says the Landlord Use Web Portal will go live on July 18 and will require landlords to generate eviction notices under the Residential Tenancy Act’s provision allowing tenants to be evicted from a unit if a family member or caretaker intends...
read moreB.C. SEES RECORD STRETCH OF PEOPLE MOVING OUT-OF-PROVINCE – AND MANY ARE HEADED TO ALBERTA
B.C. has recorded its largest period of interprovincial migration losses in 20 years, with more than 12,800 people moving elsewhere in Canada since July 2022, according to Statistics Canada. It’s the first time in a decade B.C. has seen 15 months in a row of more people moving out-of-province than it gains — and most are moving to Alberta in the exodus, StatsCan said Tuesday. From July to September 2023, B.C. lost net 4,634 people to other provinces, its second-greatest quarterly dip...
read moreHAMILTON TO STRENGTHEN TENANT PROTECTIONS BY ADOPTING BYLAW PREVENTING ‘DEMOVICTIONS’
The Ontario city that introduced a first-of-its-kind renoviction bylaw in the province is about to expand the protection and prevent landlords from evicting tenants so they can demolish apartments and turn the properties into condominiums. Hamilton, Ont., is a step away from implementing a Rental Housing Protection By-law that will seek to preserve its supply of existing affordable housing by adding more conditions for landlords and developers seeking to take down midsize apartment buildings...
read moreEVERY NEW HOME BUILT REQUIRES $100,000 IN INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING: REPORT
As Canada aims to build homes faster, both the public and private sectors will need to boost spending on municipal infrastructure, a new report from the Canadian Urban Institute says. The report, funded by the Canada Infrastructure Bank, estimated the average cost of infrastructure needed to support housing likely exceeds $100,000 for each newly built home. That includes funding for resources such as public transit, roads, water lines, schools, fire halls or recreational facilities. The total...
read moreMONTREAL TO BEEF UP INSPECTIONS FOR RENTAL UNITS
With an aging stock of rental units, Montreal aims to beef up inspections of buildings, hoping to crack down on slumlords and prevent a general degradation of living conditions. The city announced on Thursday it would spend $3 million to inspect 8,000 buildings and 130,000 apartment units over five years. A further $1.5 million over three years will be given to community groups that help tenants advocate for their rights. It’s good news for tenants living in unsafe or unsanitary conditions,...
read moreCANADA SEES INVESTMENT FLIGHT AS ECONOMY SLOWS AND GOV TARGETS INVESTORS
Canada may be in the process of losing its reputation as an investment safe haven. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) released its balance of international payments for Q1 2024, reinforcing preliminary data showing investors are looking for opportunities abroad. It also revealed foreign investors are engaging in their first divestment from the country in 14 years, as the domestic economy heads towards underperforming the global average. Foreign Investors Pulled Billions Out of Canada’s Economy ...
read moreIN DESPERATE NEED OF MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING MISSISSAUGA COUNCIL BACKS BOLD PLAN TO INCENTIVIZE DEVELOPERS
How can sky-high rents across Mississauga be lowered? Here is the dilemma: governments are not in the business of building rental units; and the companies that do are facing unprecedented cost barriers such as high interest and building material prices. Along with mounting demand these rapidly increasing costs continue to push rental rates far out of reach for most residents in the city. Mississauga City Council has developed a strategy to incentivize developers, helping lower their...
read moreONTARIO’S ECONOMY TO SEE WORST NON-RECESSION GROWTH SINCE EARLY 80S: FAO
Canada’s largest provincial economy is unlikely to be the driver of an economic boom any time soon. The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) of Ontario released its economic and budget outlook for 2024, and it was not very rosy. The non-partisan government agency, tasked with providing the public with independent analysis and forecasts of the economy, says the province has been significantly underperforming global growth. Ontario’s economy is forecast to expand at one of the slowest rates in...
read moreIMMIGRATION-FUELLED GROWTH HITS THE HOUSING CRISIS WALL IN CANADA, AROUND THE WORLD
Across much of the developed world, one of the most dependable drivers of economic growth is faltering. For decades, the rapid inflow of migrants helped countries including Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom stave off the demographic drag from aging populations and falling birth rates. That’s now breaking down as a surge of arrivals since borders reopened after the pandemic runs headlong into a chronic shortage of homes to accommodate them. Canada and Australia have escaped recession...
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