Canada’s growing appetite for luxury cars has convinced a veteran auto dealer to invest more than $75 million in sales of Mercedes-Benz, Land Rovers and other high-end imports.

Dilawri Auto Group broke ground Thursday on a $25-million construction project for a new Audi dealership at the high-profile intersection of Burrard Street and West 2nd Avenue in Vancouver, as part of an expansion that includes a Porsche sales centre on Terminal Avenue and a new Mercedes dealership in Langley. Dilawri is a family-owned operation that bills itself as Canada’s largest automotive group, with operations in Ontario and Western Canada.

“We will be representing 11 brands by the time our Mercedes-Benz and Audi stores are built, and with the renovation and the relocation of our two Acura stores, it’s approximately $75 million in construction costs – never mind the original acquisition costs of the facilities,” Dilawri regional director of operations Christian Dubois said in a telephone interview.

Courtesy National Post.  To view the entire article click here: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/25/dilawri-makes-75-million-plus-investment-in-luxury-vehicle-trend/

Below is an update to some data we posted previously outlining activity and pricing for Downtown Vancouver condo resales. Sales volume was down 30% YoY in August 2012. For product less than 2 years old, the market has come off in terms of both pricing and sales activity. The majority of newer condo product downtown continues to trade in the bandwidth between $600 and $800 per sq ft.

Source: REBGV stats.