By Paul Brent

It is likely not news to any commercial real estate industry veteran, but Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are expensive places to do business when it comes to taxes.

A recent study from the Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac) confirms that fact, finding those three cities continue to sport the highest commercial to residential tax ratios in the country. The trio all have commercial to residential tax ratios higher than 4:1, while the average tax ratio for all Canadian municipalities was 2.79.

However, there is some good news in the report. Toronto’s commercial to residential tax ratio continues its slow but steady decline over the 11 years REALpac has been keeping track. The ratio declined to 4.01 from 4.07 a year ago. That’s part of the city’s deliberate effort to cut commercial taxes and reverse the exodus of business to the suburbs. Its goal by the end of the decade is to trim its commercial to residential tax ratio to 2.5.

In contrast, the study found Montreal’s ratio increased for the 10th consecutive year, even though there were decreases in both commercial and residential rates over the past two years. In fact, Montreal’s …read more

Source:: RENX

Another Metrotown apartment building has sold; this time at 6695 Dunblane Avenue, closer to Royal Oak Avenue. The 38 unit building is located on a 25,504 SF site and is zoned RM-3. The purchase price was $9,360,000, or $246,316 per unit.

Here is an update to a graph that has been posted here many times previously. Cap rates are continuing a downward or flat trend across most asset classes amid a continued influx of capital and a continued environment of relatively cheap debt and low interest rates.

Suburban office buildings appear to be the one exception in mid-2014, likely reflecting worsening leasing fundamentals and increasing vacancy in many areas such as Burnaby. While there doesn’t appear to be much room for continued compression in the other asset classes, Vancouver tends to be a market that defies logic.

What do you think? Where do you see capitalization rates trending as we finish 2014 and enter 2015….

[poll id=”6″]

By Frances Bula

Time for all of us to get up to speed here, as First Nations bands around the Lower Mainland and elsewhere are getting increasingly savvy about operating businesses, negotiating deals, and doing development on land they own or have a claim to.

In the wake of the announcement last week about an agreement among the federal government and three local bands to develop two large chunks of land, I went talking to the people behind the scenes who have been watching First Nations grow in the scope of their activities My Globe story here, with a lawyer, a development and a real-estate consultant who have worked with First Nations around the province.

Important for us, too, to understand the differences between developments on reserve land and developments on claimed land.

(One caveat. I referred to Block K as the Shuaghnessy gold club, but Block K, thanks to my informant on Twitter, is actually the chunk of lend just west of the golf club.)

…read more

Source:: Frances Bula