Courtesy The National Post

“While the housing market languishes, investment activity in commercial property continues to be red hot, with a $500-million deal for Standard Life’s real estate portfolio the latest on the horizon.

By some definitions, this could make 2012 the best year ever for commercial property sales — a year in which the Bank of Nova Scotia sold its head office for a record-breaking $1.27-billion.

Postmedia News has learned that Montreal-based Standard Life is selling a major Toronto office along with three other properties in Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton in what would be the third-largest deal of the year.

Standard Life spokeswoman Ann-Marie Gagné confirmed the sale of the two buildings in Alberta, but would not disclose the purchase price. The two had been part of a deal for a four-piece portfolio but it has since been broken up into two transactions.”

View the full article HERE.

A 14-unit apartment building in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver has sold for $2,990,000, or $214,000 per unit and a cap rate estimated to be approximately 4.25%. The Afton Apartments is located at 2045 Maple Street, at the corner of 5th and Maple. The purchaser is Headwater Projects a local private equity firm.

From Canada Newswire

“VANCOUVER, Nov. 20, 2012 /CNW/ – Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (TSX: AAR.UN) (“PIRET”) announced today that it has entered into conditional agreements to acquire $169.2 million of income producing properties (collectively, the “Acquisitions”), consisting of seven industrial properties representing 1,524,818 square feet of gross leasable area (“GLA”) located in Richmond and Surrey, British Columbia, Edmonton, Alberta, Toronto Ontario, and Quebec City, Quebec. The Acquisitions consist of a portfolio of two properties located in Richmond, British Columbia (the “Richmond Portfolio”), another property located in Richmond, British Columbia (the “Second Richmond Property”), one property located in Surrey, British Columbia (the “Surrey Property), two properties located in Edmonton, Alberta and Toronto, Ontario (collectively, the “Edmonton-Toronto Properties”) and one property located in Quebec City, Quebec (the “Quebec Property”).  The properties are being acquired at a weighted average going-in capitalization rate of 6.25%.”

New Westminster News Leader – Restaurant eyed for new building.

An open house will be held next Thursday for a proposed restaurant patio at the Queen’s Park West office complex under construction in New Westminster’s Uptown district.

It will be held Nov. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m., at 300-601 Sixth St.

Uptown Property Group are the owners of the building, which is on Sixth Avenue at Fifth Street.

Read more: http://www.newwestnewsleader.com/news/180187751.html

200 West Esplanade, the Esplanade Theatre building, a 5-storey retail and office building in the Lower Lonsdale area of North Vancouver has been sold by Colliers for $12,350,000 to First Capital Realty.

The building has a net rentable area of 38,628 SF, of which about 30,000 SF is cinema space and the balance is retail and office. The building was built in 1990 and is on a 17,928 SF site.