Optimism for Canadian Commercial Real Estate Investment Market
It might sound like the equivalent of a gold rush when any industry sector can show a 93% increase in one year but that’s exactly what happened with the Toronto commercial real estate market from 2009 to 2010. The increase for Canada averaged 48% overall with a total investment volume of 18.9 billion dollars, indicating healthy investor confidence and a strong economy. This article discusses the most up-to-date statistics in the commercial property investment market.
According to the 2010 National Investment Report issued by CB Richard Ellis Limited (CBRE) the commercial property investment volume has climbed back to pre-2005 recession levels and totaled 18.9 billion dollars. Commercial property is proving to be an attractive investment which stimulates the rest of the economy. Office, industrial, and retail property in Canada have all attracted investor interest, with many companies deciding to upgrade to better properties before prices rise any further.
This is fortunate for Canada in a time when most countries are still sinking in a worldwide depression. There is a banking crisis caused by the credit default swap swindle evidenced by the problems of European Union economies such as Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal. Bailing banks out of their black hole of debt and sticking it on the taxpayer has been allowing banks to exert undue control over those countries’ infrastructures, resources, economies and governments.
Whether you use the term recession or depression for the state of an economy depends largely on where you’re sitting. The lower classes have less money so inflation means the same amount of money buys less, so the economic pain is far greater than those who still have something left over and are not as devastated by things like unemployment and high interest rates.
Every region in Canada showed a 2010 growth except for London Ontario. Other cities like Halifax could have showed bigger volumes if there was more investment product available, a factor that limits any real growth figures. The economy in such a region could be healthier than investment sales would indicate. In any case, these provide relatively strong yields compared to other investment types so Canadian commercial real estate is attracting foreign investors as well as domestic ones.
In Vancouver there were 1,263 transactions totaling $2.9 billion dollars compared to Toronto, where 1,156 transactions represented $7.4 billion, so each of the commercial properties trades in Toronto were of higher value in terms of dollar amounts. Montreal also showed significantly greater sized amounts per transaction. The volume of $2.9 billion was a one-year increase of 52% yet the transaction increase was just 32%, showing the effect of large institutional deals like the Place Innovation and McGill College properties.
Companies with both property management and asset management skills should thrive in the 2011 year if this trend continues. Such firms suffer or smile in relation to the state of the economy; investors are turning to Canada as a refuge from the collapsing economies of other countries. At a time when currency systems are under attack caution must be used. It remains to be seen which countries, if any, become insulated from the turmoil that is being fomented elsewhere to usher in a one world government and one world currency system. This is the goal of those who control world leaders, but to give control of the money supply to a private clique will lead to disaster since absolute power corrupts absolutely. A post-industrial feudal system will be the end result if such a thing were to occur.