Toronto Commercial Real Estate

Investment capital starting to flow in Greater Toronto Area Commercial Real Estate as office and retail sales exceed 2009 totals.

Avison Young releases Summer 2010 Investment Review for the GTA

Toronto, ON – With buyers showing a stronger appetite for retail and office properties, Greater Toronto Area (GTA) commercial real estate investment sales dollar volume is on track to surpass its 2009 total.

In the first half of 2010, retail ($1.1 billion) and office ($992 million) property sales exceeded their totals for all of 2009. With more than $500 million worth of commercial real estate assets being marketed for sale at the start of the second half of the year, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, investment sales should easily exceed last year’s total of $4.2 billion.

These are some of the key trends noted in Avison Young’s Summer 2010 Investment Review– Greater Toronto Area, released today. The semi-annual report tracks GTA office, industrial, retail, land, and multi-residential property sales transactions greater than $1 million.

“Stable and improving market fundamentals, low borrowing costs, high availability of debt, and the emergence of real estate investment trusts (REITs) as active buyers have precipitated the rise in investment sales activity through the first half of the year,” comments Bill Argeropoulos, Vice-President and Director of Research (Canada) for Avison Young. “Retail replaced industrial as the most coveted investment asset from one year ago as sales skyrocketed by 427% over the first half of 2009 to close above the $1 billion plateau ($1.1 billion) at mid-year 2010.”

According to the report, overall investment sales volume across the GTA reached $3.5 billion in the first half of 2010, up from $2.8 and $1.4 billion in the second and first half of 2009, respectively. Retail’s $1.1 billion in first-half 2010 investment is almost double the sector’s year-end 2009 total of
$599 million. Office investment reached $992 million in the first half of 2010, slightly surpassing $990 million for all of 2009.

Despite the improvements, overall sales are still well off the pace set during the peak of 2007, when year-end volume totalled slightly over $10 billion.
“The first-half 2010 results are welcome indicators that portions of the wall of capital are finally finding a home – after being parked on the sidelines for an extended period,” adds Robin White, Avison Young’s Executive Vice-President, Capital Markets Group. “The uptick in sales and the increased competition for assets between pension funds and REITs are becoming more apparent, with REITs getting the upper hand, at least in the office sector.”

Dundee REIT and Whiterock REIT were the most active buyers of office product in the first half of this year. Combined, they acquired almost $600 million in assets, representing 60% of the year-to-date office investment volume, according to the report.

“Favourable capital-market climates – on both the debt and equity sides of the equation – are helping to drive the acquisition velocity. Public real estate companies are able to raise capital in the public market, fuelling its need for deployment. This resurgence in activity in the real estate market from a year prior has also been supported by a reasonable level of activity from the institutional and non-institutional lenders,” explains Avison Young’s Norman Arychuk, Mortgage Agent, Capital Markets Group.

“Investment-grade assets are keenly sought, with pent-up demand from a broad range of competing investors putting downward pressure on cap rates. In contrast, the market for assets with vacancy or near-term expiry remains fickle, as investors cannot disconnect from the leasing market, where the cost and face rates of lease-up are being heavily scrutinized,” notes Richard Chilcott, a member of Avison Young’s Capital Markets Group.
“If the pace in investment sales witnessed thus far continues in the second half of the year, don’t be surprised if the final tally for 2010 approaches or breaks the $7 billion mark – a figure not seen since 2008,” concludes Argeropoulos.

Other Investment Review Highlights:
Investment in office properties has already topped the value of office transactions in all of 2009. In total, just over $992 million worth of office properties changed hands in the first half of 2010, accounting for 28% of the overall investment volume in the GTA. This volume represents 41% and 246% increases over the second and first half of 2009, respectively.

Office

Nearly 2,300 acres of land changed ownership in the first half of 2010, representing $591 million (17%) of total volume. The rise in land sales is attributed to the continued acquisition of strategic sites by Metrolinx, an Ontario Government Crown Corporation. While land sales volume increased from $482 and $494 million in the second and first half of 2009, respectively, total acreage fell short of the 3,500 acres sold in the second half of 2009.

Land
Retail was the most actively traded asset class in the GTA in the first six months of the year, and the only asset class to crack the $1 billion mark. In all, $1.1 billion worth of retail properties changed hands, capturing 30% of the GTA’s first-half investment volume and doubling its 2009 overall output. By comparison, only $203 million worth of retail properties traded in the first half of 2009. The top five deals accounted for slightly more than half (53%) of the total value of retail deals in the first six months of 2010 with Oxford Properties and Ivanhoe Cambridge capturing the headlines.

Retail
GTA multi-residential property sales grew modestly compared to the second half of 2009. In all, multi-residential sales volume climbed to $377 million in the first half of 2010 from from $332 million in the second half of 2009 – an increase of 14%. However, when compared to the first half of 2009, investment activity has jumped 153%.

Multi-Residential
Industrial building sales waned in the first half of 2010, slipping to $520 million from $840 million in the second half of 2009 – a 38% drop. Industrial was the only sector to register a decline over the previous six-month period.

Industrial
Founded in 1978, Avison Young is Canada’s largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company and the only national, Canadian-owned, principal-managed real estate brokerage firm in the country. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and ranked among Canada’s leading national commercial real estate organizations, Avison Young is a full-service commercial real estate company comprising more than 700 real estate professionals in 21 offices across Canada and in the U.S. The company provides value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-residential properties.

toronto commercial lease, commercial real estate,

Toronto Commercial Real Estate

The number and variety of Toronto Commercial Real Estate investment products that are accessible today is staggering and to the average investor, attempting to understand which one is right for you can be a tough task. There are various risks and rewards that go along with each one. One can feel that in order to understand each product requires an advanced degree, but you can improve your odds of success by doing your research.

You may have heard some investment advisers or institutions talk about a diversified portfolio. Having different types of investments instead of just one type helps to protect your money by diluting the risk. You can think of it in terms of being a multi-legged approach to investing. One prong or type of investment may be composed of stocks, bonds, and savings.

Commodities make up the second type of investment product. These are goods such as oil, gold and silver. They can result in substantial returns but at the cost of very high risk. Commodities are usually left to the experienced investor who has time to closely watch the market because they are very volatile.

Toronto Commercial Real Estate has traditionally been a solid investment but not everyone has the funds to go out and start buying property. To apply the Toronto residential real estate market as an example the average cost of a home is over $300,000 with commercial properties being even more. This is where Real Estate Investment Certificates, or REITs come into play.

These are entities that go out and buy property or interests in hotels, office buildings, shopping malls and even mortgages. REITs themselves come in various forms to suit your investment style. REITs that are invested in physical real estate are called Equity REITs. The rents that are charged generate income. To use Toronto as an example again you may have shopping centers with a Wal-mart, Home Depot, Payless shoes etc. that are all leasing buildings from the property owners. All together these Toronto properties are all generating income from rents for the REIT and its investors. Mortgage REITs, however, comprises of investing, or lending, of mortgage money to property owners or developers. If you can’t decide which one you prefer you can choose to get a hybrid REIT which is a combination of the two.

One risky type of real estate invest is known as an option. This is simply a buyer is making what’s known as an “option for consideration”. The option entails an offer to buy real estate if certain conditions are fulfilled such as financing or inspections. During this period the property is taken off of the market in return for a small amount of money as a deposit. This can be risky because the buyer may be forced to forfeit their deposit if the conditions are not fulfilled. On the upside the buyer could earn a quick and substantial profit if they can quickly sell their option to a third party. To do this right a buyer needs to research the market thoroughly.

It can be confusing at times but the more you know the better off you will be. Long term investing is the key and real estate has proven to be a good vehicle for investors and even with the many possible risks involved it is considered to be the least risky when set side by side with other types of investments. And as such it is vital to include it in your investment portfolio.

About the Author

Stefan Hyross writes on behalf of Lea Barclay, a sales representative and expert in the
Toronto residential real estate
market. Feel free visit the website for more information and to search for
Toronto properties
available for sale and lease.

Toronto Commercial Real Estate, Commercial Toronto

Investment capital starting to flow in Greater Toronto Area as office and retail sales exceed 2009 totals
With buyers showing a stronger appetite for retail and office properties, Greater Toronto Area commercial real estate investment sales dollar volume is on track to surpass its 2009 total.
toronto commercial real estate brokers, AristonRealty.com

Residential Real Estate Agent Toronto

Real estate investment in Canadian property has escalated over the past few years. More and more immigrants are buying or renting properties in places like Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville, George Town and Burlington. These places hold tremendous potential and offers great opportunities for investing in real estate. Canada has a huge real estate market for residential properties, commercial properties, and rental properties. The growing infrastructure, warm people, diverse culture, great weather, residential tourism, and migration from other countries have all made these places highly popular and increased the growth prospect for real estate.

Buying Property in Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville, George Town, and Burlington

Buying property in Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville, George Town, and Burlington is pretty easy and involves a straightforward process. You can invest in various residential real estate toronto like apartments, luxury houses, resorts, farms, flats, villas, town houses, condos, etc. If you wish to invest in the Canadian real estate market then this is a true bargain as buying real estate property in this region is very affordable as compared to buying in United States and Europe. Canada offers great opportunities for real estate market but there are a few points need to be considered before buying the property:
•    Determine your potential needs: Before buying any real estate property, ascertain why you want to buy the property? Whether it is for residential or commercial purposes? Most of the investors buy real estate property with a commercial view and use it for  rental purposes to gain good returns, but you can also buy it for your personal needs and own your own cozy corner at affordable rates.
•    Find appropriate real estate that matches your needs: Finding your dream apartment, luxury home, condo, office, land, etc. is pretty simple and easy process. You can search for the dream property online or ask real estate property agents to do that for you. Strike the deal only when you get satisfied with the real estate brokerage.
•    Select the best real estate brokerage firm for buying the property: A number of real estate brokerage firms are available in the market that claim to get you the best bargains but it is advisable to select a real estate brokerage firm that is regulated by the state government. You can check the license number to ascertain that the real estate agent   is a licensed to buy, exchange, rent, and sell properties in Canada.
•    Arranging funds for buying the property: You can opt for mortgage or home loan or full cash payment to purchase the property. Financing mortgages is very common in Canada because of low interest rates and people usually make some down payment to buy real estate property.

Gethalfback.ca is a reputed real estate brokerage firm Toronto offering commercial real estate Properties for sale Toronto and purchase services. The company helps you own, purchase, sale, rent out the property conveniently and quickly. They have a team of experts caters to all your specific needs and helps you find the best real estate deal.

About the Author

Gethalfback is a real estate agent providing services like Condos Toronto, Homes Toronto, Living in Toronto, luxury homes Toronto, residential real estate Toronto. Real estate agents help you in property sales and management, home and house listing.

Haroon Mohammadi, (TV Commercial) Real Estate Agent, Toronto, Canada