OFFICE
CB Richard Ellis Ltd. reported that the national office vacancy rate in Canada
increased to 10.1% in the first quarter of 2010 from 9.9% at the end of the fourth
quarter of 2009 and 7.5% in the first quarter of 2009. The percentage of vacant
office space in Canada that was sublet space increased to 21.9% in the first
quarter of 2010 from 20.8% in the first quarter of 2009. In Vancouver, the overall
office vacancy rate rose to 10.2% in the first quarter of 2010 from 7.2% in the
first quarter of 2009, while the downtown office vacancy rate increased to 6%
from 4.2% during the same period. In Edmonton, the overall office vacancy rate
increased to 10.6% in the first quarter of 2010 from 6.5% in the first quarter of
2009. In Calgary, the overall office vacancy rate rose to 14.9% in the first
quarter of 2010 from 7.9% in the first quarter of 2009, and 38.1% of all vacant
office space in Calgary was sublet in the first quarter of 2010, the highest such
percentage in Canada. In Toronto, the overall office vacancy rate increased to
9.6% in the first quarter of 2010 from 7.7% in the first quarter of 2009. In
Montreal, the overall office vacancy rate increased to 10.7% in the first quarter
of 2010 from 8.8% in the first quarter of 2009. In Ottawa, the overall office
vacancy rate increased to 5.4% from 5.1% during the same period. In Halifax,
the overall office vacancy rate decreased to 9.4% in the first quarter of 2010
from 9.6% in the first quarter of 2009.
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HOTEL AND ENTERTAINMENT
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has agreed to purchase Camelot Group
PLC, the operator of Britain’s National Lottery, for approximately £389-million
($590.4-million) from the lottery company’s five shareholders, Cadbury PLC,
Thales SA, Fujitsu Ltd., De La Rue PLC and Royal Mail Group Ltd. The
transaction is conditional on approval from the National Lottery Commission.
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Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC) has filed a new restructuring plan with the
United States bankruptcy court, which cancels an auction for Pimlico Race
Course and Laurel Park in Maryland. The new restructuring plan would allow MI
Developments Inc., which is controlled by Frank Stronach, to own five
racetracks if the bankruptcy exit plan for MEC is approved by creditors in April,
2010.
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RESIDENTIAL
The Great Gulf Group of Companies’ 65-storey condominium tower at One
Bloor in Toronto will include 690 suites and 100,000 square feet of prime retail
space located on the first two floors as well as a below-grade shopping
concourse. The condominium project will be designed by Hariri Pontarini
Architects, Cecconi Simone and Janet Rosenberg + Associates.
Occupancy is scheduled for December, 2014.
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© 2008 KPMG LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of
independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved.
UNITED STATES AND OTHER MARKETS
KB Home, a United States home builder, reported a loss of US$54.7-million or
US71 cents a share in its fiscal first quarter in 2010, compared with a loss of
US$58.1-million or US75 cents a share in its fiscal first quarter in 2009.
Revenue decreased by 14% to US$264-million in its fiscal first quarter in 2010
from US$307.4-million in its fiscal first quarter in 2009. New orders increased by
5% to 1,913 in January and February, 2010, from January and February, 2009,
led by a 41% gain in KB Home’s Southwest markets during the same period.
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The Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes in the United
States decreased by 2.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 308,000
units in February, 2010, from January, 2010.
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Sales of existing homes in the United States decreased for the third consecutive
month in February, 2010, from January, 2010. The supply of existing homes on
the market in the United States increased to 9.2 months’ worth in February,
2010, from 8.9 months’ worth in January, 2010.
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According to Rightmove, its index of asking prices for houses in the United
Kingdom for March, 2010, increased by 0.1%, compared with an increase of
17.5% for February, 2010. There are currently more properties up for sale in the
United Kingdom than there have been for 18 months.
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Dubai plans to restructure $23.5-billion of debt for Dubai World and its main
real-estate subsidiary, Nakheel, with up to $9.5-billion in new funding and
proposes to repay creditors over as many as eight years.
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Property prices in China are expected to decrease by between 10% and 15% in
the second half of 2010 and in 2011, following a series of government measures
intended to contain prices. Property prices increased by 10.7% in February,
2010, the largest increase in nearly two years.
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Source:
The following information was obtained from newspaper articles
appearing in the Globe and Mail and the National Post
for the week ending March 28, 2010