Commercial Real Estate News Toronto – February 2010 – 2/2

LoopNet Releases Next Generation of LoopLink – LoopNet

LoopNet which operates the largest online commercial real estate marketplace, today announced the release of LoopLink 8.0, the new and improved, faster, search-engine-optimized property listing and display engine. Powering over 1,000 commercial real estate web sites LoopNet’s LoopLink technology is the #1 technology for searching and displaying commercial properties online.

Yahoo Wed Feb 17 2010

Three more things to know about leasing

Options to renew a lease are great to have in your back pocket, but in some markets it’s better to negotiate a new lease on new terms than to renew the old lease. Again, it depends on whether it’s a rising or falling rental market and it depends on what city the premises are in. A good strategy would be to talk to the landlord about a new lease two or three months before the date you have to exercise the option to renew.

Globe and Mail Tue Feb 16 2010

Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund Completes $53 Million Debt Refinancing – Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund – BRE.UN-T

Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund completed the refinancing of its $53 million debt obligations. The refinancing is comprised of a $32.7 million private debt placement with a number of Canadian institutional investors with interest fixed 5.809% and a $20.3 million bank facility with interest available in the form of floating prime rate, or at Banker’s Acceptance rates plus 3% with terms of up to six months.

Canada News Wire Fri Feb 19 2010

GTA Commercial REALTORS® Release Commercial Market Report

Last month, TREB Commercial Members reported 660,815 square feet of leased space. This result was a substantial increase compared to the 336,029 leased square feet recorded in January of 2009, when the rate of economic decline was greatest during the recent recession. Office space traded for $10.83 per sfn, down 8 per cent from $11.73 per sfn in January 2009.

Market Wire Thu Feb 18 2010

Unprecedented decline in Canadian office rents in 2009 – Cushman & Wakefield

The world’s leading centres have suffered an unprecedented fall in demand for office space which has contributed to the first aggregated global fall in prime office rents since 2003. Global real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield, in its new Office Space Across the World report, says that 2009 recorded a steep and widespread fall in office demand with every region in the world recording falling prime rents for the first time.

Canada News Wire Wed Feb 24 2010

GTA commercial real estate investment activity falls to decade low – Avison Young

Commercial real estate investment activity strengthened in the second half of 2009, but totals for the year lagged behind 2008 numbers as uncertain market conditions created by the global economic downturn took their toll on both the value and quantity of transactions across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). These are some of the key trends noted in Avison Young’s Winter 2009-2010 Investment Review for the GTA.

Avison Young – Canada News Wire Wed Feb 24 2010

New Canadian Office REIT proposed by BPO Properties – BPO Properties – BPP-T

Brookfield Properties Corporation and its Canadian-based subsidiary BPO Properties Ltd. announced a proposal to create Canada’s pre-eminent office REIT. Upon conversion, the new REIT, to be named Brookfield Office Properties Canada, will acquire BPP’s directly owned office assets in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver and will also acquire Brookfield Properties’ interest in Brookfield Place.

Market Watch Fri Feb 26 2010

H&R REIT Funds From Operations Up 16 Percent – H&R REIT

Canada’s H&R real estate investment trust posted fourth-quarter funds from operations that beat market estimates. The trust reported FFO — a key measure used by real estate companies — of C$54.5 million, or 37 Canadian cents per basic stapled unit, up from C$46.9 million, or 32 Canadian cents per basic stapled unit in the year-ago period.

Reuters Fri Feb 26 2010 – Canada News Wire