I still don't have a problem with the government selling it's real estate assets. If it makes economic sense to sell and will save the taxpayer some money, then I say it's worthwhile.  What really chaps my $%^ is the way in which this is being handled.

Not only have they engaged banks, rather than REALTORS to "handle" the sales, but they are trying to keep the details "confidential".  Sorry, that's not the way it works.  I've been doing this kind or work for a decade, and if you want to maximize return, then you need to expose an investment property to the greatest audience of potential buyers possible.  That means using MLS and the professionalism of trained Commercial REALTORs.  

Link to globeandmail.com: Ottawa's real estate targets exceed market appraisals

I am absolutely livid about this one. The federal government appears to be breaking the law in a bid to sell and leaseback several of its office buildings. This article from the Globe and Mail tells the tale.



What really irks me as a REALTOR is that the banks are not licensed real estate brokerages in Canada. Some of them do have brokerage arms, but it isn't clear in this case whether or not the banks in question do, or if they do, that they are using those brokerage divisions. What I see is a couple of banks giving real estate advice and offering brokerage services without a license.



There have long been unlicensed practitioners out there in commercial real estate - those of us in the trenches see them every day. That doesn't make it right; and the Canadian Government should not, under any circumstances be condoning this!



I will be contacting the regulating authorities about this and will post back if I get anywhere.





Technorati Tags: commercial real estate, canada, government, illegal

I just came across this great article about a local company that has won a very prestigious contract to provide prefabricated log homes to a resort company in Cornwall, England.

My in-laws live in Bobcaygeon, and I've been by the Confederation Log Homes plant on Cty Rd 36 many times. While I'm not really a fan of log homes myself, they are an environmentally friendly and efficient alternative. I am always amazed at how much home grown talent we have access to, right here in our region.

Our new Hotsheet is up for viewing. Please feel free to take a look and see what's going on in the Greater Peterborough commercial real estate market.

We have some exciting new listings and are looking for a lot of different properties on behalf of buyers.

If you'd like to receive an email notification when the Hotsheet is updated, please email me and ask to subscribe.

Thanks for dropping by.

canada.com

This story on canada.com is worth a read. Everyone should be talking to their MP about the necessity of changing how investment properties are taxed at the time of sale. I know from my own commercial real estate practice (this happened to me today!), that there are sellers out there sitting on millions of dollars in real estate that they can't 'afford' to sell because of the tax implications. Imagine owning a retail plaza worth about $15.5M and being unable to sell it because your accountant has advised you that you will be immediately liable for a $6M tax bill!

Let's do the math: for a building to be worth $15.5M, it should be earning about $1,300,000 per year in net income if we apply a capitalization rate of somewhere between 8% and 8.5%. If we take $15,500,000 and subtract $6,000,000 we're left with $9,500,000 (without considering brokerage fees, legal fees and closing costs). If we go back to marekt with that money and reinvest at similar rates of return, you'll soon realize that you just took a rather large haircut - to the tune of about $500,000 per year in income!.

So where is the incentive to sell and reinvest and thereby stimulate the economy?

Our government needs to take a long hard look at this because, in the long run, more money will be made from the spin-off of reinvestment, like renovations and remodelling, than will be lost in initial tax deferrals.

Developers see dollar signs behind green ratings

Big companies will pay a premium for eco-sensitive buildings, LORI MAYNE writes

globeandmail.com: Developers see dollar signs behind green ratings

This story in the Globe caught my attention as it's becoming more and more fashionable, and smart, to build green buildings. While these projects are only a drop in the bucket compared to the total amount of office construction going on right now across Canada, it is encouraging to see some of the biggest developers finally realize the returns that can be realized on green construction and systems implementation.

While it may cost more to build this way, the long term return on investment in terms of lower maintenance costs and lower energy costs will be felt for decades. Kudos to these visionaries.