Our weekly round-up of real estate news in Toronto, across Canada and the world for the week ending August 26, 2016.
Toronto
Residents Fighting Back After Condo Board Proposes Pet Ban (CityNews)
When one envisions a trendy Torontonian living in one of the city’s flourishing condo communities, the image of a fashionable figure walking a small dog while cradling a tall latte comes to mind. The latte can stay, but the dog could be gone if a condo board succeeds in painting a new picture of a pet-free life at two CityPlace buildings.
Condo Proposal for Shops at Don Mills is a Missed Opportunity (The Globe & Mail)
Of the several Toronto architects who make tall residential buildings, a few also make news when they unveil a fresh-out-of-the-box skyscraper scheme.
David Pontarini, for example—a founding partner in the firm of Hariri Pontarini Architects—has often brought forth tower proposals that do sharply interesting, even delightful things with the standard urban box. When this happens, it’s news.
Take Mr. Pontarini’s lyrically sculpted, expressive high-rise on the south-east corner of Yonge and Bloor streets. Now almost completed, this large, lofty structure promises to become a local landmark and make a memorable mark on the city’s skyline.
Redevelopment Plan Reemerges for Storied East End Mansion (UrbanToronto)
The house at Toronto's 450 Pape Avenue has had its turns as a mansion, a Salvation Army shelter, an empty and abandoned building, and a plethora of Hollywood film sets. This being Toronto, the home was also recently subject to a bizarre weight-loss lawsuit and a real estate bidding war—as well as a number of stalled and contentious redevelopment plans—with the property listed for sale at a starting price of $1 in March of this year.
Next up? It could be condos.
Residents Fight to Save Schoolyard Sunshine in Condo Battle (Toronto Star)
Canada’s largest school board is fighting a proposed condo development in the downtown core that threatens to leave a local elementary school in the shadows.
Ghost Hotels Taking Over Waterfront Says Fairbnb (MetroNews Toronto)
Toronto’s waterfront is haunted by 'ghost hotels' with a concentration of short-term rental listings in condo towers in the area, according to data from independent website Inside Airbnb.
Canada
Vancouver Real Estate Agents Criticized for Sympathy Card (Times Colonist)
A 73-year-old man whose wife died less than three weeks earlier was crushed to get a pitch for his business attached to a sympathy card from two Metro Vancouver real estate agents, his outraged daughter says.
“It absolutely devastated him,” Launi Smith Bowie said. “It’s absolutely disgusting and misguided in the worst way.”
Real Estate Council of BC Requires Photo ID for Applications After Deception (The Province)
The Real Estate Council of B.C. is requiring government photo ID checks during licence applications for the first time after discovering an agent who scored 90 per cent on his licensing exam had someone else write the test.
USA
Five things to Know About a New West Palm Beach Condo (Palm Beach Post)
You just sold your home for $400,000. Good going, nice job, congratulations. Kudos are also due to the real estate agents who helped you close the deal. If you live in a part of the country where the standard commission is 6 per cent, you probably just paid them $24,000. Or maybe not.
Around the World
UK Property Values Down after Brexit (Wall Street Journal)
Two months after U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union, there is consensus that its commercial real estate is now worth less. How much less? No one can quite agree.
The Real Estate Play on Pokemon GO: Data Centers and Telecom Towers! (Forbes)
When the Pokemon Go augmented reality smartphone game exploded onto the scene in July, traders quickly latched onto any investment threads connected to the game, but perhaps the best ways to capitalize on the trends illustrated by the game’s success are in real estate.
