Real Estate

The sale of aging federal government buildings in Ottawa could still be “several years” away, Public Services and Procurement Canada says, while a Crown corporation that redevelops surplus federal properties says it will look into whether any of the sites on the disposal list could be financially viable as residential conversions.

The Altea wellness and social club that is moving into the former Canadian Tire store on Carling Avenue could be the first of many businesses opting for a location near but not in the downtown core, market watchers say.

The federal government this week released a list of several properties that it is planning to dispose of in the National Capital Region.

Claridge Homes chief financial officer Neil Malhotra said higher mortgage rates, rising construction costs due to inflation and a new bylaw that hikes the fees developers pay to the city in lieu of parkland at highrise building sites have combined to make large-scale development projects a risky proposition.

National home sales jumped by 11.3 per cent between March and April as the real estate market picked up again, but supply remained at a 20 year-low, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts for the fourth month of the year was 16,673 units, up six per cent from 15,715 in March.

Pro athletes and senior executives trying to buy a home in Ottawa are among those being affected by the federal government's foreign buyer ban, realtors say. 

Minto Apartment REIT is refinancing hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of mortgages as rising interest rates jack up the costs of servicing its debt and eat into its cash flow, the company said this week.

True North Commercial REIT said in financial filings this week it has agreed to sell the 11-storey Narono Building at 360 Laurier Ave. W. to an unnamed buyer for about $17.5 million.

InterRent REIT says occupancy at the Slayte, the 11-storey rental complex at 473 Albert St. it is developing in conjunction with sister company CLV Group, is “quickly approaching” the 50 per cent mark “despite lease-up having mainly occurred during the weaker winter rental months.”