We’re the commercial mortgage broker in Toronto that stays on top of the trends you need to know about. That’s why the following caught our eye.
Commercial real estate transaction volume dropped in Q2 and the big dip can’t be blamed on retail properties alone. This is the big news from Morguard’s 2020 Canadian Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals.
The report highlighted decreases of almost 60% percent in Q2 for transactional volumes for office, retail and multi-suite residential units.
Keith Reading directs the research department at Morguard. He told MortgageBrokerNews recently the downward spikes were the result of the pandemic and not a structural flaw in multi family or office properties.
Commercial Mortgage Broker in Toronto Reporting on The Silver Lining
There was at least one silver lining to Reading’s comments.
“I think you’ll see investors toward the end of the year really jump back into the market,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.
Other interesting tidbits from the report include the fact the industrial sector was outperforming its commercial competition. That reflects a shift in consumer behaviour towards a spike in online shopping.
The thinking behind the spike centres around the need for more storage space. Online retailers need to outpace their competition by getting products to consumers quickly. That means they need more properties near the bigger urban centres.
“Companies need more storage space. They need more last-mile delivery space,” Reading says in MortgageBrokerNews. “That’s really driving this demand for industrial space, and I don’t see that slowing down any time soon.”
The report stayed clear from drilling down into the often covered struggles of retail. Still, it’s optimistic about some of the malls and shopping centres finding non-retail tenants like banks and medical offices. That’s another good sign.
As your commercial mortgage broker in Toronto, we keep a careful eye on the changing commercial landscape.
