Real estate

Seeking yield? Think real estate

To paint both the residential and commercial real estate sectors with the same brush would cause advisors to overlook the unique benefits offered by commercial real estate investments.

By Rayann Huang |September 6, 2011

3 min read

Estate Planning

Help clients keep their cottages

Succession planning for the cottage is complex, especially when it’s to be shared by multiple family members who all have an emotional attachment. For many cottage owners, values have increased so significantly that their children may be forced to sell it just to pay capital gains and probate taxes.

By Mike George |August 1, 2011

7 min read

Market Insights

Homeownership slipping out of reach: RBC

That dream home your clients thought was within reach has been pushed a little higher again. With the national economy turning a corner, the majority of Canadian markets experienced weakened home affordability in the first quarter of 2011, according to the latest Housing Trends and Affordability study by RBC Economics. Rising ownership cost and falling […]

By Vikram Barhat |May 20, 2011

3 min read

Industry

For real estate, think global

Everyone knows the old adage about the three most important things in real estate, but when it comes to real estate securities, “location, location, location” is not so much repetition but a call to diversification. “A global approach, in my opinion, is recommended as it provides the widest range of return opportunities, and it also […]

By Staff |March 21, 2011

3 min read

CC&L launches HNW real estate unit

Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group has formed a new private equity real estate venture. Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. will offer institutional and high net worth investors with direct access to Canadian commercial real estate assets. Investors have the choice of pooled or segregated accounts. “For several years now, industry consultants have highlighted the […]

By Staff |March 9, 2011

2 min read

Home buying takes plenty of homework

The spring real estate season is just around the corner and clients may already be asking your advice about financing. Whether a fixer-upper or a new build, cost is the biggest consideration among Canadians looking to buy a home, says TD Canada Trust releases 2011 Home Buyers Report. This may be obvious to most advisors, […]

3 min read

Homeownership costs ease

Clients saving for a new home purchase can breathe a sigh of relief—the cost of ownership eased for the second quarter in a row, according to RBC Economics’ Housing Trends and Affordability report. During the last quarter of 2010, the national reading of the RBC Housing Affordability Measure declined between 0.4% and 0.8% across the […]

By Steven Lamb |February 24, 2011

2 min read

How to really resonate with clients

Keep asking good questions that help your client move out of crystallized-thinking mode and into emotional contemplation. Try to understand life issues in discovery before starting your financial discovery. Try to understand life issues in discovery before starting your financial discovery. Keep asking good questions that help your client move out of crystallized-thinking mode and […]

5 min read

Legal structure vital in real estate investing

Similar to a true gold bug's aversion to mining stocks and preference for physical bullion, institutional real estate investors know that REITs are far too closely correlated to the equity markets on which they are listed. For these managers, nothing beats the real thing: a portfolio of physical real estate holdings.

By Steven Lamb |April 27, 2006

5 min read