COMPLETION CALIBRATIONS Canadian Developers Contemplate Catalysts and Obstructions CANADIAN DEVELOPERS are generally less focused on interest rates and more concerned about tariffs than their peers elsewhere, a new survey of more than 400 global players with at least USD $200 million worth of projects in progress reveals. While in sync with the global view that public investment in infrastructure and tenants’ expectations are the two most influential forces driving development decisions, Canadians assign even more weight to these considerations than respondents from most other global regions. They also stand out for a higher propensity to use private equity to fund projects. The bulk of the findings in the newly released Altus Group Global Property 18 October 2020 | Canadian Property Management
Development Trends Report are tied to opinions collected in early 2020 before COVID-19’s full hit landed in the world’s commercial real estate markets. Accordingly, Altus analysts conducted in-depth interviews with seven prominent senior executives, including two Canadians, in July 2020 to explore how that sudden impact may have heightened existing pressures or undermined the optimism expressed earlier in the year — then concluded that the development sector has not dramatically altered course, for now. “It’s evident from the report that the global development sector is facing a complex set of challenges due to long-term market pressures, many of which are exacerbated by the pandemic and its evolving impacts,”
says Scott Morey, Executive Director at Altus Group. “However, the industry is recognizing opportunities balanced with a cautious approach.” Canada is in line to receive a large share of the investment represented in the report. Seventeen percent of respondents have projects underway or in the pipeline in this country, making it the second most active global region after the United States, where 31% of respondents are engaged. Survey participants also have projects, in descending percentages, in Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Columbia, Brazil, Hong Kong and Mexico.
