Windsor’s industrial real estate market reached new heights in 2023 as a strong fourth quarter saw records smashed for average sales and lease rates and new industrial space under construction.
The average sales price in Windsor ($175.55 per square foot) rose eight times as much as the national average (1.5 per cent). Lease rates climbed 13.6 per cent to $10.53 per square foot, more than double the Canadian average.
“The big thing that happened at the end of the year were a couple of large blocks of industrial space got absorbed,” said CBRE Windsor senior vice-president Brook Handysides.
“Those two deals accounted for half-a-million square feet in Q4 of 2023. Large chunks of space can inflate or lower the market.”
The former CS Wind plant, which is 213,000 square feet, was one of those two sites that is now filled.
Guelph-based automotive supplier CpK Interiors is opening its first Windsor site in the plant and it will share the main building with NextStar Energy. The battery plant firm will use the site to house its growing business/administrative offices until it completes its own building.
Valiant TMS has taken over the 95,000-square-foot CS Wind paint shop on the site.
The other major deal in the fourth quarter saw automotive supplier Ventra Assembly Company, a subsidiary of Flex N Gate, taking over an empty 290,000-square-foot plant on Cantelon Drive next to Ford’s Essex Engine plant.
“A lot of it’s related to the retooling (of Windsor Assembly Plant). We’ve seen very little related to the battery plant supply chain.
“That is still to come.”
Collins added the softness in the industrial market is for sites under 20,000 square feet.
“Tool and die and mould shops haven’t seen some of the OEMs’ new programs launched yet,” Collins said.
“We’ve seen a lot of Tier I clients in Windsor expanding their existing facilities or their footprints. We expect to see that trickle down to the tool and mould shops soon.”
Collins cites TRW Automotive’s 196,450-square-foot site and 320,000 square feet at the former Nemak site coming onto the market shortly as examples of expansions or repurposing. The owner of the Nemak site, which is being refurbished, will retain an additional 100,000 square feet for a logistics and industrial services hub.
The strong demand for industrial space has driven down the availability rate to 2.86 per cent. New construction won’t do anything to help improve that number with the space already pre-leased.
The Pilette Road facility represents 44 per cent of all available industrial space in the region. Without it, Windsor has an availability rate of 1.59 per cent.
“There’s interest now in that building from both the logistics/warehousing and from the electric vehicle side,” Handysides said.
The limited supply and positive economic prospects for Windsor have pushed up the asking prices for space.
The average sales price climbed 12 per cent per square foot in 2023, more than doubling the 2018 price average of $85.99.
The average leasing price per square foot rose 13.6 per cent last year. It was $6.88 in 2018.
“Investors and sellers remain bullish on Windsor, so that’s what’s driving prices,” Collins said.
Despite the annual percentage increases in the Windsor area for both sales and leasing being the second-highest in Canada in 2023, the local area remains cheaper than the national average for sales ($276.75) and leasing rates ($13.71).
“Windsor remains relatively well-priced compared to the rest of Canada,” Handysides.
“We’re still $100 per square foot below the national average (to buy industrial property). That’s a sizable spread.”
TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.
The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.
“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.
“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”
The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.
New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.
In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.
The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.
“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.
“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”
He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.
“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.
“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”
All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.
Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.
“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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