Richard Crenian Archives - The Official Blog of Richard Crenian

Media, News

Press Release – Real Estate Mogul Richard Crenian Provides Insight on Current CRE Market Trends & the Viability

Miami, Florida Sep 20, 2023 – Renowned real estate developer and entrepreneur, Richard Crenian, has recently shared his perspective on the current state of the real estate market and the potential advantages of investing in real estate. Richard Crenian’s insights were presented in a comprehensive analysis featured on his official website, RichardCrenian.com. The article titled “Timing the Market: Is Real Estate Investment a Good Move Right Now?” delves into the factors that influence the real estate market and offers valuable advice to prospective investors.

Drawing from his extensive experience in the industry, Richard Crenian provides an in-depth exploration of market cycles, economic indicators, and historical trends that can guide investment decisions. He emphasizes the importance of conducting thorough research and due diligence, underlining that while timing the market can be challenging, strategic planning and a long-term perspective can yield substantial returns. Richard Crenian’s insights are particularly relevant in the current economic landscape, where uncertainty and fluctuation have become more pronounced due to global events. He points out that despite these challenges, real estate investment remains a viable option for those seeking stability and potential appreciation. Crenian highlights the resilience of real estate as an asset class and its ability to adapt to changing circumstances, making it a suitable choice for both seasoned investors and newcomers to the market.

The opportunity is in multi-tenant commercial real estate properties, these properties host tenants from various industries or sectors, which not only broadens the customer and client base but also enhances the property’s appeal to potential tenants. Common amenities like parking areas, lobbies, elevators, restrooms, and common areas are shared among tenants, contributing to cost efficiency and convenience.

Each tenant typically signs an individual lease agreement with the property owner or management company. These agreements outline lease duration, rent amounts, and any specific conditions. A dedicated management team is often employed to oversee daily operations, maintenance, and tenant relations, ensuring the property runs smoothly. Multi-tenant commercial properties are strategically located in areas with heavy foot traffic and easy accessibility, attracting both tenants and customers.

Property owners generate rental income from multiple tenants, leading to more stable and secure income streams compared to single-tenant properties. Carefully curating the tenant mix fosters synergy among businesses, attracting more people to the property and benefiting all tenants involved.

Richard Crenian’s reputation as a visionary entrepreneur and real estate expert lends weight to his analysis. With a career spanning several decades, Crenian has established himself as a prominent figure in the real estate sector, with a track record of successful ventures and a deep understanding of market dynamics. As the founder and CEO of one of North America’s leading real estate development firms, Crenian brings a wealth of practical knowledge to his insights. His dedication to educating and empowering investors is evident in his article, where he distills complex concepts into accessible information, making it an invaluable resource for individuals considering real estate as an investment avenue.

Investors, wealth managers, industry professionals, and individuals interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the current real estate market are encouraged to read Richard Crenian’s analysis.

Media, News

Richard Crenian on CRE Growth Opportunities

https://linktr.ee/richardcrenian

Richard Crenian, a well-known leader in the commercial real estate market, is a visionary who has a unique ability to transform low-income properties into higher-generating income opportunities by combining research and improvements with demographics.

Toronto, ON – Aug. 25, 2023 – PRLog — Multi-tenant commercial real estate refers to properties that host multiple tenants within one building or complex. Designed specifically to accommodate and lease space to multiple businesses, organizations or individuals; tenants in multi-tenant real estate could include retail stores, offices, restaurants, medical clinics, co-working spaces and more.

Key characteristics of multi-tenant commercial real estate properties:

Diverse Tenants: Your property hosts tenants from various industries or sectors, providing more customers and clients for your area. This diversity can help draw potential tenants.

Shared Facilities: Some amenities or facilities may be shared among tenants, such as parking areas, common lobbies, elevators, restrooms and common areas.

Lease Agreements: Each tenant typically enters into an individual lease agreement with their property owner or management company, detailing duration, rent amounts and any special conditions applicable.

Property Management: Real estate properties typically employ a management team to oversee daily operations, maintenance, and tenant relations.

Location: Commercial properties designed for multi-tenants should be placed in areas with heavy foot traffic and good accessibility to attract tenants and customers alike.

Rental Income: Property owners generating rental income from multiple tenants often experience more stable and secure income streams compared to single-tenant properties.

Tenant Mix: When carefully balanced, tenant mixes can foster synergy among businesses that will attract more people to the property and benefit all tenants involved.

Commercial real estate properties with multiple tenants include shopping centers, office buildings, strip malls, industrial parks and mixed-use developments. Such properties offer multiple tenants the benefit of spreading risk among themselves through different areas, so vacancies in one area may be offset by income from elsewhere. Unfortunately, they also present challenges related to managing different tenant needs, maintaining common areas and creating positive tenant experiences. Investors of multi-tenant commercial real estate strive to establish properties that attract and retain tenants, thus optimizing rental income and property value.

Founded in 2001 by Richard Crenian, ReDev Properties is a leading real estate investment management firm with an exceptional track record of successfully owning, developing and managing over $2.5 billion in real estate properties across Canada.

https://www.tiktok.com/@richardcrenian

Media, News

What Is Multi Tenant Commercial Real estate?

Multi-tenant commercial real estate refers to properties that host multiple tenants within one building or complex. Designed specifically to accommodate and lease space to multiple businesses, organizations or individuals; tenants in multi-tenant real estate could include retail stores, offices, restaurants, medical clinics, co-working spaces and more.

Key characteristics of multi-tenant commercial real estate properties:

Diverse Tenants: Your property hosts tenants from various industries or sectors, providing more customers and clients for your area. This diversity can help draw potential tenants.

Shared Facilities: Some amenities or facilities may be shared among tenants, such as parking areas, common lobbies, elevators, restrooms and common areas.

Property Management: Real estate properties typically employ a management team to oversee daily operations, maintenance, and tenant relations.

Location: Commercial properties designed for multi-tenants should be placed in areas with heavy foot traffic and good accessibility to attract tenants and customers alike.

Rental Income: Property owners generating rental income from multiple tenants often experience more stable and secure income streams compared to single-tenant properties.

Tenant Mix: When carefully balanced, tenant mixes can foster synergy among businesses that will attract more people to the property and benefit all tenants involved.

Media, News

CRE Market – What Questions I Need to Ask?

Investment in commercial real estate can be an attractive means of creating passive income and long-term wealth creation, but it must also be undertaken carefully with great consideration given to risks and consideration of all possible outcomes. Before diving in to commercial real estate investments, take time to educate yourself about the industry. Learn about different types of commercial properties (office buildings, retail spaces and industrial properties), the local real estate market trends as well as risks involved with investing in this field.

Outline Your Objectives and Goals – Clarify your investment objectives and goals. Set out what return you want to attain, how long it will take, and the level of risk you are willing to accept. Having specific goals will enable you to make better investment decisions. Surround yourself with professionals experienced in commercial real estate such as real estate agents, property managers, attorneys and accountants who can offer invaluable guidance throughout the process. They can offer invaluable advice and provide needed support throughout its entirety. Search for Property that Meets Your Investment Goals. Conduct extensive research to locate commercial properties that align with your investment goals. When doing this, take into account factors like location, demographics, potential for growth and condition of each property you come across. Perform Due Diligence! Once you locate an ideal property, conduct thorough due diligence by inspecting it, reviewing financial statements and tenant lease agreements as well as analyzing potential risks and rewards. This step is critical in order to avoid making costly errors.

Decide the optimal financing solutions for your investment in commercial real estate. As it typically requires significant capital, various sources may need to be explored such as traditional bank loans, private lenders or partnerships between investors. Negotiation skills are of vital importance in commercial real estate transactions, so it’s vital that you aim for the best price and terms when purchasing property. Proper management is key to maintaining and increasing the value of a property. If you lack experience managing properties on your own, hiring professional management services might be the way forward.

Diversifying your investment portfolio can be beneficial in mitigating risk and increasing returns, providing diversification from different types of properties and locations that help lower risks while expanding returns. Stay abreast of changes to both local and national real estate markets. Economic fluctuations and trends may have an impactful influence on commercial properties’ performance.

Be Patient and Long-Term Focused: Commercial real estate investment is a long-term endeavor; therefore it may take time before significant returns start coming through, so remain committed to your strategy until significant returns appear.

Exit Strategy – Before investing, devise a clear exit strategy. Whether selling the property at some point in time or refinancing to take advantage of equity gains, knowing when and how you will exit is integral for maximum returns on your investments.

Always bear in mind the inherent risks involved with investing in commercial real estate, so it is crucial to remain well-informed and make well-considered decisions. Seeking advice from experienced CRE professionals may provide additional insight and increase the chance of success.

Media

Commercial Rent Trends in Canada (2023 Updated)

Staying updated with real estate market happenings isn’t an easy task, especially at a time when things are changing day to day. Similar to the residential market, the commercial market is currently going through major shifts that will impact the rest of the year. For your convenience, we’ve rounded up some of the most important commercial and retail rent trends in 2023.

Changing prices

In the wild world of commercial real estate, a major trend has emerged that has left both buyers and sellers scratching their heads: pricing discrepancies. Owners are demanding top dollar for their properties, while buyers and tenants are hesitant to pay the steep prices. This trend is particularly pronounced in sales, but it’s also affecting leasing.

The trend is due to many factors, including interest rate increases, high inflation, and global geopolitical uncertainty. This uncertainty is causing everyone to be cautious, prolonging the process of determining the true value of a property.

Not all segments of commercial real estate are experiencing the same pricing problem, however. Industrial properties remain hot commodities, with near-zero vacancy rates driving up competition and prices in Toronto and Vancouver. Meanwhile, office properties are still in flux as companies struggle to determine their post-pandemic office needs. As a result, there has been an uptick in office subleases hitting the market.

Earlier (in December), Shopify caused a stir when it announced that it wouldn’t be using its new 348,000-square-foot office space in downtown Toronto and would instead be subleasing it. This could be a trend we expect to see more of in the future, although its prevalence will vary across industries. Despite this, some large companies like Deloitte and Google have recently expanded their Canadian office space.

On the retail front, the segment has made significant strides since pandemic measures have eased and in-store shopping has resumed. However, investors are still trying to find ways to compete with the rise of e-commerce and entice shoppers back to physical stores.

Which areas are affected the most?

According to CBRE’s Canada Retail Rent Survey, rent prices in the Western provinces saw the most extensive increase, as all cities located west of Winnipeg reported at least two rent hikes. The cities of Saskatoon and Vancouver were the most affected, with six of their key urban areas experiencing a rise in rental rates.

Demand for high-tech properties

Another trend we can currently see in the commercial property market is a shift towards high-tech features, such as property technology, that prioritize environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and cybersecurity. In the realm of office spaces, companies are looking for setups that can cater to remote workers and accommodate desk hoteling.

Staying competitive in this fast-changing landscape requires adapting to evolving market conditions and client needs, but rather than being intimidated by the idea of constant change, you should approach it as an opportunity for growth. In fact, times of uncertainty often provide the best lessons and potential opportunities.

Differences between investors

In the market, we now see a clear divide between those who have ample capital and those who don’t. While some investors are strategically waiting for the right opportunity, others are struggling to move their projects forward due to rising interest rates and tighter borrowing requirements.

However, financial hurdles, such as mounting construction and labour costs, are posing a challenge for all developers. This is something that should be taken into account for the rest of the year.

But don’t let this discourage you. To overcome these obstacles, it’s important to think outside the box and get creative with your financing and project costs. This could mean offering more free rent, providing more tenant inducements, or even lowering rent escalations to entice tenants. In short, those who can adapt and be inventive will be the ones who succeed in the real estate industry, as history has shown.

Although Canada is still facing economic challenges, the retail industry and its members are optimistic as they head into the new year – this is another key finding of the Canada Retail Rent Survey.

2023 – a promising year for the multi-suite residential rental sector

At the beginning of the year, Morguard released its Canadian Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals report for 2023. According to it, things are looking optimistic for the multi-suite residential rental sector. That doesn’t come as a surprise since the market remained steadfastly confident throughout 2021 and 2022, despite the heightened risks. With many changes in the commercial real estate market, 2023 is bound to be an interesting year. The surprise may come shortly. Will the Bank of Canada raise interest rates in Q2 to slow inflation? Bond prices have seemingly already priced this in. Follow Richard Crenian’s blog to stay updated with all the latest news.

News

Increase Your Productivity and Add Balance Your Life!

Since the pandemic started, the question has arisen “What is a proper work-life balance?”. The struggle between, “I like to work but I also like to have my own time” is only increasing.

It is my opinion that if you’re a young entrepreneur, with no spouse or children, then you should have no life to distract you. You may not agree with me, however until you achieve all your goals, you should focus 100% of your energies on work.

From your 20s’ to your 30’s, you’re building up your business and you’re trying to fulfill all your lofty goals. You should just focus on work and there should be little time to play. You must work 12 hours a day to achieve your goals!

Spend all your time trying to succeed! After you work 12 hours, you can sleep for four hours and that still leaves you several hours for free time. You can still do anything you want but only after you have spent 12 hours on working to achieve your goals.

Now you are in your 30’s and you have made a little bit of money. You’re enjoying life and thinking about what work-life balance means. You may be getting married at 35, and thinking about having kids, and you might say, “I need to start thinking about work-life balance now, because my spouse wants me to be helping out with the kids.” Or one spouse says to their partner, “Hey, listen, I have a job. I need you to stay home, just to help out with the kids and to make things manageable.” Here’s the problem: You’re still achieving your goals BUT you haven’t achieved the epitome of what you want to do.

And if you remember what your dreams were when you were in your 20’s, you haven’t achieved them in your 30’s. Even if you’ve become a billionaire by the time you’re in your 30’s, you still haven’t achieved what you wanted to achieve, because it’s not all about monetary success (believe it or not). You might also be looking for academic success or the type of success where you would be acknowledged by your peers. If all your peers are doing the same thing at the same level, and you haven’t really achieved that level, and that’s how you measure success, then you should still be working. Maybe instead of 12 hours a day, you only work 10. But you should still be following up on that goal!

And then you hit your 40’s and your kids are growing up and you say “I’ve worked so hard since my 20’s. Now it’s time for me to breathe and focus on work-life balance. I can now do yoga and exercise and try to figure out how to get to the next level so that I can balance work and enjoy my life.”

In your 40’s you can really start thinking about it. Reflect on all the goals, the hopes, the dreams that you had in your 20’s and in your 30’s. Have you achieved them? Are you content where you are? If so, then focus on work-life balance. Between the ages of 45 and 55, focus on building a better you; focus on building a better family. You’re having kids later now, and you’re doing all the things that you should be doing and hopefully your business is where you want it to be at this point.

In your 50’s, your kids go to high school and you want to participate with them. You’re playing football games or hockey games. You’re taking them here, there, and everywhere else. You’ve become Uber! At that point, again, your work becomes secondary. You actually don’t have a balance anymore because you focus on your kids and their needs. You must decide what’s important for your family and move forward with them as a team. You need to figure out what works best for your situation. It’s important to have balance. In my opinion while you are in your 20’s and 30’s and still have the energy to build your life, you don’t need to worry about work-life balance. The life stuff will all come, and you’ll be able to have lots of fun in your 40’s and 50’s.

Live a lot! Laugh a lot more!

I know a wonderful and energic young Realtor in Saskatoon with a beautiful 10-year-old son. Tanya works extremely hard and is a very successful realtor and single mom. She still has time for her son and has time to work on her charity foundation. When you are balanced, you’ve met success. Good luck Tanya!

She is what success can be. She works hard, achieves and still manages to have a wonderful home life with her son. Is that not what we all want? A perfect Live/Work life that is balanced and maintained?

As I am always posting business related articles, I thought it was time to share some personal thoughts on this subject that so many people are dealing with. We can get so caught up in spending 100% of our energies on work that we need to remember the importance of finding the right balance.

Watch my videos at https://www.youtube.com/c/RichardCrenian/videos

Media

Edmonton Vacancy Rates at Historical Lows for Industrial CRE

As we know, COVID-19 pandemic impacted all verticals. However, one of the most substantial impacts it made is perhaps that in the industrial warehouse sector. Supply has been leased and bought up but there is still a strong demand for more space. Fear and worry seems to be driving that demand as business owners are worried that future events involving the pandemic might disrupt their supply lines. When fear of lack of supply is a factor, the demand for more industrial warehouse space increases.

While the pandemic may have caused disruptions at the start in Edmonton, Alberta, huge warehouse demand continues to boost commercial real estate. The vacant offices in downtown, along with the 3.9 million square feet of warehousing space under construction, Edmonton offers attractive investment opportunities. Learn more about investment opportunities in the Edmonton area and see why so many are considering it.

Read more at https://www.redevgroup.com/news-article/edmonton-vacancy-rates-at-historical-lows-for-industrial-cre

News

Canadian Commercial Real Estate Trends to expect in 2021

As 2020 draws to a close, Canadian CRE investors are anxiously awaiting to see what market conditions they could expect in the upcoming year. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries, and the resulting increase in vacancy rates has caused concern among Canadian retail CRE investors, landlords, and tenants. But these vacancies might only be temporary. With the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, the future of Canadian CRE is looking bright.

Two Possible Outcomes for the Office Sector

The office sector was perhaps the most heavily impacted by the health crisis. Social distancing measures have pushed businesses to adopt new technologies and enable work from home in order to continue their operations. The efficiency and cost-saving benefits of remote work have proven to be life-saving during these trying times.

As such, when it comes to the office sector predictions for 2021, expert opinions are divided. We have some experts who states that work from home is the new normal. The benefits of it are too great to overlook and businesses will stand to gain a lot from it, pandemic or not. However, on the other hand, we have those who believe that work from home is just a temporary trend, and we’ll go back to the way things were as soon as the COVID-19 vaccine is distributed. In all likelihood, the office sector in 2021 will have to accept a compromise. Work from home will continue, but not to such a great extent as in 2020. Businesses will be flexible, allowing for both remote and on-premise work.

Suburban Canadian CRE Market on the Rise

Major downtown markets in Canada have seen the biggest rise in vacancies, as was expected. Businesses with more space than needed had to downsize, while those with expansion plans had to put their expansion plans on hold. That has caused a paradigm shift that could prove beneficial to the Canadian CRE market, as many businesses have started expanding in suburban areas and provinces; such as, Alberta and Saskatchewan. More affordable, lower density locations are driving business growth outside Canada’s largest cities. These suburban locations are attracting business leaders and investors and creating new opportunities for local communities.

Media, News

Canadian CRE Market to Maintain its Edge in 2020 Per Morguard Reports

The Canadian real estate market is alive and well. In fact, it is anticipated to be as strong as ever in 2020 following its upsurge in 2019, per Morguard.

Morguard Corporation is a Canadian real estate company that publishes its predictions in the 2020 Canada Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals Report. Below, I’ve highlighted the most vital forecast information from the Morguard report.

Canada’s CRE is on an Upward Trajectory

The retail facet of the CRE has displayed phenomenal growth in 2019 and continues to evolve in the new year. In the middle of last year, the national retail vacancy dived by 100 basis points to reach 5.8%.

By the by, numerous investors have seen big potential in Candian retail CRE assets, so much so that this nation has welcomed a staggering $3.1 billion investment in retail properties.

Given that this estimate is way above the long-term average, commercial real estate properties across Canada will continue to be seen as an incredibly formidable investment in the new decade.

Non-Retail CRE Also Sees Its Fair Share of the Action

Morguard has also forecasted that other commercial real estate segments in Canada will perform splendidly in 2020.

Housing

The housing market in Canada has finally achieved some stability after experiencing a sluggish 2019. Home sales and prices have steadily grown for 7 months consecutively in Toronto and Vancouver.

Over the span of the next 2 years, the national housing sector is anticipated to improve the real estate market significantly. The rental apartment industry has a track record of the biggest ongoing growth that will continue to generate positive numbers in 2020.

In 2018, the rental apartment sector generated a whopping $8.3 billion in multi-family investments. In 2019, the figure was approximately $4 billion in the first half alone.

Trends clearly show that more Canadians are downsizing and renting out their apartments. Morguard anticipates that rent rates will skyrocket with this growing demand.

Corporate

The Canadian corporate segment is claiming a slice of this pie. With a soaring performance last year, the nation’s tech industry is largely to be credited.

Till mid-2019, Canada generated $5.5 billion in the office segment in investments alone. During that time there was an 11% national vacancy rate. Today, Vancouver and Toronto display the lowest vacancy rates in North America as far as downtown office space is concerned.

In Alberta, Calgary has been experiencing low energy prices and skyrocketing corporate vacancy rates which are over 20% at the moment.

Industrial

The industrial sector in Canada showed record investments totalling $12.7 billion in 2018. This trend continued well into 2019 and is expected to do so in 2020 as well. The country is in need of more industrial spaces to meet the growing demand. During the first 6 months of 2019, the national availability was just over 3% which was the lowest in 20 years.

Conclusion

The CRE market in Canada has displayed an impressive performance in 2019 in spite of the international economic disputes and stunted GDP growth of 1.5%. Canada has one of the fastest-growing populations and this is one of the most essential factors that has aided the commercial real estate market in its steady growth.

The rental segment continues to hold its own and Canada will witness an influx of investors in 2020, per Morguard. CRE assets have made capital investments a very attractive proposition. All in all, the market is expected to be on an upswing in 2020.

For more information, please visit;

https://www.redevgroup.com/news-article/canadian-cre-market-to-stay-strong-in-2020-morguard-reports

Media, News

Hamilton City Centre Redevelopment Plan

Hamilton City Centre is presently in the process of being sold to IN8 and the process is expected to be fully finished by the end of this year. While the selling price has not yet been disclosed, experts say the property value is around an estimated $24.55 million. IN8 states that their vision is to make the city centre a place to live, work, and play; helping to stimulate Hamilton’s economy and downtown area.

Hamilton City Center

The city centre was built in 1990 by Cadilac Fairview. Previously called the Eaton centre it housed the popular Eatons department store. Eaton was just a tenant though, and so in 1999, they moved out of their space in the building. Throughout the years afterwards, the building owner has changed multiple times and time has taken its toll on the building. Because of this, the city centre has been due for revitalization and an update for a while now. Currently Hamilton City Center has a high vacancy rate but also has a few recognizable retailers as tenants as well. Tenants like Fairweather and Hart along with Thunder Bowling Alley and Crunch Fitness to name a few.

The design of the building is a bit lacking and dated, having a terrace that was intended for events, activities, and bands but soon plans and idealizations fell through and it is now mostly used by people just looking for a place to smoke. The lack of windows also hinders the appearance and environment of the building as well.

IN8

Waterloo-based IN8 has a history of doing redevelopment for mixed-used facilities for over 20 years. Their focus is “high-density urban intensification”. With around 16 completed mid to high-rise multi-residential projects, they have worked on various developments total more than 2,500 residential units, including the DTK condos; which will be the tallest tower in Kitchener standing at 39 storeys tall.

The Opportunities ahead

IN8 is interested in this building and Hamilton because of how many heritage buildings it has, the relatively low cost and affordability, the potential waterfront opportunities, the Hamilton LRT B-line with a planned rail transit line between Eastgate Square and McMaster University, and its location near GO transit which spans all across Toronto. With GO transit and the new B-line transit, there is a lot of potential for a lot of new residents, customers, and businesses.

IN8’s vision with this project is to revitalize the building, making it a place for people to live, play, work in the downtown core of Hamilton. A goal with this is to also incentivize people to work and live in Hamilton, so IN8 is planning on having both residential and commercial elements in the new development of Hamilton City Center.

The city of Hamilton wants development, both residential and employment growth in its downtown core and so is incentivizing businesses by having decreased development charges, heritage building grants, tax grants, and interest-free loans.

The development will take a while though, IN8 would like to take at least about 2 years to plan and research to find what is the best course of action with the building with construction starting in at least approximately 3 years. There is also a potential for parts of the building to just be revitalized and not fully demolished and remade. The Hamilton City Center is more than 3.54 acres with over 550,000 square feet of commercial area, so there is a lot to work with and IN8 says that it has more potential than to just be a tower.

Read more about the redevelopment, IN8, and the Hamilton City Center here:

https://www.redevgroup.com/news-article/hamilton-city-centre-proposed-redevelopment-plans