Some inside baseball on one of my stories.

For Storeys last week I wrote about a new fund targeting blocks of unsold condos to convert into rental. This caught my attention because it involved the Government of Ontario (through the Ontario Building Fund) partnering with a private equity firm (High Art Capital) that doesn’t appear to have much experience with real estate, as Toronto-based real estate commentator Ron Butler pointed out on Twitter.

John Pasalis, President of Toronto-based Realosophy Realty, also commented saying that having private equity and the government step in to buy condos that locals can’t afford shouldn’t be considered a success story. I agree that this is not ideal, but I also think it’s making the best of a bad situation and developers will welcome it. There will likely be some bulk discounting, but $1.3 billion for 2,200 units translates to $590,909 per unit. The fund is limited to the GTA, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens and whether more funds like this will pop up. Let me know what you think:

The big headlines.

The City of Vancouver approved its Official Development Plan, which will guide future land use decisions and city-building over the next 30 years and beyond.

Urban affairs reporter Frances Bula announced that she is running for Vancouver City Council with OneCity Vancouver.

Beedie has officially prevailed in its long-running legal fight against the Vancouver School Board over the rent for Kingsgate Mall, after the VSB lost its appeal. Beedie took a victory lap and published a long statement highlighting the VSB’s “troubling mismanagement of a significant public real estate asset and an unnecessary expenditure of public funds.”

Wave Developments is facing foreclosure on The Fifteen and receivership on Chroma, two projects in Vancouver that have already completed construction, as first reported by The Realist last week.

For my Globe and Mail story about real estate insolvencies published two weeks ago, I spoke to two Vancouver-based brokers who have been involved in court-ordered sales. Here are full transcripts of my interviews with Brad Newman-Bennett of Cushman & Wakefield and Morgan Iannone of Colliers.

For my second Globe and Mail story, I spoke to Evan Allegretto of Intracorp about BC’s proposed PST expansion. As he pointed out, it’s not just the upfront cost, it’s also the back-end effect on operating expenses and property values.

The Globe and Mail also published a nice obituary of Concert Properties CEO Christine Bergeron, who passed away last month. I’ve met Christine in-person before and also interviewed her for about 30 minutes. I’ve interviewed many people over the years, people often say they want to make a positive impact, and I don’t always believe them, but I believed Christine really did.

The controversial Professional Reliance Act that would restrict local governments from reviewing submissions by certified professionals has started making its way through the BC Legislature.

The Government of Canada’s Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act, which includes the new first-time homebuyers GST rebate, has received Royal Assent and is now in effect.

The CMHC published its Spring 2026 Housing Supply Report, which concludes that “future supply continues to thin” in Vancouver and that project viability is “increasingly under strain.”

For Western Investor, I spoke to brokers in the office markets of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Regina about the “flight to quality,” what that looks like in those markets, and how those lower-quality spaces are being handled.

For RENX, I wrote about Toronto-based Humbold Properties listing the vast majority of its portfolio.

Time is a flat circle.

Peterson has submitted a rezoning application for 605-695 SE Marine Drive in Vancouver, where they have proposed 34-storey and 29-storey rental towers with a total of 652 units.

Orpheus Housing Society Canada has submitted a rezoning application for 5027-5053 Boundary Road in Vancouver, where it has proposed a 22-storey mixed-use social housing project.

Westbank and Promerita Group failed to receive approval for their three-tower DTES project, with Vancouver City Council sending the proposal back to the drawing board.

Victoria City Council rejected the 35-storey project Reliance Properties was planning at 1520 Blanshard Street.

Over in Colwood, however, Reliance Properties received approval for two hotels at the Beachlands community they’re developing with Seacliff Properties.

Hungerford Properties and Lightheart Properties have begun demolition for their Darby’s Corner mixed-use project at 2828 W 4th Avenue in Vancouver.

Gracorp has submitted its development application for 1470 W Broadway in Vancouver, where it has proposed a 38-storey mixed-use rental building with a secondary entrance to the future South Granville Station.

ASPAC has cancelled its Signature at River Green project in Richmond and has started returning deposits, according to a notice shared with The Realist. ASPAC cited market conditions and intends to redesign the project.

Qualex-Landmark has broken ground at 701 Kingsway in Vancouver, where it is developing a 24-storey project with 200 rental units.

Starlight Investments has completed The Gallery and The Exchange — two buildings with a total of 256 rental units — within The District, their master-planned community in Langford.

Westbank has started accepting tours at The Raven, its rental project at 3709 W Broadway in Vancouver, suggesting construction has completed.

Everything is available for the right price.

Mario Negris and Martin Moriarty of Marcus & Millichap have listed 1550 Philip Avenue, a commercial property in North Vancouver with redevelopment potential, for $5.4 million.

Sam Emam of Macdonald Commercial has listed 6092 Kingsway, an industrial property in Burnaby’s Royal Oak neighbourhood.

Vic Sandhar of Macdonald Commercial has listed 24266 110 Avenue, a 3.44-acre development site in Maple Ridge that has received third reading approval for a nine-duplex subdivision.

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

David Taylor, Casey Weeks, and Morgan Iannone of Colliers have sold Westwood Square, a mixed-use commercial property located at 3242 Westwood Street in Port Coquitlam.

Schreder Brothers Real Estate Group has sold 5108 216 Street, a vacant 0.353-acre parcel in Langley, as part of a court-ordered sale.

Those who make real estate real.

Mae Wong has been promoted to CEO at Central Walk.

Todd Bohn has joined Colliers as SVP, Industrial.

Cody Johanson has been promoted to VP of Portfolio Management at BGO.

Fraser Kirkland has joined Advantage Capital Group as VP.

Brandon Buziol has joined Lennard Commercial Realty as AVP, after over six years at Cushman & Wakefield.

Michael Schouls has joined Vancouver Coastal Health as Senior Director of Planning & Projects.

Lauren Legan has been promoted to Director of Investor Relations at Concert Properties.

Christopher Rundle has joined Stober Group as Director of Commercial Leasing.

Lucas Hillier has joined Concord Pacific as a Tax Specialist.

Jim Donahoe has been promoted to EVP of Construction for Intracorp in Seattle.

When a door closes, a window opens.Where, when, and what things are happening this week.

There are no regular council meetings this week in Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Moody, and New Westminster.

I’ve learned of a $60 million share sale transaction that occurred a few months ago between a local developer and a large institutional investor. Stay tuned for the story later this week.

Some additional reading you might be interested in.