CRE This Week: The Trends Shaping Canada’s Commercial Real Estate Landscape
Canada’s commercial real estate (CRE) market is moving fast — and every week brings a new wave of data, transactions, and strategic insights that professionals can use to stay competitive. Thanks to Altus Group’s Canada Research Team, we now have a fresh snapshot of how the markets are shifting nationwide as we head toward the close of 2025.
If you work in real estate, mortgage, appraisal, development, or any related licensed profession, this week’s market pulse offers signals worth watching while you enjoy your morning coffee.
Market Movers: Notable Transactions Across Canada
Activity continues across major regions, with apartments, industrial properties, hotels, and retail assets trading hands at significant valuations.
For professionals tracking national opportunities, the Altus commercial transactions database remains one of the most powerful tools available for due diligence and investment research.
Despite a softer national economy, retail sales are up 4.7% year‑to‑date. Winnipeg and Vancouver lead the pack, while Toronto and Calgary stay stable after inflation adjustments. This strength supports the rising appeal of grocery‑anchored and open‑format retail assets.
Toronto CRE Feels the Brake Pressure
Investment volume in Toronto sits 13% below last year’s levels. Economic uncertainty and post‑2024 slowdown effects have cooled activity. Altus Group’s Q3 Toronto update dives deeper into performance indicators.
Construction investment eased in September, with residential leading but slowing. The Prairies and Quebec show the strongest momentum, while other regions soften. With population growth also tapering, construction activity nationwide may remain subdued into 2026.
Research Spotlights: Insights Worth Bookmarking
Montreal CRE Update — Q3 2025
Montreal’s multifamily sector stays strong while other asset classes shift. A must‑read for investors recalibrating strategy.
The insights above are brought to life by the Altus Data Solutions team — a group of analysts and strategists laser‑focused on understanding national CRE conditions.
Ray Wong — Vice President, Data Solutions
Peter Norman — Vice President & Economic Strategist
Edward Jegg — Research Manager
Jennifer Nhieu — Senior Research Analyst
Why This Matters for Real Estate Professionals
Whether you’re investing, brokering, valuing, or developing, keeping up with weekly CRE movements is now a core competitive advantage. Staying informed helps guide smarter decisions, sharper timing, and stronger long‑term positioning.
For aspiring and current professionals aiming to build credibility and earn their license, Cameron Academy continues to help bridge the gap between market knowledge and formal education — offering real estate, mortgage, insurance, and professional licensing pathways nationwide.
Explore More Insights
Continue exploring weekly updates and market intelligence from Altus Group:
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Long Island’s commercial real estate market just smashed every previous record, hitting an unprecedented $4.1 billion in 2025 deal volume—up a massive 71.5 percent from the year before. A surge in specialty-use properties like assisted living centers and self-storage facilities fueled the boom, alongside hundreds of new transactions across Nassau and Suffolk counties. With investor confidence rebounding, interest rates easing, and new buyer profiles entering the scene, the region has become one of the hottest real estate markets to watch.
Federal cuts to housing oversight in 2026 are creating a nationwide regulatory scramble, with states—especially California—rapidly stepping in to fill the gap. As the CFPB reduces its enforcement role, lawmakers and agencies across the country are crafting their own rules on mortgage compliance, consumer protection, affordability, and even AI‑driven underwriting. For real estate, mortgage, and finance professionals, the message is clear: state regulations are becoming just as influential as federal policy, making ongoing education and compliance awareness more critical than ever.
The insurance industry poured an eye‑opening $172 million into federal lobbying in 2025, making it the fourth‑largest lobbying sector in the country. Medical insurers led the spending, but property and casualty giants weren’t far behind, with APCIA, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, and Allstate all landing among the top contributors. And this is only federal spending—state‑level influence, where regulations are truly shaped, remains vastly underreported. For professionals in insurance, real estate, and finance, these lobbying efforts play a powerful role in shaping regulations, costs, and the competitive landscape.
Florida’s home insurance market saw a 3.35% non-renewal rate last year—a small percentage that translated into hundreds of thousands of homeowners suddenly losing coverage. Driven by repeated storm damage, soaring construction costs, heavy litigation, and insurers pulling back from high-risk areas, the state’s insurance landscape is rapidly shifting. Homeowners now face higher premiums, fewer options, and tougher underwriting, while professionals in real estate, mortgage, and insurance must stay informed to guide clients through a tightening market.
Florida’s recent tort reforms are doing far more than reshaping the state’s legal system—they’re driving down property and casualty insurance costs by an average of 14.5% and injecting over $4.2 billion into the state’s economy each year. With nearly 30,000 jobs supported and state and local governments seeing hundreds of millions in new tax revenue, the changes are already transforming Florida’s insurance market. Lawsuits have dropped, insurers are returning, and businesses and homeowners alike are reaping the benefits of a more balanced, competitive, and financially resilient environment.
Major commercial real estate firms are reporting strong revenue and renewed market activity, signaling a rebound in dealmaking and office demand. Yet even with record earnings, CEOs from CBRE, Colliers, and Marcus & Millichap spent much of their earnings calls addressing a growing concern: whether artificial intelligence could threaten traditional brokerage and valuation roles. While leaders insist that complex transactions still rely on human relationships and negotiation, AI‑related market jitters briefly pushed some CRE stocks down before they recovered.
