10:40 AM

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select A1, A2 or A3)

Session A1:
LACK OF SUPPLY AND INCREASED DEMAND: HOW IS THE VANCOUVER INDUSTRIAL MARKET RESPONDING TO THE PINCH?

The Vancouver industrial market continues to experience very low vacancy rates due to consistently strong demand and constraints on new supply, beginning with the lowest availability of industrial land in North America. Developers are now looking outside of Metro Vancouver with a focus south of the Fraser to build out instead of up. What factors are responsible for this strong demand? Are industrial strata gaining popularity? How is the logistics market affecting the location and design requirements of warehouses? Given the high cost of urban land, are secondary markets seeing an increase in industrial activity? Case studies of new developments will also be discussed, e.g. Delta iPort.

Moderator:
Bill Randall, Senior Vice President, Industrial, Cushman & Wakefield

Panel:
Beth Berry, Vice President, Industrial Development, Beedie Development Group
Charlie Deeks, Vice President, Investments, Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust
Chris Holtved, Senior Portfolio Manager, Real Estate, HOOPP
Brent Sawychyn, Principal, PC Urban Properties Corp.

The apartment market in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland has been extremely active in 2017 in both new starts and the repurposing of older buildings. According to the BCREA, multi-residential completions will jump 40% in 2018, increasing to some 6,000 units by Q3. How is the surge in completions expected to impact housing affordability in the Greater Vancouver Area? With low cap rates, and high land costs, how sustainable is purpose built rental? Is condominium development a better alternative? Will rising prices in the single-family market sustain higher rental demand? How are demographic shifts such as down-sizing households and millennials affecting the apartment market?

Panel:
Eric Bond, Senior Market Analyst, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Daniel Drimmer, Chief Executive Officer, Starlight Investments
Shenoor Jadavji, President, Lotus Capital Corp.
Hani Lammam, Executive Vice President, Cressey Development Group
Dan Sander, Hollyburn Properties Limited

It is no secret that land in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland is a hot commodity. With ever-increasing demand and constrained supply, what are the median prices for industrial, mixed use, inner city, suburban and residential and non-residential land? What transactions have been completed over the past twelve months? What land will likely be available in the near term? Given the supply constraints, are joint ventures becoming a norm bringing a land owner together with a developer? Where are land values potentially heading for the remainder of 2018 and beyond?

Panel:
Sandra Cawley, Principal, BC Appraisers
Jennifer Drury, Vice President & Branch Manager, Real Estate Lending, Canadian Western Bank
Jason Tonin, Vice President, Land Development, Beedie Development Group
Owen Yates, Partner, Frontline Real Estate Services

11:40 AM

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select B1, B2 or B3)

Session B1:
TIGHTEN YOUR TIE:  THE VANCOUVER OFFICE MARKET AND ITS DECLINING VACANCY

In this landlord’s market, a number of notable projects have been launched in the past twelve months or about to proceed. Predictions are that Vancouver to will have the second-lowest office vacancy rate in the Western Hemisphere by 2019. What factors are contributing to this strong demand within the office market? As US companies like WeWork and Amazon look to expand their Canadian presence, how will Vancouver accommodate the needs of high tech companies? What are these tenants demanding in terms of built product and workplace standards? As people move out of the downtown core into surrounding areas, how is this affecting the office market in both the suburbs and downtown core? Are the office submarkets as robust?

Panel:
David Ferguson, Chief Investment Officer, Low Tide Properties
Rob Kavanagh, Vice President, Asset Management, GWL Realty Advisors
Bryce Margetts, Vice President, Western Canada, Canderel
Stephen Smith, Managing Director, Western Canada, Real Estate, Manulife Real Estate

This session will examine the office, retail, industrial, and multi-residential investment activity in the Vancouver market. The discussion will begin by briefly examining benchmark transactions over the past twelve months. The investors will then examine properties within each asset class and determine whether they would have an interest to buy any of them. What cap rates and valuation will they apply to each property? How will the cost of capital range from private equity funds to REITs to institutional investors? What are these investors looking for in order to have a successful transaction? The last portion of the session will examine their perspective on investment real estate market fundamentals for 2019 and beyond for the Vancouver market.

Panel:
Colin Baryliuk, Managing Director, Investments, KingSett Capital
Trevor Blakely, Chief Executive Officer, Forgestone Capital
Mark Hannah, Managing Partner, Nicola Crosby Real Estate
Stirling Richmond, Vice President, Investment Properties, CBRE Limited

Panel:
David Franklin, President, CMLS Financial Ltd.
Chris Enns, Executive Director, Mortgage Investments, KingSett Capital
Eric Horie, Senior Vice President, Head of Origination, Vancouver, Trez Capital
Garth Stoll, Vice President, Commercial Real Estate, HSBC