Patrick Kavanagh KRI Property Group

Canadians became less confident this month about housing and prospects for the economy amid the troubles of a Toronto mortgage lender , according to telephone polling . The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index fell to 58.5 in the week ending May 26. That’s down from 59.4 at the end of April, the first monthly decline in four. The share of respondents who felt home prices would rise dropped to 45.5 percent, from a record 50.1 percent this month . Sentiment has suffered after mortgage lender Home Capital Group Inc. sought refinancing after a run on its deposits, and Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Canada ’s largest banks. Toronto’s market has also shown signs of cooling after Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa imposed a foreign buyer’s tax to clamp down on speculation. “Recent declines in consumer confidence scores were most likely to be driven by a cooling of real estate sentiment after hitting a high in early May,” Nanos Research Group Chairman Nik Nanos said...

Sale of stake in Wired Score is part of effort to divest himself of many business ties  Jared Kushner , a senior level White House official and son-in-law of President Donald Trump , is in talks to sell his stake in a real estate technology company as he attempts to pare his numerous business ties, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. He is in the late stages of negotiating a deal to sell his stake in the company, called Wired Score , to a group of investors that include Los Angeles-based Fifth Wall Ventures, the Journal said. It was unable to determine the price of the stake or the identity of other group members. Kushner is working to exit other business investments as well, as the Trump administration faces criticism for not doing enough to rid its senior officials of potential conflicts of interest. He disclosed earlier this year that his stake in the Wired Score was worth $5 million to $25 million . Founded in 2013, Wired Score assesses the speed an...

Analysts are urging a more selective approach to real estate, while execs say ‘death of the mall’ theme is not the full story Shares of construction , real-estate companies and real-estate investment trusts led S&P 500 gainers on Tuesday, after some positive comment on the sector from industry insiders and a growing view among analysts that the sector’s recent drubbing may be overdone. Mall REITs in particular have seen their shares pummeled in the last year as investors react to the weak traffic trends and store closures that are making headlines in the retail sector. Data released last week by real estate researcher Reis Inc . showed vacancy rates in shopping centers rose in 28 of 77 U.S. metro areas in the first quarter from the year-earlier period, a slight improvement from the fourth quarter, The Wall Street Journal reported.   Retail REIT executives speaking at the NYU Schack Institute symposium last week argued that malls cannot be lumped toget...