Three dimensions of capital switching within the real estate sector: A Canadian case study

This article analyzes capital switching practices in the real estate development sector. The leading practitioners in Canada, the Canadian-based real estate companies. are the subject of this inquiry. The tradability and divisibility of real estate properties enhance the growing similarity between real estate properties and other financial assets. It is appropriate to talk about portable real estate portfolios because companies constantly rearrange their property composition. This article emphasizes the 'three dimensions of capital switching'. These dimensions unpack significant corporate considerations in the deployment and redeployment of capital, namely, mode of operation, property type and location. With respect to office development, the trajectory of the major real estate companies over the last 20 years has accommodated two notable shifts. First, these companies have focused on larger and newer properties, disposing of their smaller and older assets. Second, they have funneled a growing share of their capital assets into the top-tier cities of the Canadian urban system, reducing investment in other metropolitan areas and disinvesting in the small-to-medium sized cities.