Category Archives for "Architecture"

A client of mine asks, “Hi Bruce, what are your thoughts on real estate and the economy over the next 12-24 months?” Here’s what I answered: No one really knows what will happen, but in my view, there will be many opportunities for people with cash. I suspect several trillion dollars of real estate in […]

If you’d like to send the quiz (sans answers) to your friends, use this link, https://brucemfirestone.com/prof-bruce-real-estate-investment-trivia-quiz/. 1. in which decade from 1950 to present day did mortgage interest rates reach their peak? 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s [21.46% peak, 2nd half of 1981] 2. what does PIT stand for? planning and information technology […]

See how well versed you are in terms of real estate investing… try answering these 25 questions then check your answers here, https://brucemfirestone.com/prof-bruce-real-estate-investment-trivia-quiz-answers/. 1. in which decade from 1950 to present day did mortgage interest rates reach their peak? 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2. what does PIT stand for? planning and information technology principal […]

Or what to do with underused parking lots and golf courses… OK, I’ll admit it. I am a bad (actually terrible) golfer and a not much better driver (of cars, that is). These days golf is a sport in decline (even before Covid-19 cratered much of the planet’s economy), which has triggered questions like: What […]

Traveling without moving, a new approach to downsizing Most realtors tell a person who is thinking of, say, downsizing, to list and sell their larger home and buy something smaller and presumably cheaper. This kind of talk is a bit self-serving because, if the client follows this piece of advice, the realtor gets another listing […]

for LANDLORDS, INVESTORS (AND TENANTS) Here is a webinar in which Bruce M Firestone, PhD, and host Dave Dubeau talk about how to stay afloat during the Covid-19 era and also how to prepare for a hopeful future. Here’s what is covered: -snowbird real estate prices about to collapse? -big market correction coming #Gulp -buying […]

[A version of this article first appeared in Ottawa Business Journal] Since the dawn of the industrial age in the early 1700s when Thomas Newcomen produced the first successful steam engine (later perfected by James Watt in 1769), there has never been a major economy that contracted by 40% in a single quarter. This happened […]

I recently wrote to a senior planner at the city of Ottawa on this topic. Here’s what I said: Marina (not her real name), hope you and your family are well. I think in light of recent events, Ottawa’s OP should be completely overhauled… We were heading in this direction anyway, but now I am […]

Here is a 10-minute video I put together on: How to protect yourself, your biz and your real estate holdings as well as clients, employees, suppliers, guests, residents, tenants… in a time of covid-19. This is what I cover off: IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION CONTRACTED BY MORE THAN 40% in Canada, US and […]

The barndominium We live in what is fast becoming more and more of a gig economy. If you are a hobbyist, an assembler, an artist, a winemaker, a cabinetmaker, a woodworker, a plumber, an electrician, a contractor, manufacturer, a renovator, or you run an HVAC company or a yoga studio or a physiotherapy or RMT […]

There are some benefits to getting older. You tend to have more patience and perspective; you tend to make better decisions and, consequently, make fewer mistakes. After I left the Sens, I wanted to figure out what to do next and, at the same time, my spouse, Dawn Mac Millan Firestone, was training to become […]

I usually don’t really like rent-to-own (R2O) models either from an investor’s POV (point of view) or from a client’s POV. From a client’s POV, it’s an expensive way to buy property; they have to pay all of the costs of the property including mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance (tenant and landlord insurance), all repairs/maintenance, […]