Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
Subscribe to Brandon Donnelly
Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Brandon DonnellyHomes for as low as $1
I was reading today about some houses in Boca Raton, Florida selling for as low as $1. The reason they're selling for nothing, in some cases, is because you're required to join the local golf/country club as part of the purchase. Initiation fees could be in the range of $70,000 and that doesn't include whatever ongoing fees you would also be responsible for paying. What this demonstrates is that there isn't enough demand from the next generation to sustain the pricing for this housing type. Part of this probably has to do with simply cohort size (the number of people retiring), but I suspect that there may have also been some changes in consumer preference. Some of it is probably golf related. Participation in the sport is relatively tepid among Millennials. And some of it may be related to the fact that these communities don't have the kind of (urban?) amenities that the next generation is looking for. But if you derived enjoyment from the home during your retirement years, maybe it's not the end of the world that there isn't a strong resale market.
Support Brandon Donnelly
Brandon DonnellyHomes for as low as $1
I was reading today about some houses in Boca Raton, Florida selling for as low as $1. The reason they're selling for nothing, in some cases, is because you're required to join the local golf/country club as part of the purchase. Initiation fees could be in the range of $70,000 and that doesn't include whatever ongoing fees you would also be responsible for paying. What this demonstrates is that there isn't enough demand from the next generation to sustain the pricing for this housing type. Part of this probably has to do with simply cohort size (the number of people retiring), but I suspect that there may have also been some changes in consumer preference. Some of it is probably golf related. Participation in the sport is relatively tepid among Millennials. And some of it may be related to the fact that these communities don't have the kind of (urban?) amenities that the next generation is looking for. But if you derived enjoyment from the home during your retirement years, maybe it's not the end of the world that there isn't a strong resale market.
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