Real Estate Cheat Sheet: luxurious skybridges, doomed Toronto icons and ever-soaring house prices

• How to build a glass-walled luxury suite in the sky A seven-minute video (above) gives a behind-the-scenes peek at the terrifying process of installing the glass-walled skybridge between CityPlace’s Parade towers. (Says one engineer: “On a job like this, you check everything 10, 12 times and you’re still not quite comfortable.”) [Urban Toronto]

• The commercial property market is booming Investment in office, industrial and retail real estate hit $4.9 billion last quarter, surpassing a 2006 record high by more than $1 billion. The volume of land bought for residential development, however, fell sharply for the second straight quarter as a growing supply of unsold new condos continues to check future development plans. [Globe and Mail]

• Honest Ed’s is up for sale
David Mirvish has been quietly looking to sell his entire 1.8-acre stretch of Mirvish Village, which signals the end of an era for both the iconic discount store and more than a dozen small businesses. Saddest of all: the wonderfully gaudy Honest Ed’s sign is too damaged to save. [National Post]

• Condo sales are way, way down and house prices are way, way up According to research firm Realnet Canada, the number of condos sold in June was down a whopping 46 per cent compared to last year, though sales of houses, semis and townhouses were up six percent. Condo prices have dipped slightly, while prices for single detached homes just keep rising. [BuzzBuzzHome]