Demand for Office, Retail, and Land Reaches Five-Year High Across the Lower Mainland

Demand for Office, Retail, and Land Reaches Five-Year High Across the Lower Mainland

Demand for commercial real estate remained robust across all major categories in the Lower Mainland in the second quarter (Q2) of 2016, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

A record 804 commercial real estate sales were registered in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2016. This represents a 30.9 per cent increase over the 614 sales in Q2 2015, and is the most active quarter for commercial real estate in the last five years.

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2016 was $4.231 billion, which is 105.7 per cent above the $2.056 billion total in Q2 2015.

“We continue to see record-setting demand in the commercial real estate market,” said Dan Morrison, REBGV president. “Buyers remain active across all major commercial real estate categories in the Lower Mainland.”

Q2 2016 activity by category

Land: There were a record 340 commercial land sales in Q2 2016, which is a 73.5 per cent increase from the 196 land sales in Q2 2015. The dollar value of land sales in Q2 2016 was $1.850 billion, an 81.5 per cent increase over $1.019 billion in Q2 2015.

Office and Retail: There were a record 256 office and retail sales in Q2 2016, which is up 4.1 per cent from the 246 sales in Q2 2015. The dollar value of office and retail sales in Q2 2016 was $1.758 billion, a 190.5 per cent increase over $605 million in Q2 2015.

Industrial: There were 168 industrial land sales in Q2 2016, which is up 20 per cent over the 140 sales in Q2 2015. The dollar value of industrial sales in Q2 2016 was $267 million, a 14.1 per cent increase over $234 million in Q2 2015.

Multi-family: There were 40 multi-family land sales in Q2 2016, which is up 25 per cent over the 32 sales in Q2 2015. The dollar value of multi-family sales in Q2 2016 was $353 million, a 79.4 per cent increase over $197 million in Q2 2015.

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by Coupal Dastouri