The commercial real estate market in the Lower Mainland continued to see fewer transactions in the second quarter (Q2) of 2018 compared to recent years.

There were 569 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2018, a 16.3 per cent decrease over the 680 sales in Q2 2017, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $4.047 billion in Q2 2018, a 13.4 per cent increase over $3.570 billion in Q2 2017.

“Similar to our residential market in recent months, we’re starting to see fewer transactions across all categories in our commercial market,” Phil Moore, REBGV president said. “Higher interest rates, reduced retail activity, and other economic factors are contributing to this change.”

Q2 2018 activity by category

Land: There were 217 commercial land sales in Q2 2018, which is a 16.5 per cent decrease from the 260 land sales in Q2 2017. The dollar value of land sales was $2.287 billion in Q2 2018, a 24.6 per cent increase over $1.836 billion in Q2 2017.

Office and Retail: There were 192 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2018, which is down 20 per cent from the 240 sales in Q2 2017. The dollar value of office and retail sales was $813 million in Q2 2018, a 19.7 per cent decrease from $1.013 billion in Q2 2017.

Industrial: There were 126 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2018, which is down 6.7 per cent from the 135 sales in Q2 2017. The dollar value of industrial sales was $0.387 billion in Q2 2018, a 23.9 per cent increase over $313 million in Q2 2017.

Multi-Family: There were 34 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q2 2018, which is down 24.4 per cent from the 45 sales in Q2 2017. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $559 million in Q2 2018, a 37 per cent increase over $408 million in Q2 2017.

Full stats package

Get the detailed commercial statistics PDF.

 

Owned and operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), the Commercial EDGE system includes all commercial real estate transactions in the Lower Mainland region of BC that have been registered with the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia. Commercial EDGE is updated monthly based on data originating from the BC Assessment Authority. Commercial EDGE does not include share sale transactions as they are not registered with the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia. Please note that historical data may be subject to revision as transaction records are received from the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia.

The REBGV is an association representing over 14,000 residential and commercial REALTORS® and their companies. It provides a variety of member services, including the Multiple Listing Service® and the Commercial Edge service. For more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a property, contact a local REALTOR® or visit www.rebgv.org.

Contact

Craig Munn
Manager, Communication
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
604-730-3146
cmunn@rebgv.org

Category definitions

Office and Retail properties are defined by the zoning according to each municipality and must have a building on the site. This category includes: Office, office condo, retail, retail condo, shopping centre, gas station, car dealerships, banks, community centres, day care, educational facility, institutional, golf courses, movie theatre, hotel, churches, restaurants, truck stops and others.

Industrial properties are also defined by the zoning according to each municipality and must have a building on the site. This includes warehouses, warehouse bays and multi-bay warehouses.

Multi-Family properties include: nursing homes, high rises, low rises, and any condo or townhome properties containing four or more units with at least one zoned for commercial use.

Land includes properties that are holding properties, farmland, garden centres, redevelopment sites, land assembly sites, vineyards, etc.