Demand for land helps boost commercial real estate activity to start 2016

Commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland outpaced historical averages in the first quarter (Q1) of 2016, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

There were 660 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q1 2016. This is a 26 per cent increase over the 524 sales in Q1 2015, and represents 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 Q1 2016 was $2.904 billion, which is 78.1 per cent above the $1.630 billion total in Q1 2015.

“The commercial market is picking up where it left off after a record-setting year in 2015,” said Dan Morrison, REBGV president. “We’re seeing steady demand across all major commercial real estate categories in our region.”

Q1 2016 activity by category

Land: There were 271 commercial land sales in Q1 2016, which is a 42.6 per cent increase from the 190 land sales in Q1 2015. The dollar value of land sales in Q1 2016 was $1.669 billion, a 118.3 per cent increase over $764 million in Q1 2015.

Office and Retail: There were 201 office and retail sales in Q1 2016, which is up 15.5 per cent from the 174 sales in Q1 2015. The dollar value of office and retail sales in Q1 2016 was $815 million, a 111.9 per cent increase over $384 million in Q1 2015.

Industrial: There were 151 industrial land sales in Q1 2016, which is up 16.2 per cent over the 130 sales in Q1 2015. The dollar value of industrial sales in Q1 2016 was $229 million, an 8.5 per cent decline from $250 million in Q1 2015.

Multi-Family: There were 37 multi-family land sales in Q1 2016, which is up 23.3 per cent over the 30 sales in Q1 2015. The dollar value of multi-family sales in Q1 2016 was $191 million, a 17.5 per cent decline from $231 million in Q1 2015.

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.

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