The figures are just in for commercial real estate in 2023 and what’s clear is it likely has only one direction to go, and that’s up. Sales totals and dollar volumes in the Lower Mainland were lower than they had been since before the pandemic, and both sales and dollar values were down over 40 per cent compared to 2022.
Greater Vancouver Realtors reported 1,249 commercial real estate sales last year, worth $7.3 billion. The 2022 figures were 2,144 and $13 billion, respectively.
There are four categories in commercial real estate: (1) land (2) office and retail (3) industrial and (4) multi-family land. Of the four, the one bright spot was “industrial” — down 35.2 per cent in sales but just 3.9 per cent in dollar values.
GVR’s Director of Economics Andrew Lis is optimistic about what will happen in commercial real estate this year: “More recent quarterly data are suggesting activity is starting to pick up across certain segments, which may indicate the worst is behind us. Lower borrowing costs may be just over the horizon, which we expect to help spur more activity in 2024.”
Commercial real estate is one of the areas in which Dale (604-720-3353) has considerable experience, going back well into the 20th century. The most recent Nexus Realty sale was a stand-alone warehouse in the Pemberton-Norgate light industrial area of North Vancouver.