Demand for land helped commercial real estate sales and dollar volume reach five-year highs in the Lower Mainland in 2016, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

There were 2,848 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, a 21% increase over the 2,353 sales in 2015.

Commercial real estate sales in 2016 were 29.7% above the region’s five-year sales average.
The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $12.990 billion in 2016, a 47.4% increase from the $8.815 billion total in 2015.

“We saw steady activity across the commercial real estate market in 2016,” said Dan Morrison, REBGV president. “It’s no surprise that land sales had the largest increase last year given the supply shortages we’re experiencing in our residential and commercial markets today.”

2016 Activity by Category

Land : There were a record 1,177 commercial land sales in 2016, which is a 41% increase from the 835 land sales in 2015. The dollar value of last year’s land sales was $7.202 billion, an 81.3% increase over $3.973 billion in 2015.

Office and Retail : There were a record 918 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, which is up 12.8% from the 814 sales in 2015. The dollar value of last year’s office and retail sales was $3.621 billion, a 46.9% increase over $2.466 billion in 2015.

Industrial : There were 612 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, which is up 9.9% over the 557 sales in 2015. The dollar value of last year’s industrial sales was $1.067 billion, a 3.4% increase over $1.032 billion in 2015.

Multi-Family : There were 141 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, which is down 4.1% over the 147 sales in 2015. The dollar value of last year’s multi-family sales was $1.100 billion, an 18.2% decrease from $1.345 billion in 2015.

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