Sales and dollar value activity in the Lower Mainland’s commercial real estate market declined in 2019 compared to long-term historical averages.

There were 1,538 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in 2019, a 32.8% decrease from the 2,288 sales in 2018 and a 41.5% decline compared to the 2,628 sales in 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 $6.859 billion in 2019, a 56.7% decrease from $15.833 billion in 2018.

“Activity in the commercial market slowed in 2019 due in large part to reduced activity across our provincial economy last year,” Ashley Smith, REBGV president said. “We experienced a pickup in home buyer activity in the residential real estate market to start this year, but we’ll have to wait and see how demand for commercial real estate will be impacted by the economic difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing.”

2019 Activity by Category

Land : There were 400 commercial land sales in 2019, which is a 54.1% decrease from the 871 land sales in 2018. The dollar value of land sales was $3.235 billion in 2019, a 61.5% decrease from $8.408 billion in 2018.

Office and retail : There were 624 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in 2019, which is down 24% from the 821 sales in 2018. The dollar value of office and retail sales was $1.598 billion in 2019, a 65.8% decrease from $4.667 billion in 2018.

Industrial : There were 463 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2019, which is a 6.1% decrease from the 493 sales in 2018. The dollar value of industrial sales was $1.365 billion in 2019, a 6.9% decrease from $1.467 billion in 2018.

Multi-Family : There were 51 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2019, which is down 50.5% from 103 sales in 2018. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $661 million in 2019, a 48.9% decrease from $1.292 billion in 2018.

Click here to view the Q4 2019 Commercial Stats Package.

Commercial Real Estate Activity Remains Below The Pace of Recent Years