Sales activity in the Lower Mainland’s commercial real estate market slowed in the first half of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and rebounded in the second half of the year.

There were 1,582 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in 2020, a 0.6% decrease from 1,592 sales in 2019, 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 $8.622 billion in 2020, a 21% increase from $7.128 billion in 2019.

“Commercial real estate activity mirrored activity in our overall economy in 2020,” Taylor Biggar, REBGV Chair said. “The uncertainty brought on by the pandemic caused activity to slow in the first half of the year, but the market picked up in the latter half of 2020 as people and businesses established safety protocols and began assessing their real estate needs again.”

2020 activity by category

Land : There were 409 commercial land sales in 2020, which is a 2.4% decrease from the 419 land sales in 2019. The dollar value of land sales was $4.283 billion in 2020, a 28.7% increase from $3.329 billion in 2019.

Office and Retail : There were 592 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in 2020, which is down 8.8% from the 649 sales in 2019. The dollar value of office and retail sales was $1.7 billion in 2020, a 2.1% increase from $1.666 billion in 2019.

Industrial : There were 508 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2020, which is a 9.5% increase from the 464 sales in 2019. The dollar value of industrial sales was $1.457 billion in 2020, a 6.1% increase from $1.373 billion in 2019.

Multi-Family : There were 73 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2020, which is up 21.7% from 60 sales in 2019. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $1.180 billion in 2020, a 55.7% increase from $758 million in 2019.

Click here to view the Q4 2020 Commercial Stats Package.

Commercial Real Estate Activity Slowed as Pandemic Hit and Regained Momentum to Conclude 2020 by REBGV