The combined value of multi-family apartment building sales across Metro Vancouver more than doubled during 2021.

According to CBRE’s 2021 Apartment Report, multi-family sales in the region totalled $2.2 billion last year, up from $1 billion in 2020.

CBRE noted that sales activity decreased in the second quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although transactions rose during the second half of 2020 before surging in 2021.

“Vacancy rates increased in urban centers across the country in early 2021 as market fundamentals were impacted by the pandemic,” said the report. “However, with the easing of economic restrictions, the return of immigration and student demand combined with a lack of rental housing and high cost of ownership have compressed vacancy rates back to pre-pandemic levels.”

Metro Vancouver saw 138 building sales totalling $2.22 billion. Broken down by neighbourhood, Downtown Vancouver had 24 building sales for a combined value of $768 million, while Vancouver Westside saw 52 sales worth $622 million and Vancouver Eastside had 20 transactions worth $396 million.

The report also tallied 12 building sales on the North Shore totalling $396 million, five transactions in in Burnaby totalling $47 million, and 13 building sales in the Fraser Valley worth $64 million.

CBRE completed one of the year’s largest deals, selling Hollyburn Properties’ Legacy Apartment portfolio — encompassing 614 units across 15 properties — to Ontario-based InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust and Crestpoint Real Estate Investment for $293 million in January 2021.

Sales are expected to remain high during 2021 due to shifting government policies on rental housing, according to the report : “Supply can be expected to continue to come to market as more private landlords who have owned for decades weigh the challenges imposed on them under provincial rent control policies and potential changes to capital gains taxes.”

CBRE forecasts strong market conditions throughout 2022 resulting from Canada’s lofty immigration targets — welcoming 1.2 million new residents over three years — and a lack of rental housing construction.

Those factors have motivated developers and real estate investment trusts to invest in multi-family apartment buildings as an asset.

“The institutional activity is expected to continue as we see more amalgamation of multi-family apartment buildings by larger landlords attracted to the strong fundamentals of the BC multi-family market,” said the report.

Metro Vancouver Apartment Building Sales More Than Doubled During 2021 by Ryan Garner | Livabl