After a difficult few years, office transactions are now leading the commercial market upward in the first quarter of 2025, more than doubling from the previous quarter. These transactions are primarily responsible for lifting overall transaction volumes up roughly five per cent compared to the previous quarter.

There were 341 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q1 2025, a 7.8% decrease from the 370 sales in Q1 2024, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR).

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $2.005 billion in Q1 2025, a 6% decrease from $2.133 billion in Q1 2024.

“It remains to be seen whether it’s a blip in the data or a new trend emerging, but office transactions in the first quarter of 2025 have surged to a level not seen in some time, much more reflective of their long-term average,” Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics said. “By contrast, land transactions collapsed 43% relative to the previous quarter, as the number of newly completed and unsold homes remains at historic highs not seen since the Great Financial Crisis, presenting a significant headwind for new development over the short term.

“Even with the surge in office transactions, transaction volumes for the market overall remain nearly 40% below their ten-year quarterly average, with plenty of upside room to run should demand continue building. And despite being a somewhat noisy metric, the spread between the overall cap rate and the ten-year bond yield has been increasing since Q1 2024, currently standing at a spread of around 1%. Should this spread continue increasing, returns on commercial assets will reach levels high enough to draw more investors off the sidelines within the next year or so. But whether these investors will show up remains the ultimate question.”

Q1 2025 Activity by Asset Class

Land : There were 53 commercial land sales in Q1 2025, which is a 50.5% decrease from the 107 land sales in Q1 2024. The dollar value of land sales was $680 million in Q1 2025, a 23.4% decrease from $887 million in Q1 2024.

Office : There were 93 office sales in the Lower Mainland in Q1 2025, which is a 31% increase from the 71 sales in Q1 2024. The dollar value of office sales was $269 million in Q1 2025, a 96% increase from $137 million in Q1 2024.

Retail & Other : There were 77 retail (& other) sales in the Lower Mainland in Q1 2025, which is a 20.3% increase from the 64 sales in Q1 2024. The dollar value of retail sales was $477 million in Q1 2025, a 65% increase from $289 million in Q1 2024.

Industrial : There were 105 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q1 2025, which is unchanged from the 105 sales in Q1 2024. The dollar value of industrial sales was $407 million in Q1 2025, a 12.6% decrease from $466 million in Q1 2024.

Multi-Family : There were 13 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q1 2025, which is a 43.5% decrease from 23 sales in Q1 2024. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $173 million in Q1 2025, a 51% decrease from $354 million in Q1 2024.

Click here to view the Q1-2025 Commercial Edge Market Report.