The Downtown Vancouver Office Market remains strong, with vacancy rates increasing slightly in the first quarter of 2010, The Downtown vacancy is only 7.2%. It is also worth noting that the class “A” vacancy rate is only 5.0% while the class “B” vacancy rate decreased by 1% in the quarter to 8.0%.
AVAILABLE SPACE SUMMARY
| AS OF March 28th 2010 |
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS |
TOTAL OFFICE AREA (SQ. FT.) |
DIRECT AVAILABLE AREA (SQ. FT.) |
DIRECT AVAILABLE RATE (%) |
SUBLET AVAILABLE AREA (SQ. FT.) |
SUBLET AVAILABLE RATE (%) |
TOTAL AVAILABLE AREA (SQ. FT.) |
TOTAL AVAILABLE RATE (%) |
| GREATER VANCOUVER MARKET | 668 | 50,814,678 | 3,684,227 | 7.3 | 9,54,012 | 1.9 | 4,828,064 | 9.5 |
| DOWNTOWN DISTRICT | 221 | 23,825,663 | 1,358,359 | 5.7 | 362,801 | 1.5 | 1,721,160 | 7.2 |
| CLASS A | 58 | 13,062,231 | 472,472 | 3.6 | 181,177 | 1.4 | 653,649 | 5.0 |
| CLASS B | 79 | 6,850,575 | 415,455 | 6.1 | 134,205 | 2.0 | 549,660 | 8.0 |
| CLASS C | 84 | 3,912,857 | 470,432 | 12.0 | 47,419 | 1.2 | 517,851 | 13.2 |
There continues to be a variety of options for Downtown tenants however, there are only 2 openly marketed options for tenants larger than 50,000 square feet, and one of those premises is now under contract. As to opportunities for tenants greater than 10,000 square feet, there are 48 or 5 fewer than last quarter.
Tenant Options Report
| COMPARISON OF LEASING OPTIONS FOR TENANTS | |||||||
| OFFICE SPACES AT SELECTED NODES (Market – District – Node – Class) |
AVAILABLE SPACE | AVAILABLE RATE | |||||
| NUMBER OF BUILDINGS |
BUILDINGS WITH MORE THAN 50,000 SF |
BUILDINGS WITH MORE THAN 10,000 SF |
NUMBER OF SPACES BETWEEN 4,000 TO 8,000 SF |
DIRECT % |
SUBLET % |
TOTAL % |
|
| Greater Vancouver MARKET | 668 | 18 | 156 | 182 | 8.7 | 2.2 | 10.9 |
| Vancouver DISTRICT | 221 | 2 | 61 | 85 | 5.7 | 1.5 | 7.2 |
| Downtown Vancouver NODE | 155 | 2 | 48 | 70 | 5.1 | 1.6 | 6.7 |
| CLASS A | 50 | 2 | 23 | 30 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 4.9 |
| CLASS B | 52 | 0 | 19 | 26 | 6.6 | 2.2 | 8.7 |
| CLASS C | 53 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 9.7 | 1.0 | 10.7 |
Downtown Vancouver Facts
- ~23,825,663 square feet office space
- 221 Buildings with ~1,721,160 square feet vacant (up)
- No buildings currently under construction
- Class “A” survey of occupancy cost psf/annum $57.41(same)
The Leasing Facts
- 2 Buildings with more than 50,000 sf (up two buildings in 6 months)
- 48 Premises with over 10,000 sf (down 5 opportunities)
Downtown Vancouver’s Office Market while challenged by the lack of new and expanding tenants, remains healthy with the absence of any significant new developments. Without significant blocks of space being a threat to existing larger tenants, Landlords need to concentrate on renewing existing tenants at favourable rental rates. Once again the occupancy cost between Downtown and the suburban markets is increasing as both Burnaby and Richmond Landlords are forced to complete harder for tenants.
RGD Commercial Realty Advisors offers a unique focused approach to marketing and should you want more information on the office market, or a marketing proposal for your asset we would like to talk to you.