Experts agree that news is good in all sectors
Wendy McLellan
Province
It’s all good news in the Lower Mainland real-estate market, according to industry representatives and market analysts.
“Firing on all cylinders” was the well-used cliche during a talk on real-estate trends at the B.C. construction industry show in Vancouver yesterday.
Leasing and sales in the commercial, industrial and residential markets are strong and expected to remain that way for at least the next two years, said Lee Blanchard, associate vice-president of Royal LePage Commercial.
On the industrial side, Blanchard said sales are very strong and the leasing market is strengthening.
“On the land side, I haven’t seen it this brisk in many, many years,” he said, adding high land prices in Vancouver‘s suburbs are causing some developers to look farther east to build industrial parks.
Vacancy rates in the Lower Mainland’s industrial areas are low — 2.2 per cent last year — which will lead to expansion and increasing lease rates.
“There will continue to be pressure on land, and a strong interest in investment,” Blanchard said. “I think we will have to see more land brought on to facilitate demand.”
Jeff Lim, vice-president of Bentall Real Estate Services’ leasing division, said office building vacancies in downtown Vancouver dropped four per cent last year, and space is at a premium in the city’s best buildings. The vacancies have also dropped in suburban office buildings.
“Over all, there are not a lot of new buildings planned, so vacancy rates will continue to decrease,” Lim said. “The trend has shifted from a tenant’s market to a landlord’s market, especially in the triple-A buildings.
Cameron Muir, senior market analyst for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, said first-time home buyers and investors are keeping the new- condominium market hot, especially in Vancouver’s most desirable neighbourhoods. And, despite the number of construction cranes dotting the skyline, there are few new condos for sale — most were bought before the first shovel cracked the ground.
The rental market for housing is also tight in the city, as buyers have to stay in rental units while they wait for their new homes to be finished and investors wait for their new properties to join the rental pool. At the same time, fewer apartment buildings are being built for the rental market and more people are moving to the province to take advantage of the economic upturn, Muir said.
© The Vancouver Province 2005
