Office market tight but proactive companies can prevail

3 Apr, 2007, Vancouver

Greater Vancouver’s office vacancy rate, which has been steadily falling for the past three years, stood at 5.8% as of March 2007. As is the trend in most cities, space in the downtown core is the toughest to secure with a vacancy rate of 3.2%. The suburban markets offer more choice with an average vacancy of 10.9% overall.

For companies looking for space in one of the tightest markets in the country, finding options can be difficult – but proactive businesses working well ahead of their lease expiry dates, are finding economical solutions to their space needs.

“The tight office market does not necessarily translate into limited alternatives. While space downtown is tight, options still exist for those that act quickly when suitable space is found,” said Jeff Rank, Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield LePage. “The best move for companies with leases that expire in a couple of years is to start looking now and ensure they have a real estate professional on their side to source options not always advertised in the market, and have them negotiate with the landlord to ensure they get the best value.”

“We’ve found that there are quite a few options for companies in most size ranges, it just becomes more difficult when looking in our downtown market for larger blocks of space greater than a contiguous full floor, added Rank.

Opportunities also grow as you leave the core. Higher office vacancy rates in the suburbs allow for much larger contiguous blocks of space, including entire buildings.

For new space, the core will only see small mixed-use projects come on stream until 2010 as a means to satisfy continued demand. Bentall 5 Phase Two, which opens in June of this year, is the market’s next largest block of space and 100% committed, after which the next major office building completion will not occur until 2011 or later.

Burnaby, and to a lesser degree, Richmond, will see new product on the market through 2007-’08 attempting to offer options to companies both in the core and in their local markets. Many developments were announced through 2006, with such projects as Broadway Tech, Centrepoint, Central Park, Commerce Court International, and the BCIT Aviation Centre as the next group of buildings in this pipeline.

Please see the attached Office Marketbeat Snapshot for the full First Quarter 2007 statistics.

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Cushman & Wakefield LePage is the Canadian operation of Cushman & Wakefield, the world’s largest privately owned commercial real estate services firm with more than 12,000 professionals in 201 offices in 55 countries. The firm delivers integrated solutions by actively advising, implementing and managing on behalf of landlords, tenants, and investors through every stage of the real estate process. These solutions include helping clients to buy, sell, finance, lease, and manage assets. Cushman & Wakefield also provides valuation advice, strategic planning and research, portfolio analysis, and site selection and space location assistance, among many other advisory services. To find out more about Cushman & Wakefield, visit: www.cushmanwakefield.com

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