Calgary, along with all other major office markets across Canada, saw an uptick in office vacancy over the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Avison Young Office Market Report..Downtown vacancy rates in Calgary rose 6% from Q1 2020 until now as did Edmonton’s rates according to the report released Tuesday. Calgary’s downtown office vacancy rate was 29.9% in Q3 compared to 29.2% in Q2 and the city’s overall vacancy rate was 26.1%.. Office-Vacancy-Rate-1Avison Young Office Market Report screengrab .“In third-quarter 2021 the overall Calgary office market saw its smallest decrease in occupied space since the COVID-19 pandemic started,” the report indicated although Calgary currently has 19 office buildings sitting completely empty.. Office-Vacancy-Rate-3Avison Young Office Market Report screengrab .Avison Young’s Vitality Index tracks visitor volumes in real-time helping occupiers and investors make strategic real estate decisions based on real-time data..Information collected as of the week of October 11 shows “Calgary’s volume of downtown foot traffic is down 65% compared to pre-pandemic levels in early March 2020.”. Office-Vacancy-Rate-2Avison Young Office Market Report screengrab .Calgary was also found to have seen a negative absorption of 267,000 square feet, “resulting in the seventh consecutive quarter of negative absorption.”.According to the report, it’s the longest period of negativity since 2014-16, when Calgary saw nine back-to-back quarters of negative absorption..Construction of new office space is also very low in Calgary with the exception of primary medical and professional space, “in high demand” in suburban locations the report said.. Office-Vacancy-Rate-4Avison Young Office Market Report screengrab .The report highlights a number of reasons Calgarians can remain optimistic about the future including results of The Mercer Cost of Living report that shows Calgary provides an “affordable cost of living relative to other markets.”.“Calgary offers great transportation, phenomenal entertainment and recreational options, great office space available at a reasonable cost and housing that is relatively inexpensive,” said the report..Toronto and Vancouver, although also tracking down around 5% each for office vacancy rates, were still considered the best-performing markets in Canada..Montreal vacancy rates dipped by 3% and Ottawa saw the smallest overall decline at 1% over the pandemic..Analysts predict a further softening for another year or two leading to vacancy rates rising another possible 2-3%. .Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
Calgary, along with all other major office markets across Canada, saw an uptick in office vacancy over the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Avison Young Office Market Report..Downtown vacancy rates in Calgary rose 6% from Q1 2020 until now as did Edmonton’s rates according to the report released Tuesday. Calgary’s downtown office vacancy rate was 29.9% in Q3 compared to 29.2% in Q2 and the city’s overall vacancy rate was 26.1%.. Office-Vacancy-Rate-1Avison Young Office Market Report screengrab .“In third-quarter 2021 the overall Calgary office market saw its smallest decrease in occupied space since the COVID-19 pandemic started,” the report indicated although Calgary currently has 19 office buildings sitting completely empty.. Office-Vacancy-Rate-3Avison Young Office Market Report screengrab .Avison Young’s Vitality Index tracks visitor volumes in real-time helping occupiers and investors make strategic real estate decisions based on real-time data..Information collected as of the week of October 11 shows “Calgary’s volume of downtown foot traffic is down 65% compared to pre-pandemic levels in early March 2020.”. Office-Vacancy-Rate-2Avison Young Office Market Report screengrab .Calgary was also found to have seen a negative absorption of 267,000 square feet, “resulting in the seventh consecutive quarter of negative absorption.”.According to the report, it’s the longest period of negativity since 2014-16, when Calgary saw nine back-to-back quarters of negative absorption..Construction of new office space is also very low in Calgary with the exception of primary medical and professional space, “in high demand” in suburban locations the report said.. Office-Vacancy-Rate-4Avison Young Office Market Report screengrab .The report highlights a number of reasons Calgarians can remain optimistic about the future including results of The Mercer Cost of Living report that shows Calgary provides an “affordable cost of living relative to other markets.”.“Calgary offers great transportation, phenomenal entertainment and recreational options, great office space available at a reasonable cost and housing that is relatively inexpensive,” said the report..Toronto and Vancouver, although also tracking down around 5% each for office vacancy rates, were still considered the best-performing markets in Canada..Montreal vacancy rates dipped by 3% and Ottawa saw the smallest overall decline at 1% over the pandemic..Analysts predict a further softening for another year or two leading to vacancy rates rising another possible 2-3%. .Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
