Last year, British Columbia’s Lower Mainland saw its lowest level of commercial real estate activity since 2019, according to Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR).

In 2023, the Lower Mainland had 1,249 commercial sales, a 41.7 per cent decrease from the 2,144 sales in 2022. Total dollar value of the region’s 2023 commercial real estate sales was $7.3 billion, a 44.1 per cent decrease from $13 billion the year prior. 

A brighter 2024 ahead

“While the 2023 annual figures paint a picture of a dismal year for commercial real estate in the Lower Mainland, more recent quarterly data are suggesting activity is starting to pick up across certain segments, which may indicate the worst is behind us,” Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics, notes.

“With the latest inflation print showing total CPI is now inside the Bank of Canada’s target range of one to three per cent, lower borrowing costs may be just over the horizon, which we expect to help spur more activity in 2024.”

2023 regional activity by category

There were 370 commercial land sales in 2023, a 49 per cent decrease from the 725 land sales the year prior. 2023 sales in this category totalled $3.6 billion, 52 per cent less than the $7.5 billion in 2022.

There were 485 office and retail sales in 2023, down over 40 per cent from 2022’s 809 sales. 2023’s office and retail sales totalled $1.3 billion, 44 per cent less than the $2.3 billion in 2022.

There were 335 industrial land sales in 2023, more than 35 per cent less than the 517 sales the year before. 2023 sales in this category totalled $1.8 billion, a 3.9 per cent decrease from the $1.9 billion in 2022.

There were 59 multi-family land sales in 2023, down over 36 per cent from the prior year’s 93 sales. 2023 sales in this category totalled nearly $600 million, a 56.8 per cent decrease from the $1.4 billion in 2022.

Review the full report here.