First-quarter statistics show office and industrial markets across the region posted another robust quarter. The first quarter saw the tailend of the Omicron variant, but more importantly a move by many employers to begin a general return to the office, or at a minimum, a partial return to the office. Many businesses still remain unsure of their longterm office needs, but in the interim, most are keeping the status quo, and making adjustments as required. The warehouse market on the other hand shows no sign of slowing with a near frenzy for space of any type, location or size..
First-quarter statistics show Metro Vancouver's office and industrial markets continued to be among the tightest in North America. During the quarter, the Metro Vancouver office availability rate fell marginally to 7.4%, while industrial vacancies remained well below 1.0, at 0.7%. This despite over a million square feet of office space coming online, and over 1.3 million square feet of warehouse space. Both office and industrial construction was largely preleased before completion. Of note, suburban office availabilities remained below urban/downtown availabilities, and industrial markets saw little difference between the various municipalities, or submarkets. Office rents continued to drift slightly higher, averaging $32.28 per square foot across the region (Class A space), while warehouse rents continued their meteoric rise, reaching $16.87 per square foot, up 14.7% from Q1 of 2021.