Metro Vancouver’s office vacancy rate rose to 10.1% in the second quarter of 2010, according to CB Richard Ellis research.
It was the seventh consecutive quarterly rise in the region’s office vacancy rate, up from 10% in the previous quarter.
There were some bright spots.
Downtown core vacancy dropped from 5.8% in the first quarter of 2010 to 5.6% during the second quarter. Richmond and Surrey saw similar declines. All other suburbs, however, saw a rise in the percentage of office properties available for lease.
Richmond continued to have the region’s highest office vacancy rate (22.6%) while Burnaby (18.9%), Surrey (15.8%) and New Westminster (13.8%) also have office vacancy rates above the regional average.
Downtown Vancouver office space was clearly in demand. It currently enjoys the lowest office vacancy rate since the first quarter of 2009.
According to the CB Richard Ellis report, notable new downtown tenants include Microsoft Corp.’s 37,000-square-foot lease at 840 Cambie Street and ICBC’s 33,000-square-foot lease at 885 Dunsmuir Street.