Vancouver office vacancy rates rose 0.5% between December 2012 and June 2013, real-estate firm Avison Young reported August 7 in its Metro Vancouver Office Market Report.
Commercial real-estate supply surpassed demand during the past six months for the first time since 2009, according to the report.
Vacancy rates climbed from 6.7% in 2011 to 7% in December 2012 to 7.5% in June 2013.
Surrey led the Lower Mainland in "negative absorption" (supply outstripping demand), according to Avison Young. In Downtown Vancouver, a clutch of smaller tenants (many of them mining companies) relocated or closed, contributing to the trend. "Trendy" areas like Yaletown continue to see lower-than-average vacancy rates.
The news was positive for New Westminster, mostly because TransLink will occupy space in the newly developed Brewery District. Richmond also saw a "positive absorption" rate.
A total of 12 new office towers in downtown Vancouver are proposed or under construction. The Mason Robson Centre, with 20,000 square feet of office space, will open at the end of this year and is already fully leased, reported Avison Young.
Avison Young expects rental rates to remain steady, but questions how the market will react to "upcoming large-block vacancies." The performance of the currently soft commodities market will also affect Vancouver commercial real estate.
