Province
The vacancy rate in the Greater Vancouver office market fell to a seven-year low of 4.8 per cent in the third quarter, Colliers International said yesterday. “The last time the overall vacancy rate for Metro Vancouver fell below five per cent was at year-end 2000, when it was at 4.6 per cent at the height of the dot-com era,” Colliers said.
Face rates for prime downtown Vancouver class AAA space have reached a record high of $45 per square foot — up from $40 in the first quarter, Colliers said. Even with limited inducements, net effective rates downtown have surpassed $40 per square foot.
The strong loon is not expected to have a large impact on the Lower Mainland office market. Still, it’s possible that U.S. firms moving parts of their operations, such as call centres, to Canada may reconsider this decision over time, given that the competitive advantage of a stronger dollar no longer exists, Colliers said.
© The Vancouver Province 2007
