Regina has the least amount of office space available for rent in Canada, according to a report from commercial realtor Avison Young, which says “strong economic and population growth” in Saskatchewan will help keep the capital city office sector tight.

Regina already has a much lower office vacancy rates any of the other 17 cities covered by Avison Young in its North American study. Avison Young’s report said the current vacancy rate for class A buildings in Regina is 0.86 per cent, and that is not likely to change until 2012 when new office buildings come on the market. Class B buildings have an even lower 0.28 per cent vacancy. Most other Canadian cities have an overall office vacancy rate ranging closer to 8 per cent.

An estimated 780,000 square feet of new office space is planned or under construction in Regina, including a 16-storey tower at Rose Avenue and 12^th Street that will be largest office building, by square footage, in the city. Also, Harvard Developments has started construction of the $100 million, 18-storey, 208,000 square foot Tower III that is already 95 per cent leased.

The Royal Bank of Canada predicts gross domestic product growth in Saskatchewan will reach 4.8 per cent in 2011, following a nation-leading high of 6.3 per cent in 2010. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reports that Saskatchewan is tripling the national average in wholesale trade gains. "Wholesale trade is the supply pipeline for many of the products flowing across the province," Enterprise Minister Jeremy Harrison said. "Over the past year we've seen more jobs, more investment and more opportunity come to Saskatchewan. It's no surprise that wholesalers are doing a brisk business within our borders."

All this will help bring Saskatchewan building permit values to set another record in 2011, said the Avison Young report - and put more pressure on the office sector.