A surging petroleum sector is credited with lower vacancy rates in the Edmonton industrial property market.
Vacancy rates in both Edmonton and the surrounding area dropped in the third quarter of 2011, according to industrial surveys.
In the city, the industrial vacancy rate fell to 3.4 per cent for the period ending September 30. That's 0.8 per cent lower than it was a year ago.
Vacancy in the city's southeast sector dropped to 2.7 per cent, while vacancy in the surrounding markets fell to 1.7 per cent, from 2.3 per cent three months earlier.
Still, Colliers International says there's some nervousness, and building owners in the city's northwest aren't doing as well as those in the southeast and surrounding districts.
"There is a sense that confidence in the short-term is tenuous. We all hope for improvements in the world economy, which will drive demand in the Greater Edmonton market," revealed the latest update from the real estate giant.
There continues to be a different story in Edmonton's two main industrial sectors: the southeast has steady activity and absorption driven by the energy sector, while the northwest has an abundant supply of speculative construction and lagging absorption. This is shown in the fact that the northwest has about 60 per cent more vacant space than the Southeast.
Land sale volumes are expected to continue with most demand coming from owner/user purchasers.
Despite continued high oil prices, Colliers predicts vacancy rates in the northwest are likely to increase over the next six to nine months as multiple speculative projects are completed and added to supply.
from Western Investor January 2012
