There has been no office space leased in downtown Vancouver in the past three months and, if Burnaby is taken out of the equation, suburban markets are also reporting "negative absorption" since January, says a report from DTZ Commercial in Vancouver.
There is churn in the downtown - 11 "significant leases" were signed up in the first quarter - but that movement won't be seen until this summer or beyond, DTZ noted. There is also 1.4 million square feet in new space being developed in four new office towers, all of which are expected to complete within three years.
Downtown office vacancy remains at 3.9 per cent, up just 0.1 per cent from a year ago, DTZ reports.
DTZ estimates that there is the equivalent of a 23-storey office building of Class A space vacant downtown, up 10 per cent from a year ago.
Gross average rent for Class A space is currently up 3.8 per cent from a year earlier to $49.44 per square foot.
from Western Investor June 2013
