It isn’t great, but it could be a lot worse in Winnipeg.
That’s a key takeaway from CBRE’s second-quarter report on the industrial and office real estate sector, which gives insights into how national and domestic markets were influenced by the turbulence of COVID-19. The quarter was the first to occur during the time of pandemic, and all things considered, Winnipeg appears to be in good shape.
“In comparison with other major markets, we have one of the most stable ones there is,” said Ken Zacharias, a senior sales representative with CBRE with a focus on the city’s industrial market.
As expected, both the industrial and office sectors had a tough quarter: office vacancy rates increased to 10.2 per cent from 8.9 per cent, and the industrial sector saw a four per cent availability rate and 156,829 square-feet of negative absorption.
While those figures aren’t exactly cause for celebration, they aren’t cause for significant panic either: each figure puts the city square in the middle of the pack amongst major cities’ data.
Though the national average for office vacancy is 10.8 per cent, cities like Halifax (15.2), London (15.7), Edmonton (19.8), and Calgary (24.5) far outpace it. Over the last three fiscal years, Winnipeg’s vacancy rate has generally hovered around its current level. It’s much the same on the industrial side, with Halifax (6.5 per cent), Edmonton (8.7) and Calgary (9.7) with much higher availability than Winnipeg’s average of 3.5 per cent.
At a time like this, being average is a good thing, especially with more uncertainty ahead, Zacharias said.
He said while this quarter’s negative absorption — a measure that means more space was vacated or put on the market than was leased, indicating a decrease in demand — was extremely high, he suspects it will begin to creep in a positive direction during the third quarter.
Zacharias said though it’s not possible to predict the future, the industrial sector in Winnipeg and beyond is poised to benefit from the current market conditions. A reason for that is the burgeoning of e-commerce operations, which requires investment in domestic distribution space, as well as a renewed interest in bringing manufacturing on shore.
Much of that development will happen outside the city, in rural municipalities like Rosser and Macdonald, where there’s an abundance of space and higher quality facilities available.
But CBRE pointed to the establishment of a 250,000-sq.-ft. package-sorting facility in the St. Boniface Industrial Park as an example of the development the city and surrounding areas could see in the near future. The facility is well into construction, and Zacharias said he’s heard it could be ready to run by the end of the year.
“Industrial real estate is a bright light in a challenging period and businesses in this sector are grateful to have new supply to support the surge in e-commerce logistics activity,” said Jason Kiselbach, Managing Director, CBRE Vancouver in a release. “We expect demand to grow in most markets and industrial properties to come out ahead in the wake of COVID-19.”
Zacharias isn’t a specialist in offices, but he said even the gurus of commercial real estate can’t quite predict where office realty will end up. There are many elements up in the air, including the persistence of work from home strategies, companies hitting pause on lease agreements, and the spatial needs of employers.
Compared to the first quarter, office vacancy in Winnipeg did increase, and it came to a bit of a freezing point. But as reopening continues, and the third quarter gets underway, the industry will see whether the ice begins to thaw.
ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
Ben Waldman Reporter
Ben Waldman covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
