Office space in Victoria a ‘tenant’s market’: report

The shift to working from home that was sparked by pandemic restrictions is continuing to impact the commercial real estate sector.

CBRE’s Canada Real Estate Market Outlook 2024 reports that office vacancy, at 8.7%, remains elevated in Greater Victoria due to turbulent conditions.

In an interview with the Times Colonist, CBRE Ltd. Victoria Vice-President Ross Marshall said landlords are trying to be as accommodating and innovative as possible to keep clients and find new ones. Downtown spaces also face challenges from perceptions about parking and social distress in some areas, Marshall said.

Greater Victoria has 9.37 million square feet of offices, with rent for Class A spaces going for $27.25 per square foot.

“The completion of strata developments in the Westshore will relieve some of the industrial shortage in Greater Victoria and is currently just over 65% pre-sold,” the report states. “Inventory levels still remain heavily undersupplied outside the Westshore. Asking rates are projected to stabilize around mid-2024 after tenants fully occupy investor-purchased strata units and the availability rate normalizes.”