Canada’s commercial property market is off to a great start in 2012, with sales to date reaching a record-setting level of $13.9 billion. In Calgary alone, nearly $2 billion in sales have been recorded this year alone. Three of the top ten commercial real estate transactions in the country took place in that city, as well.
Across the country, the dollar volume increased by 23.4 per cent from the same period in 2011. This year’s sales are even outpacing the former record set in 2007, when the country’s commercial real estate market recorded its best year ever with $32.1 billion in total sales.
The $1.3 billion Scotia Plaza sale in Toronto was the largest sale to date this year, followed by the Maestro Health Care Portfolio at $925.2 million. Calgary Place was the third-highest transaction this year, and the property closed for a selling price of $$321 million.
John O’Bryan, vice-chairman of CBRE Limited, stated, “It is quite rare to have all the ducks lined up in a row like we have now, but we have active investors, active lenders and very solid leasing fundamentals that have gone on to produce one of the strongest markets I’ve ever seen in my career.”
According to the CBRE, a total of 160 commercial real estate transactions closed in the first part of the year, representing an increase of 7.4 per cent over the previous year. The number of deals nationwide was down 2.5 per cent to 2,410.
According to Susan Thompson, the business development manager for real estate with Calgary Economic Development, “Calgary is a stable and growing economy which means get in now. You’ve got rents that are locked in at good rates. So you’ve got the potential roll your tenants up to even greater rents as they come up for renewal.”
