Despite lingering hesitancy around consumer spending, Vancouver’s retail real estate market shows continued activity, and industry experts are expressing optimism for its future.
The Vancouver retail asset class had a total availability rate of 1.8 per cent and an average asking lease rate of $36.93 per square foot as of the end of March, according to a retail market outlook from JLL. “Where you do see some of the vacancies level off is on the ancillary streets, off of the major blocks and some of those major corridors.… We were all hoping that with all of this demand, some of this would spill over to these areas but that hasn’t necessarily been the case,” said Thomas, adding that retailers are looking for “proven markets.”
Vancouver’s suburban grocery-anchored shopping centres have a vacancy rate of 0.75 per cent, which translates to 47,188 square feet of space, according to Colliers. “Despite an easing of travel restrictions in 2023, the number of flights out of China has yet to return to levels,” said JLL in their retail report.
The densification around these malls and added population base will “only be positive” for the retailers located there, said Thomas. “We look for Canadian consumer spending to remain soft in the first half of this year before ticking higher in the second half.” The Capital Regional District’s population grew by 3.3 per cent to 457,478 between 2022 and 2023, according to data from BC Stats.