Metro Vancouver’s industrial market is entering a period of equilibrium, as the frenzy that once defined the market dies down.
Industrial vacancy for the Metro Vancouver region increased to 2.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. This is the first time that vacancy rate has broken through the two-per-cent level in the past seven years, according to an April 4 report from Colliers. “In the next 12 to 24 months, we’ll be really painting the story of what new balanced vacancy will look like.”
Across all types of industrial buildings, the construction pipeline shrank by 27 per cent from a peak of 10.3 million square feet under construction in the second quarter of 2023 to 7.5 million square feet at the end of Q1 2024. “This figure is zero per cent for Montreal, which is a very nice place to live and there’s quite a robust economy, so it’s surprising,” Morrison said.