Canada's office vacancies hit a record as space floods market
BNN Bloomberg
The vacancy rate at Canadian office buildings reached a record high at the end of last year as companies cut back on space while new supply continued to hit the market.
Nationwide, 17.1 per cent of offices were empty as 2.1 million square feet (195,000 square meters) of space failed to find a tenant, according to a fourth-quarter report by CBRE Group Inc. Much of that vacant real estate was in Toronto, where owners of old buildings failed to replace companies relocating to new ones, and technology firms scaled back growth plans amid a deepening retrenchment in that industry, the brokerage said.
The vacancy rate in downtown Toronto, Canada’s financial capital, rose to 13.6 per cent, the highest since the third quarter of 2003.
Major office markets around the world are coming under increasing pressure as companies adjust to the persistence of remote work since the Covid-19 pandemic. With fears of a slowing economy prompting cost-cutting, firms are scrutinizing their real estate footprints as employees’ preference to work from home at least part time lessens requirements for space.
