Downtown redevelopments contributed much to the city's residential investment performance
The latest report by the Altus Group revealed that after a record high of $6.9 billion in 2017, investment in Vancouver’s residential land continued to surge unabated, largely driven by a growing average deal size.
The Vancouver Flash Report 2018 noted that investment in the city’s residential segment for the first half of 2018 was propelled by major redevelopment projects in downtown Vancouver, with transactions such as the $130-million acquisition of 1640-1650 Alberni St by Landa Global Properties.
High-density and medium-density land – which comprised 85% of residential investment volume last year (at $2.8 billion and $3 billion, respectively) – are still among Vancouver’s most attractive investment destinations, Altus added.
Read more: Price levels impede activity in townhouse markets
This is despite the total number of investment property sales going down by 7% year-over-year during the first half of 2018. Much of this was due to slowdown in the office segment, which significantly declined to only 1/3 of the level during the same time last year, along with an 11% shrinkage in retail.
Weaker home sales did not deter the vigorous investment, either. Activity in both the single-family and the apartment segments dropped by about 15% year-over-year in the first two quarters of 2018.
