The region has suffered negative office space absorption for roughly a calendar year now
The Edmonton office market continued to experience negative absorption for the fourth consecutive quarter, primarily due to increased available space in the financial district, Avison Young reported.
“Notably, Centre Point Place and Canadian Western Bank Place contributed to this trend by returning 48,000 square feet to the market,” Avison Young said in its new report covering the market’s second-quarter performance.
Meanwhile, occupancy in the market’s government district saw a “marginal improvement” in vacancy from 21.2% in Q1 to 20.9% in Q2.
“In the suburban market, although more than half of the districts experienced negative absorption, there was an overall increase in occupancy,” Avison Young said.
“Leading this positive trend were 124th Street, West End and Summerside districts, which collectively leased nearly 27,000 sq ft. The average size of tenants leasing space in these districts was 2,500 to 3,500 sq ft, in alignment with the average tenant size within Edmonton.”
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— Avison Young | Canada (@AY_Canada) June 13, 2023
Avison Young is anticipating the market to continue moving in the second half of 2023.
“Increasing vacancy rates present an opportunity for tenants to capitalize on and strategically enhance their office presence by transitioning to buildings that were previously unattainable,” Avison Young said.
Total inventory in the Edmonton downtown area stood at 18.1 million sq ft during the second quarter, while the suburban market had 15.7 million sq ft of unused office space.
