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Tri-City commercial real estate numbers up, too

Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody saw $50 million more in transactions in 2015 than 2014
Commercial real estate
While the residential real estate market receives all the buzz, prices of commercial and industrial properties in the Tri-Cities have been quietly on the rise.

While the residential real estate market receives all the buzz, prices of commercial and industrial properties in the Tri-Cities have been quietly on the rise.

Despite the fact the number of transactions in the office/retail and industrial categories stayed relatively stable year over year, the value of those sales jumped dramatically, matching a trend seen across the Lower Mainland. 

In the Tri-Cities, 139 commercial real estate transactions were completed in 2015 for a total value of $407 million, up from 135 transactions in 2014 valued at $356 million — an average 14.3% price increase. 

Port Moody saw the largest percentage gain in sales value, jumping from a total of $26 million in 2014 to $54.5 million in ’15 (109%), while PoCo saw a 46% increase from $76 million to $111 million. 

Some of the biggest price gains were seen in the office and retail category, with 29 transactions occurring in the Tri-Cities in ’15 for a total of $92.7 million, up from 27 transactions in 2014 for a total value of $45.4 million.

Coquitlam saw the largest jump in the category, going from $36 million in total transaction value in 2014 to $71 million last year (97%). 

While the total number of transactions in the Tri-Cities is small enough to be skewed by one or two large sales, Darcy McLeod, the president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, said gains are being seen across the region.

“Last year was an extremely strong year for commercial real estate sales, led by growth in both office and retail space and multi-family properties,” he said. “Overall, these numbers reflect B.C.’s solid economy and our own residential real estate market’s growth.”

The value of all industrial transactions also grew in the Tri-Cities.

Overall sales numbers actually decreased slightly from 58 to 57 while the total value of jumped from $93.6 million to $115.4 million. Once again, Port Moody led in percentage gain, going from $3.6 million in ’14 to $9.4 million last year (161%), while PoCo also saw a significant increase, jumping from $39 million to $51 million (30.7%); meanwhile, Coquitlam’s industrial real estate transaction value rose from $51 million to $55 million (7.8%). 

McLeod noted that the spike in commercial real estate values has been seen across the Lower Mainland.

In 2014, the total value of all commercial real estate was $6.3 billion, a number that jumped 33.7% in 2015 to $8.4 billion. The number of transactions during the same time period increased 16.2%, going from 1,985 to 2,307.

gmckenna@tricitynews.com

@gmckennaTC