The Lower Mainland’s commercial real estate market hit a five-year high in 2014 in terms of the number and value of sales within the year.

There were 1,963 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in 2014. This is 7.3 per cent above the 1,829 sales in 2013, virtually unchanged from the 1,950 sales recorded in 2012, and 1.1 per cent above the 1,941 sales recorded in 2011.

Commercial real estate sales in 2014 were 4.4 per cent above the region’s five-year sales average.

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland is $6.086 billion in 2014, which is above the $5.585 billion total in 2013.

"Our commercial real estate market was up in 2014 thanks in large part to increased demand for raw land transactions within the development and investor community,” Ray Harris, REBGV president said. “An increase in land transactions is often a signal of confidence in the market because it requires a multi-year investment."

2014 activity by category

Land: There were 642 commercial land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2014, which is a 21.8 per cent increase from the 527 land sales in 2013. The dollar value of last year’s land sales was $3.052 billion, a 35.9 per cent increase from 2013.

Office and Retail: There were 741 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in 2014, which is up 2.8 per cent from the 721 office and retail sales in 2013.  The dollar value of last year’s office and retail sales was $1.584 billion, a decline of 15 per cent from 2013.

Industrial: There were 473 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2014, which is down 1.7 per cent from the 481 industrial land sales in 2013.  The dollar value of last year’s industrial sales was $811 million, a 12.5 per cent decline from 2013.

Multi-Family: There were 107 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2014, which is up 7 per cent from the 100 multi-family sales in 2013.  The dollar value of last year’s land sales was $639 million, a 16.3 per cent increase from 2013.