Office market helps bolster Edmonton real estate scene in 2018: Report
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Edmonton is continuing to see significant year-over-year increases in real estate transactions with investment levels reaching just over $3 billion so far this year, a new report shows.
According to the report by Altus Group, that number represents a 38-per-cent increase on the first three quarters of 2017 and an 86-per-cent jump over 2016.
But that increase was mostly driven by several large purchases.
“We’ve observed strong overall investment levels for two consecutive quarters in Edmonton which were bolstered by large purchases in the apartment and office sectors,” Altus Group manager of data solutions Ben Tatterton said in an email.
“These larger deals aside, the overall marketplace has been steady over the past year.”
The office market posted $517.4 million in sales volume to date in 2018 with a bulk of that coming in the third quarter. Altus is also reporting $570 million in apartment sales since the start of the year.
Retail investment levels have remained steady through 2018 with $609.8 million invested in total including the acquisitions of Century Park Plaza ($41.8 million), Hawkstone Plaza ($29.2 million) and Broadmoor Heritage Plaza ($23 million).
Calgary’s year-to-date investment volumes in the same period hit $2.55 billion, which is up 11 per cent from the same period in 2017.
The office and apartment asset classes are choppy. But “the rise in overall commercial investment from this time last year is a positive note, particularly in the land and industrial markets,” Tatterton said of the Calgary market.
Another report published this week by ATB Financial showed that the number of unabsorbed homes in the real estate market continues to grow in both major cities in the province.
Their numbers, drawn from Statistics Canada, showed Edmonton had 1,251 unabsorbed homes in October, which is 55 per cent higher than in the previous October. In Calgary the number was lower with 889 homes.
Vacant housing in Calgary in October was 53 per cent higher than the previous year, marking the highest vacancy level in more than 13 years.
“Over the next year, the number of unabsorbed houses is expected to stay elevated,” the ATB report said.
“Given lower interprovincial migration to Alberta and rising interest rates, demand for new homes will continue to be lower than in years past.”
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