Caution advised in three office markets in Canada

Three of Canada’s major commercial centres are a concern in the coming year according to a new report from Colliers International Canada.

Three of Canada’s major commercial centres are a concern in the coming year according to a new report from Colliers International Canada. In its outlook for the market the firm marks Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa with ‘caution’. Vancouver it says may suffer from a glut of new supply, with 3.2 million square feet of offices under construction. It believes that secondary grade offices will suffer in particular. Calgary’s market will be hit by the oil industry’s downturn and will see more downsizing of office space. For Ottawa it forecasts that a continued downsizing by the public sector means the city will continue to see higher vacancy rates although the growing tech sector should help mitigate the situation. Edmonton and Montreal should see a steady year ahead. Toronto is the star of the report with Colliers predicting a strong growth in the economy driving growth in the office market.