VANCOUVER, BC — April 3, 2025 — In aggregate, commercial transaction volumes in the Lower Mainland finished 2024 at the lowest level recorded in over a decade, down roughly seven per cent from 2023 which previously held this un-prestigious record.
The Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) reports that commercial real estate transactions in the region totalled 1442 in 2024, a 7.0 per cent decrease from the 1551 sales recorded in 2023.
The total dollar volume of commercial transactions in the Lower Mainland for 2024 was $9.589 billion, a 13.2 per cent increase from $8.471 billion in 2023.
“2024 was a year marked by turbulence and uncertainty in the commercial market, unusually situated against a backdrop of easing borrowing costs” Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics said. “From worries about a potential recession, to the increased capital gains inclusion rate, to the more recent concerns over tariffs brought about by the new U.S. administration, 2024 had its fair share of headwinds and the year-end totals we are seeing now are representative of that.”
Annual sales and dollar volume totals for 2024 for each asset class were as follows:
Land: There were a total of 407 commercial land sales in 2024, a 5.6 per cent decrease from the 431 land sales in 2023. The dollar volume of land sales was $4.283 billion in 2024, a 7.8 per cent increase from $3.975 billion in 2023.
Office: There were a total of 230 office sales in 2024, a 28.8 per cent decrease from the 323 office sales in 2023. The dollar volume of office sales was $888 million in 2024, a 45.7 per cent increase from $609 million in 2023.
Retail & Other: There were a total of 318 commercial retail (& other) sales in 2024, a 12.4 per cent increase from the 283 retail (& other) sales in 2023. The dollar volume of retail sales was $1.330 billion in 2024, a 31.6 per cent increase from $1.010 billion in 2023.
Industrial: There were a total of 401 industrial sales in 2024, a 9.7 per cent decrease from the 444 industrial sales in 2023. The dollar volume of industrial sales was $1.806 billion in 2024, a 13.3 per cent decrease from $2.084 billion in 2023.
Multi-Family: There were a total of 86 multi-family sales in 2024, a 22.9 per cent increase from the 70 multi-family sales in 2023. The dollar volume of multi-family sales was $1.283 billion in 2024, a 61.7 per cent increase from $793 million in 2023.
“The aggregate figures for the year mask a few pockets of resilience in the market, with multi-family, retail, and to a lesser extent, land deals holding steady or increasing year-over-year. Part of the activity in the multi-family segment was driven by government purchases of multi-family buildings, so we should be cautious of overstating the strength in that segment in particular. With that said, considering the significance of the headwinds the market has faced in 2024, these segments had a more impressive showing than the office and industrial segments.”
