Downtown Vancouver office vacancy rate jumps above 10 per cent

The office vacancy rate in downtown Vancouver has eclipsed 10 per cent for the first time in almost two decades, a trend driven by tech and other companies giving up leased space as they cut head count or let people continue working from home.

The rate is in keeping with the trend of double-digit figures in other cities.

In Toronto, the downtown office vacancy rate during the first quarter of 2023 was 15.3 per cent, which is the highest it has been since 1995. In Ottawa, at 13.2 per cent, and in Montreal, at 16.5 per cent, the rates recorded are all-time highs, according to CBRE.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the downtown office vacancy rate is at the highest recorded, at over 30 per cent of total space available for either lease or sublease. That is higher than the city experienced just after the dot-com crash in 2002 when it was at about 20 per cent.

The last time the vacancy rate in downtown Vancouver was over 10 per cent was in 2004 after the dot- com crash when start-up technology and online companies went bust.