While caution characterized investment activity in the first three months of 2023, sentiment is shifting in Canada’s commercial sector. Positive indicators have emerged, led by rising demand and the re-entry of major players to the market, suggesting a significant upswing in demand may be in the cards for the back half of the year.

National Market Trends

  • Industrial Real Estate: Industrial real estate continued to outperform almost every other asset class, with all markets reporting strong sales and lease activity.
  • Vacant Land Sales: Land sales remain solid, despite higher interest rates and construction costs, with acreage zoned industrial, multi-family and retail most sought-after in major Canadian centres.
  • Retail Real Estate: Retail real estate activity continues to be surprisingly robust, given the growth of online sales in recent years, with almost 92 per cent of markets (11/12) reporting solid activity in retail nodes and shopping centres.
  • Office Sector: The office sector continues to struggle in markets across the country as employers wrestle with hybrid work models, particularly in the downtown core.
  • Commercial Conversions: Repurposing of commercial office space to residential planned or underway in major Canadian centres hold key to healthy, vibrant downtown cores, with 50 per cent of markets (6/12) surveyed reporting conversion activity in this growing segment.

Regional Market Insights

View the interactive report on remax.ca and click the icons to discover the local commercial trends.

Western Canada

Vancouver, BC

Calgary, AB

Edmonton, AB

Regina, SK

Saskatoon, SK

Winnipeg, MB

Ontario

London, ON

Golden Horseshoe, ON

Toronto, ON

Ottawa, ON

Atlantic Canada

Halifax, NS

St. John’s, NL

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