Data from CBRE shows that office vacancies in Canada increased to 18.1% in the second quarter. The vacancy rate increased from 17.8% in Q1 to the highest level since 1994. A press release from CBRE said the country's office market is struggling with a storm of a recession threat, interest rate hikes, tech sector weakness, tenant rightsizing, and a new supply of office space. - Downtown vacancies increased in all markets except Calgary and Waterloo region. Downtown vacancy rates in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal were 11.5%, 15.8%, and 17%, respectively.
- Calgary and Halifax were the only markets that registered a decrease in vacancy rates. The decline in Calgary was driven by various industry groups expanding in the city.
- CBRE said construction has consistently decreased since Q2 of last year and could potentially reduce deliveries in Q3 and Q4 to 4.2 million sq. ft, the lowest since 2005.
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