TRREB Reports Q1 2020 Commercial Statistics

TRREB Commercial Network Members reported 4,601,809 square feet of leased space through TRREB's MLS® System in Q1 2020 for all lease transactions types across the industrial, commercial/retail and office market segments. This result represented a 32 per cent decrease compared to Q1 2019.

It should be noted that a major driver of this decline was a dip in the number of deals for space greater than 100,000 square feet completed in Q1 2020 versus Q1 2019.

Year-over-year changes in average per square foot net lease rates, for transactions with pricing disclosed, were mixed in Q1 2019. The average industrial lease rate for Q1 2020 was $8.59, up from $7.72 in Q1 2019. The average office lease rate was $17.68, up from $14.86 in Q1 2019. The average commercial/retail lease rate was down to $17.39 from $19.54 in Q1 2019.

It is important to note that annual changes in average lease rates can be a result of changing market conditions and changes in the mix of properties leased from one year to the next, in terms of location, size, property type mix and other related variables.

Total commercial sales in Q1 2020 were down by 51 sales to 229, from 280 in Q1 2019. Sales in the industrial sector amounted to 68 in Q1 2020 – down from 110 sales in Q1 2019. Commercial/retail sales were down from 112 in Q1 2019 to 107 in Q1 2020. Office sales were 54 in Q1 2020, a drop from 58 sales in Q1 2019.