A local investor group has acquired 1827 West 5th Avenue, a 2-storey office building and parking lot located on West 5th Avenue in the Kitsilano area just west of Burrard Street. The building is 11,300 sq ft and is fully leased to KPMG for a term of two years with three one year renewal options.The site area is 11,200 sq ft.

The purchase price was $6,280,000, representing a 5.0% cap rate on existing income. The zoning for the property is RM-4 and C-3A, which permits redevelopment in the future.

With less than 200,000 SF of new office space built since the completion of Bentall 5 in 2007, and a vacancy rate hovering below 5%, there is finally some new supply on the horizon.  Only Jameson House and the Hotel Georgia offices, both commercial strata office space in mixed-use projects have been built since that time, adding approximately 130,000 SF.

In 2014-2015, over 1,000,000 SF will be added to the downtown market with the addition of 745 Thurlow, Telus Garden and MNP Tower (1021 West Hastings).  All three are at varying stages of demolition or excavation.

Bosa Development has purchased Sperling Plaza, a 4-storey office complex located near Highway 1 and Canada Way in Burnaby. The 130,000 sq ft complex is located on a 3.3 acre site. The purchase price was $33,300,000.

According to Colliers’ Q2 2012 Metro Vancouver Office Market Report, the Metro Vancouver office market maintained its stability once again this quarter, with the
vacancy rate decreasing minimally from 7.7 percent last quarter to 7.6 percent this quarter.

Q2 highlights:

• The Metro Vancouver vacancy rate decreased minimally from 7.7 percent in Q1 2012 to 7.6 percent in Q2 2012
• The Downtown Vancouver vacancy rate decreased to 3.5 percent this quarter, down from 3.8 percent last quarter
• Investment activity Downtown was reasonably strong, with the sale of Bentall V and several significant firms deals in place
• The Suburban vacancy rate remained unchanged from last quarter at 11.2 percent and the market as a whole was relatively slow
• Broadway Tech Centre Building 6 commenced construction this quarter after it was revealed that Golder Associates preleased approximately 130,000 square feet

David Taylor and Simon Lim of Colliers International have acted on behalf of the Vendor in the sale of 5970 East Boulevard, a 9,600 sq ft office and apartment building located in the prestigious Kerrisdale are of Vancouver. The property is zoned C-2 and was fully leased at the time of sale. The purchase price was $3,500,000, representing $347 per sq ft.