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.

Next week’s rezoning hearing on Tuesday July 10th has a large roster of applications and will be sure to keep Vancouver City Council busy well into the evening.  There are a total of 10 items on the agenda for the July 10 public hearing which begins at 7:30 pm at City Hall.

Some of the more notable applications include:

800 Griffiths Way (Rogers Arena Towers by Aquilini Development)

1388 Continental Street (Neon by Cressey)

4837-4861 Cambie Street (Mosaic)

Resales volume for single family houses in West Vancouver have slowed significantly, and reflects a Metro-wide trend of a definitive swing towards a buyer’s market. June 2012 was the slowest June in over 10 years, with just 30 resales. Comparatively, there were 121 sales in June 2011. Of these 30 sales last month, 20% had dropped their asking price at least once, compared with just 10% of the sales in June 2011.

Source: MLS Statistics

Plan for 33-storey tower clears more hurdles.

Despite protests from neighbours to the east and residents directly around the site, a new 33-storey tower straddling the border of Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam received yet another green light Monday.

Coquitlam council unanimously granted second and third readings to a rezoning application designed to accommodate a new development at the corner of Westwood Street and Lincoln Avenue.