Southwestern Ontario is near the top of the list in the country for those looking to invest in commercial real estate.
Waterloo Region’s tech sector continues to drive demand in the market, coming in at number five on the list.
CBRE Southwestern Ontario hosted its annual outlook meeting Wednesday.
Senior Vice President Peter Whatmore says the region’s office real estate market is the healthiest it’s been since Blackberry’s downsizing, dropping to a 10.4 per cent vacancy rate at the end of 2018.
Whatmore says the region will be Canada’s best bet for real estate investment growth over the next decade, in part thanks to its talent.
“In fact, 2019 may be the year that talent, talent, talent supplants location, location, location as the driving consideration for commercial real estate decisions,” Whatmore says in a press release.
He says that continued investments in the region could push the area into the top three position in the next three years.
As manufacturing and food sectors continue to grow, the industrial real estate market is also seeing vacancy rates drop.
Occupancy levels in that sector are set to reach new market highs this year: strong demand has pushed the highest single-quarter absorption rate in over a decade.
