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Calgary Office Vacancy at 24.1% and Expected to Continue to Rise in 2021

BedRock Realty Office Market Report

After the events of 2020, Q4 reporting includes the noteworthy point of 16 vacant office buildings in the Calgary market. Overall office vacancy in Calgary reached 24.1%, with the downtown being the hardest hit sitting at 27% and expected to climb to 30% before the end of March. Upsides include 24-month lease renewal rates dropping, resulting in landlords needing to provide further incentives to maintain existing clients. The Calgary office market has also seen increased interest from tech tenants as the province pushes for greater diversification beyond oil and gas. Businesses such as Symend and Userful both committed to substantial leases in 2020.

Read more about the current office market in Calgary in our latest Office Market Report.

Interested in taking advantage of the market and finding a new office lease? Try our Office Locator Tool and we’ll send you a list of matches for all your Calgary office wants and needs within 1 business day!

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Five Things to Consider Before Choosing a Commercial Space for Rent in Calgary

City Skyline

City Skyline

Commercial space for lease in Calgary is wide open at the moment, with plenty of options downtown and in the surrounding suburban areas. It is, essentially, a buyer’s market for entrepreneurs and corporations looking to establish in the city – but that doesn’t mean you should be hasty! Today Bedrock Realty Advisors Inc. a trusted commercial realty advisor in Calgary, discusses the top five things to consider before looking for a commercial space to rent in Calgary.

  1. Location, Location, Location
    The most important factor in choosing your Calgary lease space is the location. The city has many desirable locations, including downtown. Right now is a great time for smaller businesses or startups to invest in downtown. Lease rates are down since several notable energy companies have pulled out of Alberta. This has opened up the core to revitalization as some property developers are turning empty towers into apartments. Slowly but surely, downtown is changing to have a wider range of businesses, along with more residences. If you are on the hunt for commercial space to rent in Calgary, don’t discount downtown. You may be surprised at what you can get for a great price right now.
  2. Growth Potential
    Moving a business is time-consuming and very expensive. Before you put down a deposit on a commercial space for lease in Calgary, ensure it has the room you need to expand. It is well worth looking at buying up adjacent bays, or facilities with a few extra office spaces even if they will sit empty for a couple of years. The price of maintaining the space is often less than the price of relocating and changing your address on all of your branding materials.
  3. Easy Access
    Whether your commercial space for rent in Calgary is going to rely on foot traffic from customers (like a retail store) or not (like warehousing or online services), it must be accessible. You, your customers, and your staff want to be close to work via a short commute or by public transit. Commercial space for lease in Calgary’s downtown is a great option because the C Train is free to use downtown. This means your customers and staff don’t have to worry about parking or slippery roads during Alberta’s chilly winters.
  4. Value Add-Ons
    Again, considering both your customers and your staff, you want a location that has extra value for everyone that uses or comes to the space. Your commercial space for rent in Calgary should be close to amenities like green spaces, lunch shops, and safe walking trails (be they streets or more suburban areas). Also consider the value of having accessible washrooms for the differently-abled, gender-neutral washrooms, lactating rooms for female staff that are nursing, nap rooms (which are trending right now!) and being close to laundry mats and grocery stores for the team members that must take care of these chores before or after their workday.
  5. Future Potential
    The commercial space for rent in Calgary that you ultimately decide on must also depend on the area’s future potential. The City of Calgary is looking to attract tech-focused businesses, for example, meaning any company that is tech-focused or supplies the tech sector would be wise to rent in downtown Calgary before competition for space ramps up.

Bedrock Realty Advisors Inc. guides those looking for commercial space to lease in Calgary through the process of finding the ideal location for your business’ present and future needs. Contact us today and let us help you find the perfect spot to launch and thrive.

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Bedrock calling the bottom of the commercial market

Calgary entered the 2018 commercial market with a cautious optimism. This is a relief from a two-year recession where vacancy rates increased from 8.52% at the beginning of 2015 to 27.06% by mid 2018.

Calgary Downtown Office Marketing Forecast report
Source: Colliers International Research and Forecast Report Calgary Downtown Office Market First Quarter 2018

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has been trading between $60-70 a barrel since late December. However, Western Canadian Select (WCS) has been trading at a discount to WTI and exporting Alberta oil is proving difficult as pipeline approvals are delayed.  This has slowed the growth potential for Calgary’s energy based economy

We are predicting that the bottom of the commercial market will be in sometime this year. With that being said the market has experienced a flight to quality space. Top quality pockets of 5,000 sq. ft. or less are being quickly leased in the current market.

What does this mean to the office user?  If you intend to take advantage of the renter’s commercial market right now, this next 12-18 months may be the most opportune time to look for savings in your rental expense or that chance to upgrade to A quality space at rents tenant’s paid for C space in 2014 at 6% vacancy. The window is wide open now but maybe closing soon.

graph average asking rates for commercial real estate in calgary
Average asking rates for commercial real estate in Calgary.
Source: Avison Young Q1 2018 Market Report

Interested in seeing what’s out there? Contact us today and we’ll help you find the perfect deal for your business.

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Bedrock Featured in CREB

John Savard was recently quoted in CREB Now as an expert in the Office Space for lease Calgary market. Below is a portion of the article. Read the Full Article.

Commercial real estate felt the pinch of a slumping economy in 2016 and Calgary’s suburban office market was no exception.

From headleases – between a landlord and a tenant – to subleases – where a tenant puts some of their excess space on the market – commercial real estate outside the core had its challenges.

“A significant amount of very, very large blocks of vacancies are available on the sublease market and the head lease market, for that matter, and we have not seen a great number of tenants going in to take those spaces,’’ said John Savard, principal, office leasing specialist with Bedrock Realty Advisors Inc.
Suburban office vacancy rose 0.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016 to 22.6 percent, according to a recent Barclay Street Real Estate report.

John news-page-001
John Savard of Bedrock Properties Ltd., discusses Calgary’s commercial real estate market with CREB Now. Click photo to view full article.