Retail assets remain the top pick among real estate investors, and yet another opportunity has hit the market, drawing a strong response from investors.

CBRE Ltd. listed Comox Centre Mall in downtown Comox on Oct. 7, drawing responses from private, institutional, national and international parties within the first day.

“It’s been really well received,” said Ross Marshall, who together with Chris Rust of CBRE’s Investment Properties Group in Victoria is handling the listing. “We’ve got buyers from all over the country who’ve inquired, as well as some offshore. … I’m assuming, based on the initial interest, that we’ll probably be in a situation where we have multiple bids.”

Originally built in 1966, the mall offers 101,752 square feet on eight acres in downtown Comox, steps from the waterfront with its marina and sea plane terminal and adjacent to the new Port Augusta transit exchange.

“You can’t find eight acres downtown, or well-located, anywhere,” Marshall said. “This serves a really good demographic and core population.”

And additional population could be cultivated on site, with a development permit in place for a six-storey mixed-use development with 52 residential units and three commercial units at grade.

Development at CFB Comox also promises to support population growth, with the federal government allocating $96 million for projects over the next three years as part of its renewal of the defence sector.

BC Assessment values Comox Centre at more than $20.5 million, versus a replacement value in excess of $600 per square foot (or more than $60 million).

“Your replacement value is more than twice what the current price guidance is,” Marshall said. “On a price per [square] foot basis we’re under $400.”

Recent transactions show that investors are willing to pay for properties like Comox Centre, which is anchored by Your Independent Grocer, a BC Liquor Store, and tenants including CIBC and Dollarama.

“Needs-based retail is at the top of most institutional and private buyers’ lists right now because it’s proven its resilience when it comes to market turbulence,” Marshall said. “This product type is very resilient, and regardless of where the five-year bond is today, we still have appetite because these are essentially irreplaceable.”

According to Altus Group, retail was the sole asset type within the Metro Vancouver area to see volume growth in the first half of this year. (Altus Group tracks deals worth over $1 million.)

“Transaction volume rose a marginal 1 per cent to $866 million, supported by investor demand for necessity-based grocery-anchored strip centres, prime street-front locations and assets with low vacancy and inflation-hedging characteristics,” it said.

Within B.C. as a whole, Avison Young (Canada) Inc. reported a decline in the aggregate value of deals over $5 million, but a larger number of deals as investor appetite remain strong.

“Grocery- and necessity-anchored properties … continue to appeal to private investors, institutions and REITs. The principal constraint is not a lack of demand but limited availability,” Avison Young reported. “With relatively few grocery-anchored centres trading, some investors are broadening their acquisition criteria rather than continuing to compete for scarce core product.”

This has supported activity in secondary and tertiary markets, with Aberdeen Village Centre in Kamloops, a grocery-anchored property similar in size to Comox Centre, sold for $31.65 million in September. City Gate Centre in Chilliwack, a grocery-anchored mall with 45,764 square feet, changed hands the same month for an undisclosed sum.

While Avison Young said total year-end volumes will depend on the kind of assets brought to market, Marshall said forward momentum appears to be strong, with investors moving beyond “a price discovery situation to a capital deployment [situation].”

“Regardless of where the five-year bond [rate] is today, we still have appetite because these are essentially irreplaceable,” Marshall said of grocery-anchored retail assets. “Those who are looking look beyond the current and existing challenges and look long term.”

Metro Vancouver’s office market softened in the third quarter while the region’s industrial sector continued to tighten amid strong leasing activity and limited supply.

Office vacancy rates increased in both downtown Vancouver and suburban markets, reaching 12.2 per cent and 7.9 per cent respectively, according to Colliers’ Q3 2026 national market snapshot released Thursday.

“The office market, after 12 months of fairly solid activity and a shrinking vacancy rate, has hit a period of stabilization whereas the industrial sector is evolving,” said Susan Thompson, director of research for Western Canada at Colliers.

“It's heavily driven by logistics and the movement of goods, which is driving a lot of the activity.”

The increase of office vacancy rate came as about 350,000 square feet of negative net absorption was recorded across Metro Vancouver, largely because of new listings entering the market, particularly in Burnaby and Richmond, according to Colliers.

“Vancouver, if you’re looking at the office market, it hasn’t found the same kickstart to its industries and economies that drive activity the way a lot of the rest of Canada has,” said Thompson.

“So it’s really feeling a bit sluggish and stalled at the moment.”

Downtown Vancouver has one of its highest vacancy rates in more than 20 years, while the suburban market is performing better by comparison, according to Thompson.

Surrey’s office vacancy rate was about 7.6 per cent. Burnaby and Richmond have also seen relatively strong leasing activity, although newly completed buildings and new listings affected vacancy calculations during the quarter.

She attributed part of the difference to the composition of suburban tenants, which tend to be smaller and more stable.

Industrial market moves in opposite direction

While office conditions softened, Metro Vancouver’s industrial market continued to tighten, according to the report.

Industrial vacancy fell 0.5 percentage point quarter over quarter to 2.6 per cent, while availability declined 0.7 percentage point to 3.7 per cent.

It was the first time in 10 quarters that both vacancy was below three per cent and availability was below four per cent, according to Colliers.

“Metro Vancouver's industrial market continued to tighten this quarter as strong leasing activity, coupled with limited new availability, pushed both vacancy and availability lower,” the report said.

The region recorded nearly 1.3 million square feet of positive net absorption during the quarter, supported in part by several major lease transactions.

One of the largest was the leasing of 411,417 square feet at 18111 Blundell Road in Richmond, removing a substantial block of industrial space from the market.

The industrial market is also undergoing a broader structural shift across Canada, as demand increasingly extends beyond traditional logistics facilities toward manufacturing, advanced research and development, defence and other activities tied to Canada's emerging economic strategy, according to Colliers.

"I expect we are on the cusp of a foundational shift in Canada's industrial economy, and commercial real estate is at the heart of it," said Adam Jacobs, head of research for Colliers Canada, in a statement.

"For years, our national supply chains have been too reliant on international suppliers. Now, with historic new investment in defence and infrastructure, we are seeing the direct real estate requirements needed to bring that ambition to life."

Election uncertainty adds another layer

Thompson said uncertainty surrounding B.C.’s municipal and provincial elections is also contributing to caution among businesses making longer-term real estate decisions.

“With an election both at the municipal and provincial [level] going on across the board in B.C. right now, that’s really stalling a lot of decision-making,” she said.

She expects some of that uncertainty could ease after the elections, potentially allowing businesses to make longer-term decisions.

“We could potentially see things unlock once there’s some more certainty in what people are going to be facing,” Thompson said.

dxiong@biv.com

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