Commercial transactions grind higher in third quarter
Commercial transactions rose seven per cent in the third quarter of 2025, primarily driven by gains in office and multi-family transactions relative to the previous quarter.
There were 307 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2025, a 61.6 per cent increase from the 190 sales in Q3 2024, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR).
The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $1.412 billion in Q3 2025, a 17.4 per cent decrease from $1.710 billion in Q3 2024.
“Nearly all asset classes posted gains in transaction volumes in the third quarter, but the office and multi-family segments were standouts, rising 30 and 46 per cent respectively over last quarter,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s chief economist and vice-president, data analytics. “Dollar volumes spiked in both asset classes as well, with a handful of large value transactions helping to drive these increases.”
“The only asset class which posted a decline in transaction volumes was the industrial segment, down about 12 per cent relative to last quarter,” Lis said. “This marks a second quarterly decline in a row for this segment despite being one of the more resilient asset classes in 2024 in terms of transaction volume, and despite a healthy gain in sub-$2m transactions relative to the third quarter of 2024.”
Q3 2025 activity by asset class
Land: There were 52 commercial land sales in Q3 2025, which is a 20 per cent decrease from the 65 land sales in Q3 2024. The dollar value of land sales was $432 million in Q3 2025, a 42.6 per cent decrease from $753 million in Q3 2024.
Office: There were 83 office sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2025, which is a 219.2 per cent increase from the 26 sales in Q3 2024. The dollar value of office sales was $190 million in Q3 2025, a 3.3 per cent increase from $184 million in Q3 2024.
Retail & Other: There were 80 retail (& other) sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2025, which is a 66.7 per cent increase from the 48 sales in Q3 2024. The dollar value of retail sales was $244 million in Q3 2025, a 10.1 per cent decrease from $272 million in Q3 2024.
Industrial: There were 73 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2025, which is a 102.8 per cent increase from the 36 sales in Q3 2024. The dollar value of industrial sales was $276 million in Q3 2025, a 79 per cent increase from $154 million in Q3 2024.
Multi-Family: There were 19 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2025, which is a 26.7 per cent increase from 15 sales in Q3 2024. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $270 million in Q3 2025, a 22.3 per cent decrease from $348 million in Q3 2024.