Despite subdued investment sales volumes between 2022 and early 2024, office transactions did not cease entirely. Private capital – particularly family offices, entrepreneurial investors, and owner occupiers – remained active, acquiring discounted assets and pursuing value add or conversion strategies. Nearly 62% of acquisitions during this phase were made by private investors, with owner occupiers accounting for an additional 30%.
Institutional investors largely paused acquisition activity, opting instead to hold core assets amid valuation uncertainty. This pause contributed to historically low transaction volumes.
Over the past 12 months, however, improved price discovery and stabilizing fundamentals have supported a gradual return of institutional capital.
Office sales in six major markets
Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal
Sales of $5 million and up and buildings 75,000 sf and up
office sales by buyer type in six major markets
Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal
Sales of $5 million and up and buildings 75,000 sf and up
At the current pace, 2026 office investment volume in Canada’s six major markets is on track to exceed the annual totals from each of the past two years by over 40%. Coinciding with this jump in sales volume is the return of the institutional investor to Canadian office markets, which in 2023 accounted for only 12% of acquisitions in the segment of buildings $5 million and up and over 75,000 square feet, and has since trended higher, surging to 64% in Q1 2026.
The catalyst has been the return of institutional-grade office product to the market, led by select pension funds who are looking to recalibrate their portfolios after an extended period of holding amid uncertainty. With the pandemic’s disruption to the workplace a thing of the past, fundamentals have strengthened for stabilized, centrally located, and well-managed Trophy and class A offices – the archetypal asset owned by institutional capital. As these leasing conditions tighten with no new construction hitting the ground, buyers are drawn to acquire these assets for the income stability and long-term upside.
Still, the most important determinant of successful office trades is pricing.
Trades are closing with sellers who have acknowledged there is still a way to go before office valuations return to the pre-pandemic peak, and have softened their pricing expectations, accordingly. As these transactions gain traction, there is growing market-based evidence of current price per square foot and cap rate benchmarks for institutional-grade offices. Meanwhile, owners stuck on pricing expectations from the previous market cycle will remain sidelined and miss out on the chance to cash out amid this resurgence in bidders.
Since 2025, fellow institutional players have emerged as major buyers, like Oxford Properties, BentallGreenOak, DekaBank, Desjardins, and KingSett. Larger, well-capitalized private investors and family offices such as Pontegadea have also been active, but, overall, private investors, REITs, and owner-users have accounted for a decreasing share of the sales. These first movers who are increasing their office holdings in this window of opportunity stand to benefit most from the gradual recovery of office capital returns.
Top buyers from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026
Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal
Sales of $5 million and up and buildings 75,000 sf and up
*The sales involve joint ventures led by Europro. The breakdown in ownership interest is not currently disclosed.
Top sellers from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026
Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal
Sales of $5 million and up and buildings 75,000 sf and up
SINCE JUNE 2025
Address:
349 West Georgia Street, & 658 Homer Street, Vancouver
The Post
1,300,000 sf
Buyer(s):
Pontegadea Inmobiliaria SL
Seller(s):
QuadReal
$1,200,000,000
($918/sf)
Address:
1115 Av des Canadiens-de-Montréal, Montréal
Tour Deloitte
516,677 sf
Buyer(s):
DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale
Seller(s):
Cadillac Fairview
$279,000,000
($540/sf)
Address:
1066 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
Oceanic Plaza
351,365 sf
Buyer(s):
BentallGreenOak
Seller(s):
Oxford Properties & Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board
$248,000,000
($706/sf)
Address:
95 Wellington Street
Toronto Dominion Centre
328,690 sf
Buyer(s):
BentallGreenOak
Seller(s):
Cadillac Fairview
$198,130,000
($603/sf)
Address:
1 Queen Street East & 20 Richmond Street East, Toronto
503,930 sf
Buyer(s):
Infrastructure Ontario
Seller(s):
CPP Investments
$145,000,000
($288/sf)
Address:
150 Slater Street, Ottawa
EDC HQ
477,448 sf
Buyer(s):
Regional Group
Seller(s):
Manulife Financial Corporation
$143,500,000
($301/sf)
Address:
5650 & 5700 Yonge Street, Toronto
North American Centre
1,100,000 sf
Buyer(s):
Europro, Questrade, Paradise Commercial, Arista, Fieldgate Commercial & Monterey Park
Seller(s):
Manulife Financial Corporation
$140,000,000
($117/sf)
Address:
4100, 4110 & 4120 Yonge Street, Toronto
Yonge Corporate Centre
657,800 sf
Buyer(s):
Europro, Arista, Paradise Commercial, & Fieldgate Commercial
Seller(s):
Cadillac Fairview
$140,000,000
($213/sf)
Address:
700 & 750 West Pender, Vancouver
Pender Place
292,613 sf
Buyer(s):
KingSett Capital
Seller(s):
Cadillac Fairview
$125,000,000
($427/sf)
Address:
1200 Avenue McGill College, Montréal
392,217 sf
Buyer(s):
KingSett Capital
Seller(s):
Busac Immobilier
$100,650,000
($257/sf)
Address:
505 Quarry Park Blvd SE, Calgary
Imperial Oil Campus
698,583 sf
Buyer(s):
Dominium
Seller(s):
Imperial Oil Limited
$60,000,000
($86/sf)
Address:
1525, 1545 & 1565 Carling Avenue, Ottawa
Carling Executive Centre
292,369 sf
Buyer(s):
Brasswater
Seller(s):
Crown Realty Partners
$53,000,000
($181/sf)
Address:
10830 Jasper Avenue NW, Edmonton
Intact Insurance Building
233,164 sf
Buyer(s):
Josan Properties Ltd
Seller(s):
ProCura
$24,000,000
($103/sf)
Canada’s office investment market is exhibiting clear signs of recovery. Bid-ask spreads have narrowed, financing conditions have improved, and competition for core and core-plus assets is re emerging.
While value add and opportunistic strategies remain prevalent – particularly among private capital – the re-entry of institutions signals a meaningful shift in sentiment.
What does this mean for investors?
As leasing conditions stabilize and supply constraints intensify, well positioned investors have an opportunity to re-establish exposure ahead of the next phase of the cycle.
For prospective buyers, the window for acquiring high-quality office assets at discounted pricing is narrowing, with many options now off the table after trading hands over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the remaining owners who are looking to sell but are expecting to receive bids at prices from the pre-pandemic cycle will remain sidelined from the action and miss out on the wave liquidity re-entering the market.
With all the attention on Trophy and class A office demand, what will become of the older, functionally obsolescent office space? How might office conversions and the reality of no new speculative construction reshape the office investment landscape?
Discover in the next article in our Canadian office investment series, The future of office supply.
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Canada
British Columbia
Alberta
Alberta
Ontario
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Jonathan Yuan
Principal, Senior Vice President, Sales Representative
Toronto
Capital Markets Group, Investment
Contact
Ontario
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Graeme Webster
Broker, Principal
Ottawa
Capital Markets Group, Occupier Services, Investment Sales
Contact
Québec
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Mark Sinnett
Principal, Executive Vice President and Head Capital Markets, Québec, Real Estate Broker
Montreal
Capital Markets Group
Contact
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