Ottawa office market report

Q1 2023

What a difference a year makes

Like all markets coming out of the pandemic, the office market was relatively buoyant in the latter half of 2021 and into the first half of 2022. Office vacancy levels were relatively stable and remained that way until near the end of the 3rd quarter of 2022. The last half of 2022 saw a dramatic drop in capital market activity which impacted profitability across many facets of the commercial real estate industry.

Without a doubt, this chill impacted the industry. Rising interest rates and lack of any concrete return-to-office (RTO) strategy from the Government of Canada has had a measurable impact on the office market. Read more about this later in this report.

2022 finished on a sober note coming off the high of 2021. But, like all things cyclical, hopefully 2023 –in which some green shoots are beginning to show –will witness a turnaround.

11.7%

Availability class A space

Availability rates for class A space are approaching 12% and likely to continue climbing, as many tenants continue to downsize.

15.3%

Overall Sublet

The amount of sublease space that is coming back to the market has had an increase across all classes of office space, up 16.8% from Q1 2022.
 
32.85

Gross Asking Rent

Average gross rental rates are essentially static with a $0.46 increase from Q1 2022 average gross asking rates, but we are seeing significant inducement increases.
 
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Your source for the latest Ottawa office market reports

Get in-depth office market reports and insights from commercial real estate experts in the Greater British Columbia area. Avison Young advisors look at Ottawa commercial real estate activities and the latest Ottawa statistics to provide you expert market research on Ottawa's office properties.

Explore different topics like the latest office market pricing trends and analysis of Ottawa's current office real estate market conditions. Gain a better understanding of Ottawa’s office real estate outlook and stay ahead of current office space trends. Make smart decisions when it comes to investing in office properties in Ottawa's competitive office real estate market. Avison Young is your trusted source for commercial real estate office market insights in Ottawa.

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