Office

After another year of positive absorption and the third year of vacancy decline, the year-end 1999 overall vacancy rate for office space in Edmonton was 13.8%. This represents a 2% decline from one-year earlier and reflects the continuing improvement in vacancy rates and resulting rental rates in the Edmonton marketplace.

There is good demand for office product by investors with a number of major building sales in 1998 and 1999.

Retail

Population growth, job creation, and high consumer confidence was reflected in strong growth in the retail market in 1998 and 1999. Estimates vary, but the current overall vacancy for retail space is within the range of 7% to 8%. Several large format national tenants such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Chapters, Staples, Cineplex Odeon, and the national grocers have been actively expanding in Edmonton and area.

The Conference Board of Canada recently predicted that Edmonton will have the second-strongest retail sales growth in Canada in 2000 (5.8%).

Industrial

Edmonton's industrial market has demonstrated strong growth during the past three years. The overall industrial vacancy rate at year-end 1999 was 4.4%, a full percentage point less than year-end 1998. Despite a slow start to the year, 1999 was characterized by a significant amount of new construction. Absorption was also strong at about 1.9 million square feet. It is anticipated that an additional 2 million square feet of new space will be added to the market in 2000.

Apartment

Edmonton's apartment rental market has tightened substantially in the past two years, resulting in rising rents and a flurry of investor activity. The overall vacancy is now about 2% and the market will remain tight in 2000 with further rent increases evident.