GTA Commercial REALTORS® Report Commercial Market Figures for fourth quarter of 2013

While leasing and sales activity in the fourth quarter was down in comparison to last year, pricing was up for major market segments.

Toronto Real Estate Board Commercial Network Members reported a total of 5,410,687 square feet of leased industrial, commercial/retail and office space in the fourth quarter of 2013. This result was down by 8.4 per cent in comparison to the fourth quarter of 2012. The year-over-year dip in the amount of space leased was concentrated in the industrial market segment.

Approximately 77 per cent of the space leased was industrial in nature, with the office and commercial/retail segments accounting for 13 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

Average lease rates, for properties transacted on a per square foot net basis and for which pricing was disclosed, were up for the industrial, commercial/retail and office property segments.

"The trend for manufacturing output has been somewhat flat over the last year and has not yet surpassed pre-recession levels, which may explain, at least in part, why industrial leasing activity did not experience year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter. In contrast, retail trade has generally been trending upward, which has been a positive for the demand for commercial/retail space. Given that the demand for office space is driven by all sectors of the economy, it makes sense that we saw the amount of leased office space increase," said Commercial Committee Chair Cynthia Lai.

Commercial Network Members also reported a combined 260 industrial, commercial/retail and office property sales in the fourth quarter of 2013. This result represented a slight dip compared to the total of 265 transactions reported during the same period in 2012. Similar to the leasing market, the dip in the number of sales was driven by the industrial market segment.

Average sale prices on a per square foot basis for transactions where pricing was disclosed were up for all three market segments.

"While leasing and sales activity in the fourth quarter was down in comparison to last year, pricing was up for major market segments. This suggests that demand for industrial, commercial/retail and office space has remained strong enough relative to supply to exert upward pressure on pricing," continued Ms. Lai. Fourth Quarter 2013: All Commercial Lease Transactions
Total Leased Space for All Lease Transaction Types on TorontoMLS
Total Leased Square Feet
Q4 2013		Q4 2012		% Change
Industrial	4,144,169		4,948,124		-16.2%
Commercial	570,156		475,879		19.8%
Office	696,362		480,784		44.8%
Total	5,410,687		5,904,787		-8.4%
Source: TREB

Fourth Quarter 2013: Per Square Foot Net Commercial Leasing Summary
*Lease Transactions Completed on a Per Square Foot Net Basis with Pricing Disclosed* on TorontoMLS**
Leased Square Feet								Average Lease Rate
Q4 2013		Q4 2012		% Change			Q4 2013			Q4 2012			% Change
Industrial	1,756,560		2,466,050			-28.8%		Industrial	$5.32			$4.65		14.3%
Commercial	209,281		209,370			0.0%		Commercial	$19.02			$15.10		26.0%
Office	192,361		148,895			29.2%		Office	$13.34			$12.35		8.0%
Total			2,158,202					2,824,315				-23.6%
Source: TREB
Fourth Quarter 2013: All Commercial Sale Transactions
Total Number of Sales on TorontoMLS
Total Sales
Q4 2013					Q4 2012						% Change
Industrial			108					116				-6.9%
Commercial			105					102				2.9%
Office			47					47				0.0%
Total			260					265				-1.9%
Fourth Quarter 2013: Commercial Sales Completed with Pricing Disclosed on TorontoMLS
Sales (Price Disclosed)								Avg. Sale Price Per Sq. Ft. (Pricing Disclosed)
Q4 2013		Q4 2012		% Change			Q4 2013			Q4 2012			% Change
Industrial	104		96			8.3%		Industrial	$97.40			$86.45		12.7%
Commercial	101		83			21.7%		Commercial	$254.27			$211.24		20.4%
Office	45		37			21.6%		Office	$233.67			$187.75		24.5%
Total			250					216				15.7%
Source: TREB
NOTE: Some table totals may differ due to conversion and rounding.