Market Report: Q3 2026 Vancouver Office Top Highlights
The Market Is Moving. But Is It Growing?
Three things to know this quarter:
- Big deals remain elusive.
- Amazon’s move reshuffles the deck.
- Quality wins. Older buildings feel the pressure.
Vancouver’s office market has stabilized, but it still hasn’t found its footing. Vacancy remains stubbornly high, with some market watchers reporting Metro Vancouver’s highest rates in a decade. Trade uncertainty and slowing immigration have added to tenant caution, while leasing remains concentrated in smaller spaces and higher-quality buildings. But the story this quarter is that while vacancy rates have been relatively stable for the past several years, they also have not dramatically improved. And while leasing activity remained steady, it was primarily in smaller spaces, and concentrated in higher-class buildings.
The market is no longer in the depths of the pandemic downturn, but neither has it made a meaningful recovery. Major leasing deals remain scarce, and the businesses driving demand have yet to generate the momentum needed to move the market forward. This quarter’s numbers point to an office market that has found a floor, but is still struggling to gain traction.
Government leads. Energy holds steady. Big corporate expansion remains elusive.
CRA: The federal agency extended its lease by 38,000 SF at 1188 West Georgia, marking the second consecutive quarter in which a government tenant secured Vancouver’s largest deal.
Port of Vancouver: Signed a new lease for 10,637 SF at the Marine Building, adding to public-sector demand.
Qualus Canada: Leased 27,957 SF at 565 Great Northern Way, reinforcing the continued presence of energy and infrastructure firms in Metro Vancouver’s office market.
What does it say about the local economy?
Public-sector tenants continue to anchor major leasing activity, while energy and engineering firms remain active. Together with the City of Vancouver’s significant expansion in Q2, government investment and spending has an outsized impact on the local economy.
Following significant commitments from Fluor Canada, BBA Consultants and Innergex Renewable Energy in Q2, the latest deals reinforce the engineering/energy sector’s role in supporting office demand.
But the bigger picture remains unchanged: leasing is happening, but large-scale corporate expansion is still hard to find with new deals generally more modest in size, ranging from approximately 10,600 to 28,000 SF.
“Demand has shifted toward Vancouver’s traditional occupier base, including government, financial services, engineering, mining and energy companies, as the influx of large U.S. technology companies seen earlier in the cycle has subsided."
– Cushman & Wakefield
1) Corporate Demand & Leasing Trends
Leasing remains active, but broader corporate growth has yet to materialize.
"While Metro Vancouver's leasing activity remains steady, anticipated growth in corporate demand has yet to materialize."
– Avison Young
A defining trend in 2026 has been the lack of major new corporate commitments. While leasing activity continues, demand is largely driven by tenant relocations, renewals, expansions and upgrades to higher-quality buildings, rather than a significant wave of new entrants or large-scale corporate growth.
That trend continued in Q3, with Avison Young noting that anticipated growth in corporate demand has yet to materialize. Although established occupiers continue to drive leasing, expansion by U.S. technology companies remains limited amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
The numbers reinforce this trend: Colliers found that approximately 75% of Downtown Vancouver leasing transactions over the past 12 months involved suites under 5,000 SF. Meanwhile, quarterly leasing activity fell to its lowest level in six years, despite continued demand from Vancouver’s traditional occupier base.
The takeaway? Vancouver’s office market remains active, but a broader recovery powered by business expansion has yet to take hold.
2) Amazon Moves In. Space Moves Out.
Amazon has completed its relocation from TELUS Garden to The Post, consolidating its downtown operations while returning approximately 148,000 SF to the market.
It’s a major commitment to a new office—but also a significant block of space competing for tenants.
One company’s upgrade is another landlord’s leasing challenge. In a market short on large expansion deals, absorbing that space could take time.
3) Quality Wins.
Class A Gains While Class B Loses Ground
The flight-to-quality trend continued this quarter, with premium space holding up better while older buildings face greater pressure.. Some market reports noted gaps as wide as 23.2% vacancy for downtown office Class C, versus 9.4% for Class AAA.
Colliers’ Q3 results also showed a clear divide in Downtown Vancouver in absorption numbers. Class B recorded approximately 95,000 SF of negative net absorption as dozens of smaller suites returned to market. In contrast, Class A recorded 40,000 SF of positive net absorption, helping lower combined AAA/A vacancy to 9.1%, even as overall Downtown Core vacancy rose to 12.2%.
The numbers point to tenants favouring higher-quality space, but gains remain modest and are not enough to lift the broader market. With leasing still concentrated in smaller requirements, older buildings face growing pressure to compete on price, flexibility and building quality.
The takeaway? Higher-quality buildings are capturing demand more successfully, while Class B continues to lose ground.
Downtown Sublease Market Declines, Signalling Improving Conditions
Previous reports highlighted elevated sublease availability in Vancouver as a sign of office market distress, with businesses offloading excess space amid changing workplace needs.
However, sublease space continues to decline significantly this quarter. In Q3, it accounted for just 8.5% of total vacancy, down from 12.3% in the previous quarter and its lowest share since Q2 2016. Sublease space also fell to 17.8% of total availability, compared with 45.2% in Q2 2020.
“Since peaking at 24.2% in Q4 2023, sublease availability has steadily trended downward, indicating a gradual rebalancing of the market."
– Cushman & Wakefield
The decline suggests easing pressure from tenants seeking to offload excess space, marking a shift from pandemic-era market conditions. While this points to improving market balance, a broader recovery will depend on occupier demand and leasing activity.
Questions?
For more information, contact Zach Segal, Director of Government Relations at [email protected]
