The supply of purchasable or leasable industrial space in Montreal has fallen to its lowest levels in over a decade and a half, according to real estate firm CBRE.
The amount of industrial space available for sale or lease in the Montreal area reached its lowest level in over 15 years during the second quarter of 2018. The city’s industrial availability rate during that same quarter was 5.3%, down from the previous quarter’s 5.6% and the lowest since Q2 2002.
A total of 829,399 square feet of newly constructed or previously vacant industrial space was occupied or absorbed in Q2 2018. This greatly exceeded by almost six-fold the 143,377 square feet of new space injected into the market during that time frame.
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CBRE attributed this to greater expansion among more and more tenants, a development brought about by businesses’ increased confidence in the city and the local economy.
“People want to come and base themselves in Quebec because it’s still very cheap compared to the rest of Canada,” CBRE executive vice president Avi Krispine told the Montreal Gazette.
Krispine added that the amount of available space went down by 21.5%, especially among larger spaces. The robust market has also pushed development in new areas.
“When you look at the North Shore, people are going all the way to Mascouche,” Krispine explained. “On the South Shore, it just keeps going.”
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