Greater Toronto Realtors(R) Report Commercial Market Figures

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 4, 2014) - Toronto Real Estate Board President Paul Etherington announced that TREB Commercial Network Members reported 529,116 square feet of space leased on a per square foot net basis through the TorontoMLS system in August.

This result, which included transactions with pricing disclosed, was up by 8.4 per cent from 487,916 square feet leased in August 2013. The amount of leased industrial and commercial/retail space was up on a year-over-year basis. The amount of office space leased was down over the same period. Industrial properties accounted for 79 per cent of total square footage leased.

"The recent release dealing with second quarter GDP in Canada suggested that the pace of economic growth has accelerated. One of the drivers of this growth was a resurgence in exports. Many segments of the industrial leasing market in the GTA are driven by the production of goods and services for export abroad, particularly to the United States. With strong growth reported in the US economy, the hope is that growth in exports will continue. If this is the case, we could continue to see strong interest in industrial properties available for lease," said Mr. Etherington.

The average per square foot net lease rate for industrial properties was up by almost 12 per cent year-over-year to $5.79. The average commercial/retail lease rate was up by 13.5 per cent over the same period to $15.82. The average office lease rate was down by 9.2 per cent over the same time frame to $12.60.

There were 51 combined industrial, commercial/retail and office properties sold through the TorontoMLS system with pricing disclosed in August 2014. This result was down compared to August 2013, when 55 sales were reported. The year-over-year dip was driven by the commercial/retail segment of the market. Sales were up for industrial and office properties.

Average sale prices on a per square foot basis were down year-over-year in August for the industrial and commercial/retail segments, by 12.6 per cent and 11.6 per cent respectively. The average selling price for office properties was up substantially compared to last year. The growth in the average office selling price was almost entirely due to a shift in the geography and type of office properties sold this year compared to last.

Moving forward, the hope is that increased demand for exporters' products will lead to more business investment, as firms make capital investments to take advantage of new opportunities. This capital investment could include the acquisition of real estate," continued Mr. Etherington.