We sat down with CBRE’s High Technology Facilities Group (HTFG) to talk about what a growing tech company should know and can expect when thinking about real estate.
What is happening in the downtown office leasing market?
In short, and it should not come as a surprise, office rental rates are up and vacancy is down. Typically rents slightly go up year after year, however, in 2018 we are measuring rent increases by quarters even and month to month. This change has Vancouver ranked fourth globally for having the fastest growing office rental appreciation in the first three quarters of 2018. Perhaps it was long overdue and we are catching up, but this is now our new reality.
Depending on the size of your office (10-20, 30-50, 100+ employees) competition can be fierce. Landlords with move-in ready locations are the big winners, and market-ready firms that know their requirements need to execute quickly when they see the right space and want to secure it. Slow decision making or leaving the search until the last minute can cause companies to overpay, lose out on quality options, or even be forced to move.