Downtown Winnipeg office vacancy rate ticks down
Downtown Winnipeg’s office vacancy rate has dropped for the first time in nearly two years.
The city’s core held an 18.4 per cent office vacancy rate during the summer months, according to a CBRE Canada report released Tuesday.
In the year’s previous quarter, 18.6 per cent of downtown Winnipeg’s office space was empty. It was a new high for the Manitoba capital.
CBRE Canada points to the removal of sublet space as the reason for the slight decrease. Downtown Winnipeg’s office vacancy is faring better than the national average; across Canada, the downtown office vacancy rate was 19.7 per cent in the third quarter.
Winnipeg’s suburban office vacancy rate — 10.8 per cent — is also lower than the national average of 17.3 per cent.
Winnipeg isn’t home to any new office construction, the CBRE’s report outlines. The average square foot of office space costs $19.50; it’s higher than Edmonton, Calgary and London, Ont.
In summer 2023, downtown Winnipeg’s office vacancy rate was 17.4 per cent. The summer prior, the number was 16.1 per cent.
Just Edmonton, Calgary and Waterloo joined Winnipeg last summer to experience a tightening of downtown vacancy.
Winnipeg’s industrial space had a vacancy rate of three per cent in 2024’s third quarter.
— Free Press staff
