Greater Toronto office availability remained stable for a rare time, but downtown vacancy reached 12.5% in the third quarter, says a new report from Avison Young.

Downtown vacancy has increased 10.4% from the first quarter of 2020, when it stood at 2.1%.

“Overall demand from traditional office tenants remains below historical norms across the GTA,” said Avison Young.

Overall availability stayed flat, at 18.1%, quarter-over-quarter for only the third time since the first quarter of 2020, said the Toronto-based company in its report. Availability had risen consistently since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite remaining flat at 17.5% quarter-over-quarter, downtown availability increased 280 basis points year-over-year. Downtown vacancy rose 50 basis points as negative absorption lowered the amount of occupied office space by 1.1 million square feet.

But educational groups, including public and private colleges and universities, are proving to be a supplemental source of downtown office demand.

Avison Young’s report comes after the City of Toronto moved forward with a potential office-conversion program designed to increase rental housing.