Total Greater Vancouver Area commercial real estate sale transactions declined 8.3% in 2025, says the region’s real estate board in a new report.

The drop in total investment dollar volume was even more acute, 23.2%, as investors devoted considerably less capital to asset purchases, said Greater Vancouver Realtors. Total dollar volume fell =to about $7.5 billion from approximately $9.7 billion in 2024.

“Our 2025 forecast had not anticipated any significant gains for commercial transactions overall, and the 2025 data shows that economic headwinds continued to challenge the commercial market,” said Andrew Lis, the board’s chief economist and vice-president of data analytics.

“Considering that numerous uncertainty-inducing events transpired globally throughout 2025, this decline in overall transaction volumes is relatively modest when placed in context, and it’s worth noting a few asset classes saw increased transaction volumes relative to the previous year.”

Altogether, 1,335 deals were completed in 2025 compared with 1,456 in 2024. By asset class, land recorded the steepest decline in transaction count, falling 48.5% to 212 deals in 2025, while dollar volume dropped 59.5% to about $1.8 billion.

Multi-family followed, with transactions down 29.9% to 61 sales and dollar volume decreasing 41.7% to $751 million. Industrial sales declined 15.7% to 343 transactions, with dollar volume sinking 29% to $1.3 billion. In contrast, retail and other assets posted a 10.7% increase in transactions to 352, alongside a 20.4% rise in dollar volume to about $1.6 billion. Office recorded the strongest gains, with transactions up 58.2% to 367 deals and dollar volume surging 128.8% to approximately $2 billion.

In the fourth quarter, overall market activity increased, with 353 transactions recorded, up 8.3% from 326 in Q4 2024, while dollar volume rose 7.7% to about $2.4 billion.

Quarterly results by asset class followed a similar pattern.

Land again posted the largest year-over-year decline in deal count, dropping 46.8% to 50 transactions, with dollar volume falling 74.6% to $266 million. Industrial transactions decreased 14.4% year-over-year to 83 sales, while dollar volume declined 12% to $286 million.

Multi-family recorded a 5.9% dip to 16 transactions, with dollar volume dipping 4.6% to $224 million. Retail and other assets saw transactions increase 40.3% to 101 deals and dollar volume rise 43.2% to $279 million.

Office led quarterly gains, with transactions up 123.9% year-over-year to 103 sales and dollar volume climbing 210.8% to about $1.4 billion.

Total quarter-over-quarter transactions increased 2% as office, retail and industrial gains offset declines in other asset classes, said Lis. In recent months, higher bond yields amid global turmoil have increased the risk of dampened CRE transactions as borrowing costs increase, he added.

“Even if tensions ease, borrowing costs are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels, and we expect this [trend] to continue constraining commercial activity through 2026 in a manner similar to what we observed throughout 2025,” said Lis

Photo: Greater Vancouver Realtors