Industrial leasing in Metro Vancouver saw a noticeable rebound in the second quarter of 2025, led by strong demand from logistics firms, says a new Cushman & Wakefield report.

Local industrial vacancy climbed to 3.9% from 2.7% a year earlier as third-party logistics providers began consolidating operations into newer, larger facilities.

After a muted first half of the year marked by global uncertainty and trade tensions, leasing activity picked up significantly, according to Cushman & Wakefiel. Logistics providers are seizing opportunities in a market that now offers more choice, shifting away from outdated spaces and gravitating toward modern distribution centres with higher ceilings and better loading features.

This flight to quality is creating a two-tiered market, with newer facilities commanding stronger rents and older properties seeing declines.

Sean Ungemach, C&W’s Vancouver-based executive vice-chairman, told Business in Vancouver that most industrial companies have had “pens down” until very recently.

Activity was muted in the large-format industrial sector prior to the second quarter, Ungemach told his interviewer. He attributed the trend economic and political uncertainty and, more recently, international trade tensions.

But he believes that activity may now be rebounding, partly driven by the third-party logistics (3PL) industry.

“We have over 850,000 square feet currently listed, and everything is either under contract or under offer,” Ungemach told BIV.

“That’s a very significant change in the six months prior to today. To me, that’s the indicator that momentum is returning.”

Meanwhile, a bid-ask gap between buyers and sellers continues to emerge, as economic headwinds and U.S. tariffs pressure occupier sentiment in export-driven sectors such as manufacturing, logistics and metals.

Pictured: Vancouver logistics real estate project.

Image: Cushman & Wakefield