Metro Vancouver office vacancy nudged upward to 9.5% in the first quarter of 2026 from 9.4% a year earlier, even as quarterly net absorption turned positive, says a new report from Newmark.

The market absorbed 113,300 square feet for a second consecutive quarter, pointing to early signs of market stabilization, according to Newmark.

Suburban markets continued to outperform the downtown core, with Burnaby posting a 6.3% vacancy rate, Surrey 5.8% and the North Shore 1.9%, while downtown Vancouver remained above 12%. Regional leasing activity strengthened to start the year, led by approximately 355,000 sf of downtown leasing activity, although most deals were small to mid-sized and only two transactions exceeded 50,000 sf.

Downtown Vancouver recorded the region’s highest office vacancy rate at 12.3% in the quarter, followed by the Broadway Corridor at 11.9% and the Vancouver Periphery at 9.7%. Surrey remained the tightest large suburban office market at 5.8%.

Burnaby led regional absorption with roughly 90,000 sf in the quarter, while downtown Vancouver posted approximately 34,000 sf. Broadway Corridor, Surrey and New Westminster were the only markets to record negative absorption.

Downtown Vancouver also had the region’s highest office availability at 15.7%, including 13.1% direct space and 2.6% sublease space. The Broadway Corridor followed closely at 15.5%, with direct availability at 13.1% and sublease availability at 2.4%.

The report said the flight-to-quality trend that has shaped the region’s office market over the past two years is beginning to weaken, particularly downtown, where class A vacancy and availability have remained mostly flat since 2024 despite the presence of trophy-office options.

The report was authored by Andrew Petrozzi, the company’s head of Canadian research, who is based in Vancouver.