It’s going to be another year of high-performing industrial markets here, with availability across the region still hovering around 1%.
Industrial has been a strong performing asset class over the past few years, and will continue to be resilient despite uncertainties in the economy. We’ll continue to see meaningful investments and expansion throughout the region.It is experiencing strong sales and lease activity, according to the recently released RE/MAX report. A robust spillover of demand is sparking new investment in secondary markets as investors and end users expand their search for distribution and warehousing outside key urban centres.
Christopher Alexander, president of RE/MAX Canada, says those areas and communities stand to attract new people and more employment./p>
The report also shows inventory levels remain low and land sales remain solid, despite higher interest rates and construction costs. And, like the current mood of the stock market, the attitude is bullish and positive. Estate property for sales and Houses for sale in halton hills are getting more positive impact which is surprising too.
RE/MAX holds that the industrialization of land in the suburbs makes sense, especially for setting up distribution points and transportation hubs. One factor inspiring the trend is the growth in consumer demand for products. “It’s an interdisciplinary connection,” says Ash. “It’s an exciting trend that will continue to grow as consumerism grows. Companies need to be able to solve supply chain issues, which were accentuated during COVID. It showed the need for the outlying areas to be better tooled to react.”
Retail sector reinvents itself
It wasn’t too long ago that in-person shopping was almost considered a thing of the past, but the RE/MAX report shows the retail sector has found a new groove. Its strength and resilience were somewhat unexpected – “surprising,” says Alexander.
“Despite how well online shopping can work for people, physical stores and malls haven’t been as impacted as you might think,” he explains. “The very definition of what a store is is being redefined. It can be more of a showplace that helps consumers get the information they need to make their purchases online. We’re also seeing the rise of multi-use complexes, with the number of residential applications on commercially zoned property growing across the country.”
Office
There has been a fundamental shift in the way people work. What we’re seeing in the labour market and economy more broadly is playing out in the office sector.
We’ll continue to see employers navigate return to office and optimize use of their office space. Much like other markets, we’re seeing moves to smaller spaces that are high quality and amenity-rich. The flight-to-quality trend is alive and well and will continue this year.
Then there’s the adaptive re-use idea, which is a natural part of the discussion when looking at the GTA markets. Assessing which B- and C-class buildings might be suitable for some form of conversion will be an important exercise to go through.
Not all buildings are candidates for conversion and there are also significant financial investments to consider, but there’s increasing attention focused on the possibility of converting this space to multifamily.