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Investment in Edmonton commercial real estate reached the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2014 according to newly released results from Altus Group. The first months of 2017 registered 170 transactions in excess of $500,000 for a total investment value of approximately $875 million, a 35 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 52 percent jump from Q1 2016.
The retail and industrial sectors performed relatively poorly compared to the office and apartment sectors, where most of the quarter-to-quarter improvement emanated from. There were 27 retail transactions worth $124 million, representing a decline of 20 percent from the last quarter. Altus Group also recorded 27 industrial transactions for a total of $74 million, a steep 71 percent drop from Q4 2016.
The 23 transactions in the office sector totalled $108 million, over twice the volume achieved in the previous quarter. The largest acquisitions were HSBC Bank Place on 101 Street NW, which sold for $35 million, and Enbridge Place on 103 Street, which went for $25 million. Both were purchased by the Alberta Investment Management Corporation in February.
The apartment sector was supported by the $191 million January sale of the Edgewater Towers on Jasper Avenue. Investment reached $338 million in Q1 2017, a significant boost from the paltry $47 million recorded in the last quarter of 2016.
Residential land saw a slight 11 percent bump in transaction value, though that was down 62 percent from the same quarter last year. Experiencing a near doubling of the level in Q4 2016, the ICI land sector registered 56 transactions totalling $182 million.
"Investment in property sales in the Edmonton market area have shown year-over-year improvements in each of the past three quarters, with Q1 2017 as the strongest first quarter since 2013," said Paul Richter, Director, Data Solutions, Altus Group. "This is a hopeful sign that a sustained recovery is now underway."
