Greater Vancouver Office — Q1 2026

The Quarter in Brief

Seven brokerages published Greater Vancouver office data for the first quarter of 2026, and they tell a consistent story about direction even as their headline levels differ. Across the group, vacancy edged down quarter over quarter — by 10 to 60 basis points depending on the firm — from what most describe as a cycle peak reached in 2025. Avison Young framed it most pointedly, calling Q1 2026 the first decline in vacancy in nine quarters. Net absorption was positive at every brokerage, though modest, ranging from roughly 113,000 square feet to just under 500,000 square feet. Leasing activity rebounded after a soft fourth quarter.

Several of the brokers characterized the market as stabilizing rather than recovering sharply. The suburbs continued to outperform the downtown core on vacancy at every firm that splits the two; downtown remained above 12 percent on most measures. Sublease space sits far below its pandemic-era and 2022–23 highs, though the brokers split on its direction this quarter. The construction pipeline has thinned to near cyclical lows, with several firms noting that new supply effectively runs out after 2027. On the investment side, the quarter was defined by a single marquee transaction — the sale of Oceanic Plaza in the Downtown Core for $246 million.

This report relays what the seven brokerages reported for the quarter, alongside the national capital-markets context their parent surveys provide. It is descriptive: where the brokers disagree on a number or its direction, the disagreement is surfaced rather than resolved.