The
Globe & Mail writes on the vacancy rates in downtown Toronto that have "defied logic". Despite a real-estate slowdown in the rest of the city, office space in Toronto's core remains a sought after-commodity.
"While landlords are struggling to lease space in the rest of the city, demand in Toronto's business core has been so strong that developers are considering building new towers, a sharp shift in sentiment compared to last year when commercial real estate analysts were predicting vacancies could surpass double digits for the first time in a decade."
"Downtown vacancy fell to 5.8 per cent from 6.6. per cent in the past quarter, according to commercial real estate analysts at Cushman & Wakefield, thanks to a "tremendous acceleration" in leasing activity. City-wide, vacancy decreased to 7.7 per cent in the third quarter from 8.1 per cent in the second quarter."
"There is a demand for new product in a way that we haven't seen for 15 years," said Paul Morse, senior managing director at Cushman & Wakefield. "I think it is quite realistic that we'll see new development, and those decisions will likely be made in the next six months."
"Downtown Toronto defied logic with its brisk leasing activity and demand growth in the third quarter," Mr. Morse said. "The results go against the grain of many other North American cities that are just beginning to emerge from the grip of the global recession."
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Globe & Mail