Two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the impact on the Ottawa office market has not been as dire as some may have predicted. Ottawa’s market fundamentals have been stable over the past year, and Ottawa has had one of the lowest vacancy rates in Canada due to its diversified office market.
- Vacancy increased by 21 basis points (bps) to 9.8%, while the availability rate decreased by 49 bps to 11.7% in Q1 2022.
- Overall available sublet space decreased by 46,402 square feet in Q1 2022 and now makes up only 13% of all available space compared to 17% one year ago.
- Net asking rental rates increased by 1.2%, to $16.88 per square foot this quarter, due to rising rents for available space in the suburban markets of Ottawa East, South, and Kanata.
- Ottawa’s resilient office market has attracted new investors, which has resulted in a flurry of office sales in the past two quarters in the downtown and suburban markets.
