The CBRE read
CBRE Canada's 2026 Vancouver outlook frames the year as a transition out of the 2024–2025 softening cycle. Across asset classes, industrial is the segment with the clearest path back to landlord-favourable conditions — and the segment where new supply has already pulled back hardest in response.
The report flags that survey respondents broadly expect leasing activity to outperform 2025 across most segments, with industrial showing the strongest expected improvement.
What underpins it
- Land supply for industrial in Metro Vancouver remains structurally constrained.
- Speculative construction has already corrected — new starts dropped sharply through 2025.
- Trade volumes through the Port of Vancouver continued to grow, anchoring distribution demand.
What to watch through Q3
Vacancy compression in the tightest submarkets (North Shore, Fraser Valley, Richmond) should drive the first wave of rent growth in any submarket comparison.
Strata absorption in Burnaby and Delta is worth tracking as a proxy for small business confidence in the region.
"The recovery does not arrive uniformly. It arrives in the submarkets where supply could not catch up."
This note is an editorial read of the source above. Quoted figures and conclusions belong to the original publisher; the framing and submarket interpretation are ours.