Canadian residential and non-residential real estate lessors and property managers generated $115 billion in operating revenue in 2018, up 5.3 per cent from 2017 but Alberta’s increase was more moderate.
Statistics Canada reported Friday that Alberta had a 2.1 per cent increase in operating revenue in 2018.
“One of the factors underlying the modest growth in Alberta was the challenging conditions in the energy sector which limited demand for non-residential real estate. Although the office vacancy rate in Calgary fell for the first time since 2014—from 25.7 per cent in 2017 to 24.3 per cent in 2018—it remained at a historically high level. The unemployment rate in Calgary was 7.7 per cent in 2018, compared with 5.0 per cent in 2014,” said the federal agency.
In Canada, the sector benefited from a more rapid increase in the population in 2018 (+1.4 per cent) and industrial sector growth fuelled by e-commerce demand for logistics centres. Low office vacancy rates in Vancouver and Toronto also contributed to growth in the sector.
“These industries reported operating expenses of $75.8 billion, an increase of 6.0 per cent over the previous year. The operating profit margin decreased from 34.5 per cent in 2017 to 34.1 per cent in 2018,” said StatsCan.
