West Abbotsford Industrial Market Report 2020

The industrial real estate market in West Abbotsford has exploded in recent years, with substantial price increases in land, strata units and freestanding buildings with gross total sales more than tripling from 2015 to 2019, which you can see broken down in more detail in the graphs below. 2020 has continued to see insatiable demand and new price records across all property types, despite the outbreak of a global pandemic and looming economic uncertainty.

After years of more ‘normal’ transaction volumes and pricing prior to 2017, prices across all industrial property types in West Abbotsford have risen dramatically due to increased competition among users for available properties across the region and added demand for land from developers seeking to capitalize on the opportunity. As willing sellers were shaken out of the market, transaction volume of strata units bottomed out in 2018. Meanwhile from 2017-2019, development land found itself transacting at a rate above historical averages as developers and speculators sought every last available property and users were (and continue to be) forced to buy land to build new facilities as a final option in their search for more space

Now in 2020, decades old freestanding buildings are achieving record prices, available development land is more difficult than ever to find, and willing strata sellers are nearly nonexistent, meaning buyers must wait for new developments to come to market to secure industrial space. This trend of high demand and low inventory has incited an interesting trend in strata pricing which you can read more about here.

The transactions that have been recorded so far in 2020 (summarized on the below map) are slightly lower in transaction count than the same period last year but the transaction dollar volume is actually higher, a direct result of the year-over-year increase in pricing. West Abbotsford’s industrial real estate market does not seem to be slowing, or even taking a breather.

2020 WEST ABBOTSFORD Industrial Real Estate Transaction Activity

2020 Sale Transactions (Jan 1 – Sept 1, 2020)

Land: 1 transaction totalling $8.5 M
Freestanding Building: 5 transactions totalling $21.9 M
Strata Warehouse: 5 transactions totalling $4.3 M

2020 WEST ABBOTSFORD INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE Pricing

The below prices are Frontline Real Estate Services’ opinion of current values and may not apply to all properties. To learn more about current industrial real estate values in West Abbotsford, or the value of your unique property, please contact Braydon Hobbs or Todd Bohn Personal Real Estate Corporation.

So What?

• The COVID-19 pandemic has not produced the disruption in the industrial market many anticipated.
• Demand continues to be especially strong for existing strata or freestanding buildings and prices are at the highest they’ve ever been. Older freestanding buildings have virtually no availability.
• Businesses looking to lease or buy industrial real estate should begin their search with as much lead time as possible as supply of all property types is extremely low.

If you have any questions, or if there is any further information that would be particularly helpful to you, don’t hesitate to contact Braydon Hobbs or Todd Bohn Personal Real Estate Corporation. Whether you are a business owner, landlord, or builder, we would love the opportunity to earn your business.

At Frontline Real Estate Services, we have built a database, mapping every industrial property in West Abbotsford, enabling us to identify all properties that meet individual requirements to aid us in our search for suitable properties for businesses looking to purchase or lease. We have also identified properties whose owners have expressed some willingness to sell but are not yet listed allowing us to facilitate an off-market purchase. Our extensive research process means we can provide insight into current and accurate property values for owners and landlords, as well as the micro and macro market forces that are impacting industrial real estate trends in the areas.

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Click here to download a PDF of this report on West Abbotsford’s industrial market

Sources

In creating this report we survey multiple transaction reporting systems including Commercial Edge, CLS, and our own internal transaction tracking. We also analyze municipal development and real estate data to bring you the most relevant information.