Montreal Office Figures Q4 2024

–       Vacancy was primarily driven by occupied but available listings that turned vacant. Many of these listings have been on market for over a year but became vacant in Q4 2024. This will continue in 2025 as there is over 217,000 sq. ft. expected to turnover.

–       Though overall net absorption was positive, this is mainly a Downtown phenomenon. The gap between Downtown and Suburban submarkets has widened considerably, except for the West Island. There is a 300 basis points (bps) spread in the vacancy rates of Downtown and Suburban (18.2% vs. 21.2%).

–       Despite the gap, Downtown Class B and Suburban Class A have trended similarly in terms of negative net absorption for all of 2024 with negative 597,509 sq. ft. and negative 472,422 sq. ft. respectively.

–       Oxford Economics’ office jobs forecast anticipates a low level of employment growth, hinting at a potential headwind for tenants planning to expand their office space.