Future Cities
Montreal Market
2025 North America Industrial Big-Box Review & Outlook
April 16, 2025 5 Minute Read
Supply & Demand
With 80.1 million sq. ft. of total inventory, Montreal is Canada’s second-largest big-box market. Like Toronto, the market is land-constrained and has a vacancy rate of 3.9%, the fifth-lowest of any market in this report. Lease transaction volume was light in 2023, as only a few big-box operators signed deals. The decrease in leasing reduced net absorption to just 370,656 sq. ft. The small of product that was leased garnered much higher rents than the previous year at $16.52 CAD per square foot/per year, 16.8% higher than 2022.
Occupiers focused on supply chain resiliency will help bolster demand this year. With only 2.3 million sq. ft. under construction, vacancy rates will stay under 4% this year, further pressuring taking rents in the upcoming quarters.
Figure 4: Share of 2023 Leasing by Occupier Type
Source: CBRE Research.
Figure 5: Lease Transaction Volume by Size Range
Source: CBRE Research.
Figure 6: 2023 Construction Completions vs. Overall Net Absorption by Size Range
Figure 7: Direct Vacancy Rate by Size Range
Figure 8: Under Construction & Percentage Preleased
Figure 9: First Year Taking Rents (psf/yr)
Source: CBRE Research.
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Industrial & Logistics Research
James Breeze
Vice President, Global Industrial and Retail Research
John Morris
President, Americas Industrial & Logistics, Advisory Services
