Approximately 5.8 million square feet of industrial, commercial and office space was leased through TorontoMLs in the second quarter of 2014, resulting in a 15.6 per cent increase from 2013’s second quarter results.

The industrial market alone accounted for nearly three quarters, or 4.2 million square feet of total leased space. This figure represents a 10.8 per cent increase from last year. While the industrial lease rate increased 5.5 per cent to $5.10 per square foot, the commercial lease rate dropped 2.4 per cent to $18.96 per square foot.

“A lot of industrial activity in the Greater Toronto Area is pointed at the production of goods for export abroad and particularly south of the border to the United States,” says Toronto Real Estate Board president Paul Etherington. “If we continue to see an uptick in industrial leasing, this could suggest that an increasing number of businesses are preparing for an upturn in export orders.”

However, Etherington says shifting value of the Canadian dollar could still result in “volatility in leasing activity moving forward.”