Tenants in Edmonton are currently able to secure attractive leasing opportunities as a result of a favourable vacancy rate, says Avison Young’s recently released Second Quarter 2013 Edmonton Office Market Report.

The city’s expanding office sector and a stable economy are making Edmonton a preferred market for investors. While the market is currently balanced, it is poised to change in favour of landlords once a handful of notable lease transactions, involving growth of tenants, are completed. The market report predicts this shift will occur at the end of 2013.

“As a general rule of thumb, an eight per cent vacancy rate is considered a balanced market whereby both tenants and landlords can obtain favourable outcomes,” says Avison Young principal, Cory Wosnack. “At the halfway mark of 2013, the citywide vacancy rate in Edmonton is 8.7 per cent – the result of a downtown vacancy rate sitting at 7.2 per cent and a suburban market vacancy of 11.3 per cent.”

As organizations look to consolidate offices that are spread between multiple buildings, developers are rising to the occasion. New office towers downtown and campus-style developments in the suburbs are part of developers’ strategies to attract Edmonton’s premier organizations.