Edmonton’s office market showed steady improvement in the fourth quarter of 2013, reports Avison Young.

According to the Fourth Quarter 2013 Edmonton Office Market Report, the office vacancy rate is at 7.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, down from 8.4 per cent in the same period of 2012.

Companies in Edmonton looking to upgrade to a higher-quality space or moving locations within the city account for the majority of transactions. Edmonton’s office market has also seen increasing rental rates over two years, at an average of 1.25 per cent growth each quarter.

The returning stability is starting to generate confidence in the Edmonton market, including among the entrepreneurial companies at the core of the city’s business community.

“There is more confidence and serious consideration of new development in the office market right now than at any time since the early 1980s,” says Cory Wosnack, an Avison Young principal.

Wosnack says that the city has largely been shaped by the needs of the provincial government, and that these needs have not always meshed with commercial interests. However, over the past year the private sector has started to develop plans to transform the city’s downtown.

Upcoming developments in downtown Edmonton include the new Kelly Ramsey Building, as well as at least two other new office towers to meet industry needs.