Regina and Saskatoon may be considered sister cities by many Canadians, but they could hardly be more different when it comes to real estate.
While Saskatoon’s industrial and office sectors are experiencing high vacancy rates, Regina’s industrial market continues to be stable, according to a new report from Avison Young Commercial (Saskatchewan). While industrial vacancy is north of 8 per cent in Saskatoon, it’s just 3.2 per cent in Regina.
“We didn’t have much of a setback in the industrial market in Regina. The Saskatoon market has been hammered. We’ve been relatively stable,” said Richard Jankowski, Regina-based managing director of Avison Young.
Speculative building in Saskatoon contributed to the higher vacancy but developers weren’t as aggressive in Regina.
One of the challenges for Regina’s industrial sector is its lease rates, currently sitting at $11.45 per square foot, which is significantly higher than in Winnipeg ($7.34) and Calgary ($8.00).
“We’re at the top end of the Canadian market. It makes it tough to attract folks when they’re calling from Toronto where lease rates are five dollars lower than Regina [at $6.53 per square foot],” he said.
