Commercial Leading Indicator Shows Improved Environment for Commerical Real Estate

First Quarter Highlights

• The economic activity index rose in Q1 by 0.5 points. Growth in this index was driven by increased inflation-adjusted retail trade (0.2 per cent) and wholesale trade (0.4 per cent), which offset a small decline in manufacturing sales.
 

• The overall employment component increased by 1.3 points in the first quarter. Broad-based growth across office employment (0.6 per cent) and manufacturing employment (0.7 per cent) suggests a healthy level of job creation across many sectors to begin the year.
 

• The financial component of the index increased in the first quarter by 0.1 points. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) prices rose by 0.6 per cent, slightly pushing the component up. Additionally, interest rate spreads saw modest decreases from the previous quarter, indicating slightly less perceived short-term risk in the economy (this data reflects pre-tariff conditions).

To view the full interactive BCREA Commercial Leading Indicator, click here.

To view the full Commercial Leading Indicator PDF, click here.