North Vancouver Commercial Real Estate Market Report 2025
- Raman Bayanzadeh
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
North Vancouver Commercial Real Estate Market Report
2025 Year YTD
CRE Investment & Development Team | Royal LePage Commercial (Sussex)
The North Vancouver commercial real estate market in 2025 is defined by selective strength rather than broad‑based growth. Year‑to‑date transaction volume is down about 19% compared to the same period in 2024, with most of the activity concentrated in retail and industrial. Multifamily and development land are going through a price and volume reset. Within the broader Metro Vancouver context of higher but stabilizing interest rates, North Vancouver’s constrained land base and limited inventory continue to support pricing for well‑located income‑producing assets even as new development slows.
Market Overview
Year‑to‑date commercial transaction volume is tracking near $200M, versus roughly $240M–$250M over the same period in 2024 and just under $300M for full‑year 2024. Liquidity has become more selective. Capital is focusing on high‑quality retail strata units, institutional‑scale industrial land, and a small group of stable income properties. Office and multifamily transactions are comparatively sparse, and land trades are well below 2022 and 2023 levels.
At the metro level, 2025 has been uneven by asset class. Total investment started the year higher than in 2024, but land and multifamily volumes have softened while retail and some suburban office segments have shown the strongest percentage rebound. Within this environment, North Vancouver functions as a small but resilient submarket: leasing fundamentals in office and industrial are tight, core retail nodes are holding or growing rents, and a sizable development pipeline exists on paper but is slow to advance into actual construction.
Key Statistical Trends - North Vancouver
1. Retail – Growth Leader
Retail is the clear standout in 2025. Total retail transaction volume has more than doubled year‑over‑year. Average pricing has moved higher as well, with blended values now above $1,400/SF and recent transactions in Lower Lonsdale and Edgemont Village regularly achieving between $1,700 and $1,950/SF for modern, small‑bay high‑street units.
Retail strength is supported by strong household incomes and a tendency for residents to shop locally. Established nodes such as Lower and Central Lonsdale, Edgemont Village, Lynn Valley, and Park & Tilford benefit from limited new supply and consistent neighbourhood‑scale spending. As a result, vacancy in the best locations remains low, and pricing has proved resilient even as some discretionary retail formats elsewhere in the region face pressure.
2. Industrial – Volume Leader and Structurally Tight
Industrial carries the largest transaction volume of any asset class in 2025, at roughly $166M year‑to‑date. That figure is dominated by one large land sale: 5 Senator Road, which changed hands for about $143M and roughly $5.2M/acre. This single transaction accounts for the majority of industrial volume and underlines long‑term confidence in North Shore industrial land. Excluding that deal, industrial sales activity is steady rather than surging and values for built product have largely levelled off after the strong run‑up between 2021 and 2022.
On the leasing side, North Vancouver’s industrial market is one of the tightest in the region. The current inventory is about 6.6M SF spread over 480 buildings. Approximately 6.48M SF is leased. Only about 136,000 SF is available for lease, producing an availability rate near 2.1% and a vacancy rate around 1.6%. Direct availability is under 2%, and direct vacancy is roughly 1.5%. Sublease availability is below 10,000 SF, only about 0.1% of inventory, and represents roughly 7% of all available space.
These numbers confirm a structurally undersupplied market, especially when compared with Metro Vancouver as a whole, where industrial vacancy has risen into the low‑single‑digit range and rent growth has flattened in some areas. North Vancouver’s combination of severe land constraints, limited new development, and demand from film, marine, logistics, construction, and clean‑energy users continues to support firm rental rates and strong pricing for quality assets.
3. Multifamily – Very Thin Volume and Repricing
Multifamily sales have been minimal so far in 2025, with only two recorded transactions. This thin sample nonetheless points to a meaningful repricing. Recent deals indicate an average in the low‑$300,000/door range, down from peaks above $500,000/door in 2021. The sale of 2525 Lonsdale Avenue around $330,000/unit illustrates this shift.
Across the region, investors remain positive on long‑term rental fundamentals but are now more cautious on price and income metrics. Higher borrowing and construction costs, changing housing policies, and softer condominium presales have pushed required yields higher and encouraged a pivot toward purpose‑built rental over new strata condominiums. North Vancouver’s limited transaction count reflects this adjustment process: there is still appetite for well‑located rental buildings, but sellers and buyers are taking time to align on the new pricing reality.
4. Development Land – Deepest Correction
Development land is the weakest segment of the market. Both the number of trades and pricing have moved down, particularly for residential sites. Medium‑density parcels now typically trade around $120/BSF. The sale of 1310 Monashee Drive at roughly $27M, equal to about $120/BSF, provides a clear benchmark for current values.
Across Metro Vancouver, residential and mixed‑use land sales have dropped sharply compared to the previous year. Increased construction costs, higher interest rates, new and rising fees, and slower municipal approvals have all reduced residual land values. In North Vancouver, many properties are formally designated or zoned for higher density, but pro-formas often do not pencil at current cost and revenue assumptions. As a result, many landowners are choosing to hold through the cycle, and a large portion of the theoretical pipeline is not advancing into building permits or ground‑breakings.
Investment Sales and Pricing
After approaching roughly $300M in 2024, total annual volume in 2025 looks likely to end in the low‑ to mid‑$200M range if current trends continue. Industrial and retail account for most of the dollar volume, with limited sales in office and multifamily and a marked drop in land transactions compared to the previous few years.
Pricing dynamics vary widely by asset type. Retail values have climbed steadily since 2020, and well‑located strata units in Lower Lonsdale, Edgemont Village, and new mixed‑use projects like the BLOK at Innova are commonly trading above $1,400/SF and often closer to the mid‑$1,000s/SF. Industrial strata values, by contrast, appear to be at a plateau in the high‑$700 to low‑$800/SF band after a period of strong appreciation.
Multifamily pricing has adjusted down to the low‑$300,000/door range, and development land has seen the sharpest correction, with medium‑density sites anchoring around $120/BSF and higher‑density sites needing deeper discounts or exceptional locations to transact.
Transaction Highlights
Retail
101 Lonsdale Avenue (Wallace & McDowell)
Sold in May 2025 for approximately $2.15M, or about $1,814/SF. This reinforces Lower Lonsdale as the premier commercial corridor in North Vancouver for modern strata high‑street units.
3065 Edgemont Boulevard (Highland House)
Sold in July 2025 for roughly $2.38M, about $1,732/SF. This demonstrates ongoing demand and strong pricing in Edgemont Village.
3077 Woodbine Drive
A freestanding retail building in Edgemont Village that sold for about $4.58M, at roughly $1,947/SF. This sale shows the additional scarcity premium associated with fee‑simple assets in the village.
The BLOK at Innova (400 Block East 3rd)
Completed in August 2025 and delivered around 30,000 SF of new commercial strata space in Moodyville. Strata sales have generally been in the $1,400–$1,500/SF range, and the project has attracted notable tenants such as Lee’s Donuts and Delany’s Coffee, setting a benchmark for new mixed‑use product in the area.
Industrial
5 Senator Road:
Sold for about $143M, or just over $5.19M/acre. The transaction makes up the bulk of industrial sales volume for the year and underlines the long‑term scarcity value of large industrial land parcels on the North Shore.
Multifamily and Land
2525 Lonsdale Avenue:
Sold for roughly $8.25M, at about $330,000/door, in line with the adjusted price‑/door trend.
Cascadia Green Development has since submitted an application for a 66 unit, 6-storeyed, purpose built rental building. www.cnv.org/Business-Development/Building/Land-Use-Approvals/Active-Applications/2525-Lonsdale-Avenue
1310 Monashee Drive
Sold for approximately $26.97M, which works out to around $120/BSF for a medium‑density site, effectively setting today’s baseline for similar land.
Darwin Properties has submitted an application to build two 6-storey buildings with 303 rental units targeted at students, faculty, and staff of Capilano University, with 8,662 SF of commercial space: www.dnv.org/business-development/1310-monashee-drive
Leasing
Retail Leasing Market
Capilano Village currently posts some of the highest asking retail rents on the North Shore, but achieved rates often trail expectations as the node continues to work through identity and traffic challenges. Although there has been progress, it has not yet fully established itself as a destination, so tenants remain cautious and selective.
Central and Lower Lonsdale remain the true primary retail nodes, consistently attracting the deepest tenant demand, strongest covenants, and the most competitive offers. Edgemont Village operates in a class of its own, with rents at a premium driven by extreme scarcity and strong neighbourhood incomes. Marine Drive shows the widest spread in pricing because of its mix of older strip product and newer mixed‑use projects, while Pemberton remains the value option for tenants prioritizing access and parking over storefront profile.
Office Leasing Market
North Vancouver’s office market is compact but very tight compared with the regional average. While Metro Vancouver’s overall office availability is in the low‑teens, North Vancouver’s total office vacancy is around 2.6% on an inventory of about 2.15M SF across 47 buildings.
Current data show roughly 2.08M SF leased, with only about 73,500 SF available for lease. This represents an availability rate of 3.4%. Direct availability is around 71,000 SF, or 3.3%, and sublease space is only about 2,200 SF, roughly 0.1% of inventory and just 3% of total available space. Total vacant area is about 56,000 SF, with direct vacancy at 2.5% and sublet vacancy again only 0.1%.
Lower Lonsdale commands the highest office rents thanks to SeaBus access, amenities, and newer mixed‑use buildings. Harbourside offers more economical floorplates for larger users who still want to be on the North Shore. With limited new office construction and strong local demand from professional and healthcare users, this submarket is expected to remain tight, supporting stable or modestly rising rents in well‑located buildings.
Industrial Leasing Market
The industrial leasing market is similarly tight. The current inventory is approximately 6.62M SF. Leased space totals about 6.48M SF, leaving roughly 136,000 SF available for lease. This equates to an availability rate of 2.1% and a vacancy rate of 1.6%, with about 104,000 SF of that available space actually vacant.
Direct available area is just over 126,000 SF, or 1.9% of stock. Sublet availability is about 9,900 SF, 0.1% of inventory, and represents roughly 7.3% of all available space. Direct vacant area is approximately 99,000 SF, or 1.5%. Total occupied space stands at about 6.51M SF, and sublet vacant space is only about 4,800 SF, again roughly 0.1% of inventory.
Compared with the broader region, where industrial vacancy has risen toward 3–4%, North Vancouver remains severely undersupplied. Tenants face very limited choice and continued competition for functional space, while owners benefit from strong tenant retention and solid rent levels.
Development Landscape
1. The “Missing” Pipeline
The development land market is constrained by multiple pressures. Hard construction costs remain elevated, interest rates are still materially higher than in the last cycle, and government‑imposed charges such as development cost charges and community amenities have increased. Layered on top of this are longer approval timelines and policy changes that add further uncertainty.
Combined, these factors erode residual land values. Many potential projects no longer pencil at current costs and achievable revenues, so landowners and developers are delaying transactions or construction starts. Housing starts have slowed, and unless conditions change, the region is likely to face a shortage of new inventory in the late 2020s, particularly in high‑barrier locations like the North Shore.
2. Active Pipeline
Despite the slowdown in actual starts, a number of significant projects are in the planning and review stages. The most notable is the Capilano Mall master plan, which currently contemplates roughly 11 towers with around 3,100–3,400 homes, at least 30% of which would be rental, along with substantial new retail space and major public‑realm upgrades.
Other key initiatives include the continued build‑out of Harbourside Waterfront, the re‑purposing of the former TransLink depot in Moodyville into a rental‑focused mixed‑use hub, and an 18‑storey mass‑timber tower associated with the North Shore Neighbourhood House. In the District of North Vancouver, activity is concentrated in Lynn Creek and Lynn Valley Town Centre, where multiple mid‑ and high‑rise mixed‑use and rental projects are at various stages of application. These schemes collectively represent a large future supply wave for roughly 2028–2032, but most remain several steps away from construction.
Outlook
The 2025 North Vancouver commercial market is best described as selectively strong. Overall transaction volume is lower than last year, but prime retail and industrial assets continue to perform, with retail strata in Lower Lonsdale and Edgemont Village regularly achieving between about $1,700 and $1,950/SF, and industrial land commanding premium pricing where scale and location justify it. Multifamily and development land are undergoing a necessary repricing to reflect higher borrowing costs, elevated construction expenses, and increased fees, with medium‑density land now clustering around $120/BSF.
Over the next one to two years, as interest rates stabilize and investors adjust to the new pricing environment, capital is expected to remain selective but somewhat more active. In North Vancouver, this likely means ongoing competition for high‑quality retail and industrial assets, cautious but opportunistic buying in multifamily and value‑add opportunities, and a gradual recovery in development land activity once project economics realign.
The eventual build‑out of Capilano Mall, Harbourside, Lynn Creek, Moodyville, and Lynn Valley Town Centre will reshape the North Shore’s urban structure and add meaningful new housing, employment, and retail capacity. Until those projects move from application to construction and completion, however, scarcity in prime locations and asset‑specific performance—rather than broad market momentum—will continue to define commercial real estate in North Vancouver.
North Vancouver Commercial Real Estate Market Report 2025
Contact:
For additional information, specific market analysis and evaluations, consulting and brokerage services, and detailed market statistics for North Vancouver, contact Raman Bayanzadeh PREC, CCIM, Pouria Nikravan PREC,
North Vancouver Commercial Real Estate Market Report 2025 : Data and Research Sources: Altus Group (Altus Studios), CommercialEdge, Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR), STDB, and internal brokerage transaction records.
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