Lease signs still hang from many storefront windows, but some commercial landlords are seeing growing demand for retail space as COVID-19 subsides. But recent financial reports from Canada’s largest commercial real estate owners suggest that retailers and employers are starting to make the move back to in-person work. Retail vacancies hit a multi-year high in Canada at the end of 2021, according to data compiled by CBRE, a commercial real estate services firm. Critical to the decline in retail vacancies, though, is that employees return to the office, Abramovitz said. In areas where retail vacancies are above pre-pandemic levels, nearby office spaces once occupied by full workforces are largely left empty, said Abramovitz.

Source: The Star May 11, 2022 22:02 UTC