The square footage under management by B.C.’s biggest property managers is shrinking, with the average number of square feet now at its lowest level in at least five years, according to data collected on Business in Vancouver’s Top Property Managers in B.C. list (page 12).
The average total property managed by the top property managers fell to 5.6 million square feet in 2020 from 5.8 million in 2016. The average slumped 5.2% from its 2018 peak of 5.91 million square feet. The median property managed fell by a similar rate, sliding 3.2%, suggesting that the decline experienced by companies was not necessarily linked to their ranking on the list.
The decline was also not limited to one sector; all land types including industrial, office and retail were affected.
Office space was the only property category to report growth over a five-year span, expanding 4.6% to an average of 1.59 million square feet in 2020, up from 1.52 million in 2016. Despite the five-year growth, the average amount of office space managed plunged 19.3% from its 2019 peak of two million square feet, negating most of the previous years’ gains.
Industrial space also suffered a significant fall. It declined 15.2% to an average of 1.9 million square feet in 2020, down from its 2019 peak of 2.3 million square feet.
Retail was the only property category to report average one-year growth for B.C.’s largest property managers. It increased 2.4%, or by nearly 50,000 square feet.
The top five property managers bucked the downward trend of the list as a whole, with all but one increasing their total property managed over the past five years. Despite declining 6.4% over the past year, No. 4 Warrington PCI Management had the largest five-year growth among the top five for which complete data was available. Warrington grew 60.4% to 7.7 million square feet in 2020, up from 4.8 million in 2016
