Over the past year, the average value of B.C.’s largest real estate deals has spiked after experiencing two consecutive years at the lowest levels in at least five years, according to data from BIV’s Top 100 Biggest Real Estate Deals list (https://biv.com/lists).
The largest real estate deal in 2021 was the purchase of Brighouse West Business Park by Keltic Canada Development Co. Ltd. for $300 million dollars – the largest real estate deal since the $575 million paid in 2018 for a group of casinos that included the Grand Villa Casino Hotel.
The average on this list peaked in 2018 at $65.4 million after growing 61 per cent over the previous year.
But in 2019, average deal value crashed by 54.2 per cent, sinking below 2017 levels to $30 million. And for the two years that followed, average deal value remained relatively flat.
As the economy grew last year following the initial outset of COVID-19, the average value increased 43.9 per cent, from $32.2 million in 2020 to $46.4 million in 2021.
The roller coaster ride ended with a five-year, 14.1 per cent increase in the average value of the province’s biggest real estate deals.
The median value for deals also followed a similar pattern.
Deals peaked in 2018, crashed in 2019 and then remained relatively stable until a 2021 rebound.
The 2021 median deal value came a lot closer to catching its 2018 high than the average.
This suggests that smaller deals grew more than larger, higher-ranked deals on the list. •
