Real estate rental and leasing and property management industries, 2017
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Released: 2019-03-27
Lessors of residential and non-residential real estate and real estate property managers generated $109.2 billion in operating revenue in 2017, up 4.7% from 2016. These industries reported operating expenses of $71.5 billion, an increase of 3.8% over the previous year. The operating profit margin edged up from 34.0% in 2016 to 34.6% in 2017.
Lessors of non-residential buildings
The largest of the three industries was lessors of non-residential buildings. Operating revenue for this industry rose 4.4% to $57.9 billion in 2017. Operating expenses increased 3.1% to $36.7 billion.
At the provincial level, British Columbia experienced the strongest growth, with operating revenue increasing 7.3% from 2016 to 2017. In Alberta, operating revenue rose 1.4%. One factor underlying the slower growth in Alberta was the continued low price of oil, which had a negative impact on the demand for non-residential real estate space. For example, the office vacancy rate in Calgary rose from 23.8% in 2016 to 25.7% in 2017.
Ontario had the largest share of rental income at 42.2%, followed by Quebec (18.7%) and British Columbia (15.5%). Alberta (15.0%) remained in the top four provinces in terms of share of operating revenue in the industry.
Lessors of residential buildings and dwellings
Lessors of residential buildings and dwellings reported a 4.9% increase in operating revenue to $44.3 billion in 2017. Operating expenses for the industry increased by 4.4% to $29.3 billion.
Among the provinces, Ontario's operating revenue grew by 5.2% from 2016 to 2017. One factor contributing to this growth was the effect of rental increases, with average rents rising by 3.8% in 2017. In addition, the vacancy rate declined from 2.1% in 2016 to 1.6% in 2017, the lowest level since 2000. Firms in Newfoundland and Labrador reported the slowest pace of growth, with their operating revenue increasing by 0.4% from 2016 to 2017.
Ontario had the largest share of the residential rental income at 37.1%, followed by Quebec (26.0%), British Columbia (16.0%) and Alberta (11.4%).
Real estate property managers
The real estate property management industry generated $7.0 billion in operating revenue, up 5.3% from 2016. This industry also reported operating expenses of $5.5 billion, up 5.1% from the previous year.
Note to readers
Data for 2014, 2015 and 2016 have been revised.
Data on office vacancy rates in Calgary were obtained from CBRE Group Canada Office MarketView, for the fourth quarter of 2016 and the fourth quarter of 2017.
Data on apartment rents and vacancy rates in Ontario were obtained from CMHC's Rental Market Report, Ontario Highlights 2017.
Contact information
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