Spending on Edmonton commercial real estate slows in second quarter

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeBusinessCommercial Real EstateNewsLocal News Spending on Edmonton commercial real estate slows in second quarter Investment in commercial real estate slowed in Edmonton last quarter, but the retail sector had a strong performance. Author of the article: By Liam Newbigging Published Sep 16, 2026 2 minute read Join the conversation The quarterly lull in spending on multi-family real estate comes after years of high numbers and a high volume of new multi-unit housing starts. PHOTO BY ED KAISER /Postmedia, file Article content Spending on commercial real estate slowed in Edmonton this past quarter, reflecting a cooler market after the region ran up the score in the first part of the fiscal year. While the action moderated, retail was something of a stats-padder, as the sector’s activity outperformed others with a year-over-year change exceeding 125 per cent. Everything else, including spending on multifamily projects, was on the dip, while the city saw a total of $840.9 million in activity. Those numbers come from a new market investment report by commercial real estate company CBRE, published this week. Article content Article content Article content Article content In the same report, Canada saw strong investment across the board and, despite uncertainties due to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, the market is on its way to a record year. Edmonton trailed the pack of major cities, ranking sixth in overall activity, behind Waterloo, Ont., and Calgary, but ahead of Ottawa. Edmonton and Halifax were also the only big cities in the bunch behind their three-year averages. Multi-family moderates, retail ramps up The quarterly lull in spending on multi-family real estate comes after years of high numbers and a high volume of new multi-unit housing starts. The fiscal year’s first quarter saw more than $648.7 million in investments, making nearly half of all commercial real estate activity over that period. In the second quarter, that number dropped to $204.9 million in activity. Other market-watchers, such as commercial real estate agency Avison Young, have noted that Edmonton is in its absorption phase for multi-family housing after two years of strong starts. Meanwhile, local investment adviser Multifamily Home reported that while the market remained active in the second quarter, the pace of deals in the sixc-unit to…