Regina Commercial Real Estate Overview (2025)

A robust population growth has fueled a surge in the Regina commercial real estate market, with multi-family housing achieving its best performance in a decade in 2024. Momentum has spilled over into the first quarter of 2025, with demand for multi-unit apartments from out-of-province investors climbing yet again, despite rapidly depleting inventory levels.

Much of the growth in multi-family has been achieved through the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The program has breathed new life into the purpose-built rental market, encouraging investment through favourable interest rates and long-term amortization periods.

Institutional buyers throughout Canada continue to chase cash flow, driving investment in residential land parcels zoned multi-family. Most are seeking 1.5 acres or more, but limited availability has served to stifle activity. In the meantime, rental rates for apartments are high and continue to climb.

Businesses listed for sale have also experienced an uptick in recent years, with newcomers seeking to establish roots in the community. Regina placed 10^th in terms of annual demographic growth between July 2023 and July 2024, according to Statistics Canada’s Annual demographic estimates, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations: Interactive dashboard, bringing the total population to just over 282,000 with future growth anticipated in 2025.

Industrial adapts to new cost realities

Industrial leasing and sales in the city have been brisk this year, while demand for land has flatlined given higher construction costs. Sellers are adapting existing properties to fit new buyer’s needs. Older buildings now selling for $2 million would cost $3.5 million to build under current circumstances, with soft costs throwing the equation off in the cost of construction. Lease rates remain stable at $12 to $13 per square ft. Industrial inventory is being absorbed quickly in the city, with almost all space expected to be leased by year end. Vacancy remains amongst the lowest in the country, hovering between two and three per cent, further demonstrating the stability of the overall market.

Suburban office space continues to thrive, with smaller and mid-size business choosing to locate out of the core where parking is abundant. Downtown office space, by comparison, remains the city’s softest commercial asset class, with limited demand for space in virtually all building classes—A, B and C— despite attractive rental rates. The area is active during the day with crown buildings and large corporations rounding out the tenant mix, but offices empty out at 5:00 pm and limited foot traffic thereafter.

Retail moves out of malls and into the neighbourhood

The Cornwall Centre, once a bustling mall with top retailers in the downtown core, has seen a steep post-pandemic climb in vacancy. The city’s three other shopping malls are also facing growing vacancies, prompting some to diversify their tenant mix, including Southland Mall’s incorporation of public library space. In contrast, vibrant neighbourhood retail nodes including Cathedral Village, Normanview Crossing, Albert Park and restaurants along 13^th Avenue, continue to resonate with shoppers, largely replacing the traditional mall experience.

Regina’s commercial real estate market is poised for continued growth in the coming year, driven by favourable economic conditions, easing immigration policies, and sustained interest from institutional and foreign investors. Despite challenges such as trade tensions and limited land availability, the city’s robust growth and government initiatives will continue to support its dynamic market.