B.C. commercial real estate saw 119 transactions in 2013, a record number of annual deals, according to a new study by Avison Young. Proceeds of the transactions topped $2B. REITs had a diminished presence in the market, but private investors filled the breach, dominant in 2013 as both sellers and buyers. Institutional vendors were able to take advantage of strong demand and pricing. AY principal Michael Keenan (snapped with AY’s Brian Pearson and Darrell Hurst) tells us that strong performances in the retail and industrial sectors helped offset diminished sales activity in the office sector. (That's the sign of a good team, other players filling in when one is slumping... and making some extra cash in the process.) Owners realized it was an “opportunistic time to bring assets to market” because of a significant amount of available capital for investors and a relative lack of product.