Some initial trends from a study on commercial real estate investment in Canada released by Avison Young this morning: initial interest rate hikes haven't impacted the flow of investment capital into the sector, on either side of the border, in the first half of 2013. One area to keep an eye on will be the buying habits of interest-rate-sensitive REITs, which have been aggressive when it comes to acquisitions, according to AY director of research Bill Argeropoulos.

The report covers commercial real estate investment conditions in 24 regions across the U.S. and Canada, including Vancouver. Canada is on track to meet or exceed 2012's volume of sales, the report says. (Now that people aren't afraid of the Mayan apocalypse, things are picking up nicely.) There was almost $2B invested in commercial real estate in Vancouver in the first half of 2013, near-record levels. AY principal in Vancouver Michael Gill (here with AY's Bob Levine) says there's plenty of capital in the hands of pension funds and life insurance companies looking for investment properties with strong fundamentals. What the markets needs he adds are more sellers who recognize that it is a very opportune time to sell based on current market conditions.