A scarcity of available product has hampered sales activity this year, according to RE/MAX. (Santa needs to get his elves building more mixed-use projects and fewer toys.) But all eyes are on Downtown South.

If you have a good asset, why sell it? Discussing his company's RE/MAX Commercial Investor Report, owner/managing director of RE/MAX Commercial Advantage Moojan Azizi tells us there's little product in the 11 major centres across Canada that were the subject of the study, including Vancouver. Unprecedented levels of demand in Vancouver remain, he says, but owners especially in the multi-unit residential, industrial and retail sectors are not selling. Close to 600 sales occurred in the first half of 2013, a decrease of 15% compared to the same period in 2012.

Another factor is that REITs and other institutional investors are not buying, Moojan adds. Most purchasers are local owner-users. Where activity is going on, though, is areas like Downtown South. Moojan calls it "the next area to gentrify." He points to the Reliance/Pattison $500M Burrard Gateway mixed-use project at Burrard and Hornby (along Hornby, a 54-storey and 36-storey residential towers, with a seven-storey podium providing retail, office and residential use; and along Burrard, a 14-storey office tower, including a three-storey automotive dealership) as a game-changer and a project that will further spur sales activity.