The jump in total dollar value of Q3 commercial real estate sales caught the eye of Sandra Wyant, prez of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. It's a trend she'll watch when Q4 numbers come in next month. (If she gets tired, we're happy to watch the money as well.)

The total dollar value of sales in the region reached $1.4B in Q3, a 16.6% increase from Q3 2012 and a 35.7% increase from Q2 2013. Sandra (fourth from the left) points to a "catch-up" in some industrial and office sales as one of the reasons for the jump (the dollar value of office and retail sales in Q3 was $575M, a 95% increase from Q3 2012). While the value has jumped, the total number of commercial sales is trending lower. That's what she will really be focusing on, she tells us. "When the economy in B.C. is a little depressed, that is reflected in commercial sales," she says.

The REBGV has just 750 commercial real estate members, compared to 11,300 members in residential. Bulking up the commercial side, by offering more service, will be one of the jobs for new prez Ray Harris, who takes over from Sandra in March. One of the accomplishments she points to is the new mobile application that was developed for members on the residential side to search properties. In 2014 commercial members will be able to access it. "Our commercial has been a little behind," she says. (In the image are the three Taiga Langley facilities, part of the big Madison Pacific Properties-Argo Ventures deal, to be factored into Q4 results.)