QuadReal Property Group’s sale of its reimagined The Post office and commercial complex in Vancouver was by far the most significant commercial real estate transaction by dollar value in Canada in 2025.

According to Altus Group, Pontegadea paid $1.2 billion for the former Canada Post facility, which sits on a full city block bordered by West Georgia, Homer, Dunsmuir and Hamilton streets, and includes two towers and a podium. The Post building, which was built in 1958, underwent what QuadReal described as “one of the most ambitious heritage redevelopments in Canada’s history,” creating 1.1 million square feet of top-quality office space and a large retail atrium.

Pontegedea is the family office of Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, best known for his global fashion house Zara.

The deal shows there is strong demand for core office assets, says Raymond Wong, vice-president, data solutions, client delivery at Altus Group. Altus compiled a list of the Top-15 real estate transactions in Canada in 2025 for RENX.

Total investment down slightly in 2025

Although total investment figures for 2025 have not been finalized, they show a slight decline from 2024, with total investments of close to $52 billion, compared with $56.4 billion in 2024.

Industrial, multifamily and retail were the most dominant asset classes by dollar volumes last year at $11.8 billion, $11.2 billion and $7.8 billion, respectively, but the top two transactions were for office spaces, with Oxford Properties Group's $730 million transaction to acquire the remaining interest in seven Vancouver and Calgary office towers weighing in as the second biggest investment.

Retail and hotels were the only asset classes with transactions up year-over-year from 2024 to 2025.

As for this year, “we’re going to see more transaction activity based on the narrowing bid-ask gap between vendors and investors,” Wong says. “Industrial, apartment and retail will continue to be sought-after and will still be in the top ranks for 2026.” 

Top transactions in Canada during 2025

Here are the other largest CRE transactions in Canada last year (Note that in some cases the Altus sales figure differs from previously reported amounts. Altus sources sales numbers from registry offices.):

2. Oxford spent $730 million to acquire the 50 per cent interest in seven Calgary and Vancouver office towers formerly held by CPP Investments. Oxford now owns 100 per cent of the portfolio. The transaction included four Vancouver towers: the 177,000 square foot Marine Building which was renovated in 2014; the 558,000 square foot The Stack, which was built in 2023 and is Canada’s first zero-carbon office tower; the 262,000 square foot Guinness Tower, which was renovated in 2014; and NP Tower, built in 2014 with 277,000 square feet. In Calgary, the deal included: Eau Claire Tower, a 25-storey, LEED Gold-certified office building, built in 2016 and totalling 611,000 square feet; Centennial Place, built in 2010 and totalling 1.3 million square feet; and 400 Third, built in 1988 and totalling 820,000 square feet.

3. Primaris REIT acquired the Promenades St-Bruno mall near Montreal from Cadillac Fairview for $482.1 million. It was one of several major mall acquisitions by the REIT last year. The approximately 1.1 million square foot mall on the South Shore of Montreal has over 300 stores and services, over $271 million in annual sales, and $917 in sales per square foot.

4. Primaris bought the 65-Acre CF Lime Ridge Mall in Hamilton for $416 million from an entity managed by Cadillac Fairview. The 793,000-square-foot mall at 999 Upper Wentworth St. is certified as BOMA BEST Platinum. Lime Ridge Mall was owned by Ontrea Inc. and was a subsidiary of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

5. Primaris acquired Oshawa Centre from Ivanhoé Cambridge for $375 million. The 1.22 million square foot regional enclosed mall in Oshawa includes approximately 100,000 square feet of office space and sits on 79 acres of land. A $230-million, 375,000-square-foot redevelopment was completed in 2016, which included the addition of 260,000 square feet.

6. Starlight Investments purchased a Brampton apartment portfolio from Oxford Properties Group for $312.1 million. It consists of 1,116 units with properties at 75 and 95 Charolais Blvd. and 430 and 440 McMurchy Ave. South.

7. New York City-based Veyron acquired a new 1.26-million square foot distribution centre at 3575 Innisfil Beach Rd. in Innisfil, north of Toronto, from DSV for $300.5 million. The distribution centre encompasses 1.23 million square feet of space with 120 shipping doors, 34,000 square feet of office space and ample trailer parking. Broccolini built the facility, which was finished last summer.

8. Unilever sold its GTA distribution centre at 7900 Airport Rd. for $253 million in a deal that included buyer Crestpoint Real Estate Investments reacquiring a 50 per cent stake in the property after selling in late 2024. 

9. Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust acquired the Central Parc 1, 2, and 3 apartment towers in Laval for $249 million, in the Montreal area’s largest multifamily transaction. The three towers at 3365, 3385 and 3405 Le Carrefour Blvd. have 541 units and were built from 2019 to 2022 by Edmonton-based Saroukian Group. 

10. Pacific Reach and Dilawri Group of Companies acquired the 263-room The Ritz-Carlton Toronto from Cadillac Fairview for $247.7 million. The downtown property at 181 Wellington St. W. opened in 2011 after being developed by Cadillac Fairview, Graywood Developments and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company for about US$300 million. The 53-storey, approximately 700,000-square-foot building comprises 20 floors featuring 263 luxury rooms, with the upper 33 floors dedicated to condominiums. 

11. Lankin Investments completed its $247-million acquisition of a three-building, 755-unit Brampton apartment portfolio at the end of the year. After acquiring 2 and 4 Silver Maple Ct. in Brampton, Ont. for $132 million in May, Lankin bought the $115-million, 23-storey, 339-unit apartment building at 6 Silver Maple from GWL Realty Advisors in December.

12. Dream Industrial REIT acquired a mix of single- and multi-tenant industrial properties comprising 998,000 square feet in the Greater Toronto Area from Pure Industrial for $243 million. The buildings are along the Highway 401 corridor. With relatively low site coverage and more than 21 acres of excess land, Dream said the portfolio offers intensification or redevelopment potential.

13. Southgate Centre Holdings acquired the 1.06 million square foot Southgate Centre at 5015 – 111th St. NW in Edmonton from Ivanhoe Cambridge for $207.6 million in May. The BOMA BEST Gold-certified property underwent a $93-million, 260,000-square-foot redevelopment of the former Sears space in 2022. 

14. CAPREIT acquired two residential rental buildings with 436 units in Laval from RioCan for $178 million. The buildings at 3440 and 3460 Saint-Elzéar Blvd. W. were constructed in 2020 and 2023 and were previously under the RioCan Living banner.

15. Brookfield Asset Management bought the Hyatt Vancouver Downtown Alberni/Park Hyatt (former Shangri-La Vancouver) hotel and adjacent retail space from Westbank and Peterson for $160 million. The 119-room property will undergo a major renovation.