In short
Most Metro Vancouver commercial property owners face a binary choice: hire a broker who'll only sell, or a property manager who'll only lease. We cover both paths — leasing and management by David Siccia, sale advisory executed by his father Lawrence Siccia, REALTOR® at Engel & Völkers Vancouver — and help you decide which one actually maximizes return. We run one assessment producing a real side-by-side: sale value, lease NOI, hold-with-renovation IRR — and execute whichever path the math favours.
- Leasing and management by David, sales executed by Lawrence Siccia (Engel & Völkers) — one assessment instead of two firms and two fees
- Free one-meeting assessment producing real numbers for sale, lease, and hold-and-renovate paths
- Cross-coverage with David's father, Lawrence Siccia, REALTOR® at Engel & Völkers Vancouver, for all brokerage execution
- Specialization in small-to-mid commercial — properties the giants treat as low-priority
- Current portfolio: Fraser River waterfront industrial (Gunderson Rd) + live/work CD8 industrial (Castle Armory & Residence)
The premise — why most owners get pushed into the wrong path
Vancouver commercial property owners typically face one of two pitches:
- Brokerage: "Now is a great time to sell — let me list it." Their incentive is to transact. Their fee is a percentage of sale price. They aren't holding the asset's lease optionality in their head.
- Property management: "Don't sell — let me manage it." Their incentive is recurring management fees. Their fee is a percentage of monthly rent for years. They aren't running the math on whether holding is actually better than selling.
Both pitches can be right. But neither is right for every property, and the owner usually can't tell which from inside their own head. That's the gap we fill — David runs the leasing and management side and Lawrence Siccia (Engel & Völkers) executes any sale, so when we tell you "sale is the right move" or "you should hold and lease," you're getting honest math, not a sales pitch.
The litmus test
How our cross-coverage works (David + Lawrence)
David Siccia runs the property management side. Lawrence Siccia, his father, is a REALTOR® at Engel & Völkers Vancouver and executes any sale. When sale path is the right answer, brokerage execution stays with the family — same culture, same standards, no awkward handoff to a stranger.
When the right answer is something neither of us covers well (e.g., very large industrial portfolios in markets we don't actively work, or specialized assets like medical office or hospitality), we refer to outside brokers we trust. We'd rather lose a transaction to a better-fit specialist than steer a client to a sub-optimal outcome.
Commercial asset types we cover
| Asset type | Service offerings | Examples / sub-markets |
|---|---|---|
| Single-tenant industrial | Sale brokerage, lease management | Surrey, Delta, Burnaby industrial parks; Tilbury area |
| Multi-tenant industrial | Lease management, sale brokerage | Burnaby, North Vancouver, Surrey/Delta corridor |
| Mixed-use commercial | Sale, lease, full management | North Vancouver, Lower Mainland mixed-use buildings |
| Live/Work CD8 zoned | Sale, lease, owner-operator support | Lynnmour (North Van), select North Shore communities |
| Small office (<25k sqft) | Lease management, occasional sale | Smaller building stock outside the Class A downtown towers |
| Street-front retail | Lease management, sale brokerage | Neighbourhood retail in established Vancouver strips |
| Marine industrial / waterfront | Specialty — sale and lease | Fraser River waterfront, Roberts Bank corridor |
Current active commercial portfolio
Live listings we currently represent — examples of the asset types and price ranges we work in.
Prime Industrial Land — Fraser River Waterfront
Surrey/Delta Border
$16.50/sqft (40% below DT Vancouver)
Castle Armory & Residence — 1496 Rupert Street
Lynnmour, North Vancouver
$173,508/year net (~$21.68/sqft) + $4,716.67/mo operating costs
The 5-step sell vs lease decision process
Quick summary of the decision framework — full version with worked examples in our Commercial Sell vs Lease Framework.
- Establish current NOI — actual or modelled, including all operating expenses
- Calculate sale value at current cap rates — Vancouver Q1 2025 industrial average: 4.4%
- Project lease NOI over your time horizon — 5-10 year DCF at your cost of capital
- Layer in tax position — capital gains exposure, CCA recapture, after-tax sale proceeds
- Decide based on deployment opportunity — sale only beats hold if proceeds reinvest at higher after-tax IRR than the lease NOI
How we differ from Avison Young, Transpacific, NAI
| Dimension | Big firms | David Siccia Properties |
|---|---|---|
| Team structure | Large teams, multiple agents per file | Single principal — David, plus Lawrence for brokerage |
| Asset focus | Dominate Class A industrial parks (Burnaby, Surrey/Delta), large portfolios | Small-to-mid commercial, mixed-use, specialized assets |
| Service depth | Strong on transactions; management often outsourced or low-priority | Both functions in-house; same team, same accountability |
| Owner relationship | Account-managed, often by junior staff for smaller properties | Direct relationship with principal |
| Sale vs lease honesty | Incentive to transact (fees on sale); rarely recommend hold | Incentive to give right answer (we benefit either way) |
| Best for | Owners with $50M+ portfolios needing institutional-scale execution | Owners with 1-15 commercial properties wanting a single accountable relationship |
Common questions from commercial owners
Should I sell my Vancouver commercial property or lease it out?
It depends on three things: your current and projected NOI, comparable cap rates in your sub-market, and your tax position relative to a sale event. Vancouver Class A and B industrial cap rates were 4.4% in early 2025 — meaning $200k NOI is worth approximately $4.5M as a sale. Whether that beats holding for $200k/year depends on your basis (capital gains exposure), your deployment opportunity for sale proceeds, and your time horizon. We model both scenarios for your specific property in the assessment. See the detailed framework in our Commercial Sell vs Lease Decision Framework guide.
What's the difference between a commercial broker and a commercial property manager?
A broker represents you in a transaction — they're paid when the property sells (or leases, depending on engagement). A property manager runs your property on an ongoing basis — tenant relations, rent collection, maintenance, lease renewals, financials. David handles the leasing and management side; Lawrence Siccia (Engel & Völkers) executes any sale. Because they work as one team you get both answers from one assessment, without coordinating two firms.
What types of commercial properties do you handle?
Industrial (single-tenant and multi-tenant), mixed-use, live/work CD8 zoned, small retail (street-front and shopping centre pad), professional office (smaller buildings under 25,000 sqft), and specialized commercial like marine industrial. Current examples: the 1.98-acre Fraser River waterfront industrial site on Gunderson Rd (Delta), leased to a warehousing tenant on a 5-year term, and the Castle Armory & Residence live/work building at 1496 Rupert St, North Vancouver, now offered for lease (MLS C8077795).
How are you different from Avison Young or Transpacific Realty?
The big firms have larger teams, larger portfolios, and dominate certain industrial sub-markets (Burnaby, Surrey/Delta industrial parks especially). What they don't do well: smaller assets get lower-priority service, and you typically work with whoever's available rather than a single principal who knows your property end-to-end. We're the right call for owners of 1-15 commercial properties who want a single accountable relationship and an owner-side view from both sale and lease angles.
Will you give me an honest answer if my property should be sold rather than leased?
Yes. Property management revenue compounds over years; getting wrong advice on a $5M asset can cost an owner low-six-figures. We send owners to brokerage with Lawrence (or, if the market is one we don't cover well, to an outside broker) when that's the right answer. The repeat business and referrals from owners who get straight advice are worth more than one mis-allocated engagement.
What's involved in the initial assessment?
We visit the property, review your most recent rent roll (if leased) or basis docs (if owner-occupied), check current market comparables, run a NOI projection for the lease scenario and a sale-price projection at market cap rates, and discuss your specific tax and timing situation. The output is a one-page side-by-side that shows you Sale, Lease, and Hold-with-Renovation options with real numbers. No engagement required to get the assessment.
Do you handle commercial property in Surrey, Delta, or the Fraser Valley?
Yes — we have active commercial inventory in Delta (the Gunderson Road Fraser River waterfront industrial site) and we actively work the Surrey/Delta industrial corridor. North Vancouver, Burnaby, and Metro Vancouver core are also active service areas. For markets we don't directly cover, we have partner brokers we'll honestly refer to.
Related resources
Free commercial property assessment — no engagement required
We'll spend an hour with your property, your numbers, and the current market. You'll get a one-page side-by-side: sale vs lease vs hold. No obligation, no pressure.