Is there a glimmer of hope in Calgary's struggling downtown office market?

A new report by Avison Young suggests the market may be turning the corner following a brutal two years of ploughing through a recession.

The vacancy rate in the core was 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of the year, up from 17.6 per cent a year ago, but basically unchanged from year-end 2016.

"The first-quarter 2017 vacancy level actually represented positive news as the market took its first steps in halting its overall downward trend," said the commercial real estate company.

Todd Throndson, principal and managing director of Avison Young's Calgary office, says the downtown office market appears to have hit a pause in its rising vacancy.

The country mouse is doing just fine.

In a report released from RE/MAX, Alberta, along with Saskatchewan, saw the biggest increases in farmland values in the country. According to the report, the high end of farmland values in Alberta increased from $6,500 an acre in 2012 to $8,500 an acre this year.