CBC News Vacancy Rates in Vancouver
Falling vacancy rates push up rents across B.C.
Last Updated: Thursday, December 11, 2008 | 2:40 PM ET
CBC News
The price of real estate may be dropping, but it is still getting harder and more expensive to find a rental apartment in Vancouver and much of B.C.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's 2008 Fall Rental Market Survey found the vacancy rate for rental apartments in the city slipped to 0.5 per cent this year from 0.7 per cent last year.
Overall, B.C.'s vacancy rate for rental apartments remained steady at one per cent,
But across the province, increases in vacancy rates in towns such as
Jobs and new residents shorten supply
The low vacancy rates pushed rents higher, with an average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in B.C. jumping 5.3 per cent compared to 2007, about double the general rate of inflation.
The report did not include actual average rental rates, but a CMHC study last year put the average rental rate for a two-bedroom apartment in
This year's study found rents rose 4.5 per cent in
Robyn Adamache, a senior market analyst with the CMHC, said there are several factors driving demand in the province, in spite of the economic turmoil gripping the world.
"Job growth and a steady inflow of new residents to the region are keeping demand for rental housing robust. Although the pace of job growth has slowed somewhat from last year, the unemployment rate remains near record lows," said Adamache.
"The large gap between the cost of home ownership and renting in the region is also causing some people to stay in rental housing."
It's become harder to find a place to rent in Metro Vancouver.
Vacancy dropped in October to 0.5 per cent from 0.9 per cent last spring, according to the latest survey from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The drop comes in the face of falling real estate prices in the Lower Mainland and a deteriorating economy.
The CMHC's new rental market report says growing demand in the region continues to keep the market tight.
It says strong job growth in the first 10 months of the year and migration from other parts of
"
A lack of new purpose-built rental buildings continues to be a problem.
The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Metro Vancouver is $1,124 – a 4.6 per cent increase from a year ago.
One bedrooms now average $880, up from $846.
Renters are turning to investor-owned condos and secondary suites to find housing.
But CMHC noted prices can be sharply higher, especially for private condos, with rents averaging more than $1,500 for two-bedroom units.
The vacancy rate actually loosened further in the
Province-wide, the vacancy rate remained at 1.0 per cent.
