Alberta Rental Vacancy Rates: The Lowest in Canada

Alberta Rental Vacancy Rates Are The Lowest in Canada

Alberta’s population has continued to grow at a steady pace as more and more job seekers arrive in the province. However, finding a place to live to go along with the new job might be harder than first thought for some of those moving to Alberta.

Detailed in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) latest Rental Market Report is that Alberta is home to Canada’s tightest rental markets, making it hard for renters to find a property all together.

In October of 2013, Calgary’s rental vacancy rate was down to only 1.0 percent, a 0.3 percent year over year decrease, and was the lowest rate out of all major municipalities tracked by the CHMC in Canada. Edmonton was close behind Calgary in second with a vacancy rate of 1.4 percent.

Inbound Migrants

One of the largest contributors to Alberta’s extremely low vacancy rates is, as mentioned above, the consistent flow of inbound migrants not only from other provinces, but from the international community as well.

This population growth definitely has positive effects on the economy such as boosting retail sales and the need for personal services; however, it also puts increased pressure on the rental accommodation markets as inbound migrants typically choose to rent a property before they buy one.

Low Vacancy Rates Means…

Higher rents. Unfortunately, the competition for rental properties only drives the cost of rent up. Some of Canada’s other provinces have limits on how high landlords can charge for rent per month, but the same is not true for Alberta.

Hopefully the high average income levels and abundance of job opportunities in Alberta will counteract these higher rental costs for renters abroad.

Canadian Economics

Want to know more about the latest economic trends in Calgary, Alberta, and Western Canada? Be sure to check out our Canadian Economics blog today for several in-depth articles.

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