To-do list for your garden
Condos Feature
CREB®’s garden guru offers up tips to help cope with the coming winter
A10 – A11
donna balzer A14
FREE oct 18 to oct 24 2013 issue 03-41 www.crebnow.com facebook.com/crebnow twitter.com/crebnow
real estate news from industry experts
rental crunch a ‘crisis’ Vacancy Rates (%)
Calgary
Private structures with 3 or more apartments
Edmonton
Apr 2013
Apr 2012
Red Deer
Lethbridge
Medicine Hat
Wood Buffalo
Grande Prairie
0
2
4
Mayor says thousands of new rental units needed Cody Stuart
managing editor
C
algary is in a “rental crisis,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi confirms, as he called on the pro-
6
vincial and federal governments “to use the levers they have available to them to encourage more construction of rental projects.” With a vacancy rate that Nenshi said is “likely close to zero,” securing a place to live is proving to be a difficult task for many renters in the city. Although he said Attainable Homes efforts have helped middle-income Calgarians buy their first home, thereby opening up rental spaces for others, “When it comes down to it, we still need to create thousands of new rental properties for our fellow Calgarians.” Brittany Walker is one Calgarian who was lucky enough to secure an
SINGLE FAMILY
8
apartment in the tight rental market. Having made the decision to move in with her boyfriend after her lease expired, Walker said finding a suitable apartment was a difficult experience. “We heard that the rental market in Calgary was less than a five per cent occupancy rate so we knew once we started to look we were in for quite the battle,” said Walker. Walker said she often showed up to find the unit had already been rented and for prices that were far beyond what the couple had budgeted for. “When we were looking we viewed multiple apartments in the Beltline, Kensington and Mission areas and either the place was way over priced
Rental rates outlined for flood victims in temporary housing 1354
1517
1575
1209 1006
1174
1132
1284
745
773
SEP11 OCT11 NOV11 DEC11 JAN12 FEB12 MAR12 APR12 MAY12 JUN12 JUL12 AUG12 SEP12 OCT12 NOV12 DEC12 JAN13 FEB13 MAR13 APR13 MAY13 JUN13 JUL13 AUG13 SEP13
722
879
962
988
1036
1106
1638
1611 1386
1480
1609
1582
1576
1710
1766
MLS® NUMBER OF UNITS SOLD* SEP ‘11 – SEP ‘13
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity.
or the apartment was already taken by the first person who showed up with a cheque in hand.” While an official count on just how tight Calgary’s rental sector hasn’t been taken since the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) released their last rental report, which listed the city’s vacancy rate at 1.2 per cent, senior market analyst Richard Cho is predicting things will only get tougher for Calgary renters. “We are forecasting the vacancy rate to average 1.0 per cent in October 2013, down from 1.3 per cent in October 2012,” said Cho. As of April, CMHC put the average rent for a two-bedroom apart-
CREB® STAFF
R
ent for flood victims living in temporary neighbourhoods in Saddlebrook and Great Plains will range from $627 for one adult to $1,217 for two adults and two children. Opened on Oct. 15, the Great Plains temporary neighbourhood in southeast Calgary will accommodate as many as 700 people once fully occupied in the coming weeks. There are already 242 confirmed homeowners and 643 renters living at the Saddlebrook temporary neighbourhood.
provincial A3
10
12
ment in the city at $1,150, although Cho said that number is likely to rise when the organization’s next report is released in December. According to www.rentfaster.ca, the average rent for an apartment in the city sits at $1,445, which climbs to $1,936 when all types of rental accommodation are included. Walker would eventually spend more than two months looking for an apartment before finding one they could afford, and were left with little time to decide if it was the right one.
rentals A3
contents news briefs
A3
MARKET
A6
Calgary key contributor to sales
event listing
A6
HOW TO
A8
Help sell your home
mortgage rates
A12
RENOVATIONS
A13
Contractors cautioning Calgarians
COMMERCIAL
A14
map
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