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FREE feb 21 to feb 27 2014 issue 04-07 www.crebnow.com facebook.com/crebnow twitter.com/crebnow
real estate news from industry experts
photo illustration: cody stuart, Managing Editor
Report shows Calgary renters coping with lowest rental vacancy rate in Canada jessica cameron
reporter/photographer
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onth after month the reports come in and month after month Calgary is still holding at a bleak one per cent rental vacancy. In a report released by CIBC World Markets Inc., Calgary was shown to have the lowest rental vacancy rate out of the major city markets in Canada. Entitled If You Build It, Will They Come?, the report showed Alberta renters as a whole are experiencing a difficult time, with Calgary and Edmonton at one and 1.4 per cent rental vacancy, respectively. Other Canadian cities ranged between 1.7 per cent and 6.1 per cent. Saint John, New Brunswick
SINGLE FAMILY
has the largest rental vacancy rate at 11.4 per cent. “The published rates are about one per cent, and that’s accurate, but that’s for property that’s built purposely for rentals,” said Shamon Kureshi, president and managing broker of Hope Street Real Estate Corp. Currently Hope Street Real Estate Corp. has 987 people waiting to find a home to rent, while they only have 77 listings available. Kureshi said the number of listings is the lowest they’ve had in the past six to eight months, and it is seasonal, because people do not like to move in
MLS® AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET* JAN ‘12 – JAN ‘14
60
49
48 40
51 47
45
43 42 43 41 38 37 36
39 37 37 37 38
37 34 31 31
JAN12 FEB12 MAR12 APR12 MAY12 JUN12 JUL12 AUG12 SEP12 OCT12 NOV12 DEC12 JAN13 FEB13 MAR13 APR13 MAY13 JUN13 JUL13 AUG13 SEP13 OCT13 NOV13 DEC13 JAN14
33
40
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity.
the winter months. Kureshi did add that the public can’t rely solely on the one per cent vacancy rate, because most of the academic stats come from only properties which are purpose-built rentals, and not other rentals like basement suites. However, Hope Street focuses on offering larger homes for rent, rather than apartments or basement suites. “We focus on family homes and executive level homes, so our average rents might be in the neighbourhood of $2,000 to $3,000, so it is very different from your average rental apartment, where you can get a one bedroom
for about $1,100 or a two bedroom for $1,300,” said Kureshi. While Hope Street tends to cater to the higher end of the rental spectrum, Kureshi said he’s still heard plenty of stories about families having to compromise on their criteria. “It is not uncommon for us to get feedback from our renters, in saying that they settled so to speak. Originally they were hoping for 3,000 sq. ft. on the west side of town and instead they settled on 2,000 sq. ft. in the north suburbs.”
rentals A3
contents
Another positive indicator for Calgary housing
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CREB® STAFF
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market
eranet’s National Bank National Composite House Price Index was up 0.4 per cent in January, thanks in part to a 0.4 per cent increase in Calgary. The advance took the composite index, which tracks all dwellings that have been sold at least twice, to an alltime high, though individual indexes reached all-time highs for only two of the 11 metropolitan markets surveyed, Toronto and Vancouver.
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