Actually rents are going both down and up, depending on which category. The CMHC report is out and in Metro Vancouver we’re seeing higher vacancy rates that seem to be having some affect on rents.
According to the CMHC, 3 bedroom rents are up, while 2 bedroom rents are down slightly.
The thing I found most dramatic is the vacancy rate. Last I heard this was around 1 percent, but now its 2.2%.
The increase, compared with 2.1 per cent last fall, represented opposing forces of higher levels of first-time home ownership and job cuts during the recession resulting in young tenants doubling up or moving back home. Both trends helped take renters out of the market, according to, Robyn Adamache, CMHC’s market analyst for Metro Vancouver.
Adamache added that an increase in the supply of rental housing — 2009 saw 915 new rental units added to the overall stock — also helped raise the vacancy rate.
Personally I moved at the beginning of summer and was able to very easily talk $100 off the monthly asking rent for my family, and this is in a professionally managed building with one owner. I’ve rented from amateur landlords before and I never will again after the difference I’ve seen here. It’s incredibly relaxing to have everything in the building well cared for and everything in the suite fixed at a moments notice.
