Rental apartment vacancy rates in Powell River continue to drop, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s annual rental market survey released on November 28.
Overall apartment vacancies are down from 2.9 per cent in 2017 to 1.4 per cent this year, which is equal to the provincial average. The decrease in rental inventory is significant, especially for two bedrooms, with vacancies falling to just 0.5 per cent from 2.9 per cent in 2017. The provincial average is 1.6 per cent.
One-bedroom apartment vacancies this year dropped to two per cent from 2.8 per cent in 2017. The provincial average is 1.4 per cent.
According to City of Powell River councillor CaroleAnn Leishman, who sits on the housing roundtable, a slight increase in some rental units with new developments coming online and more people seeing an opportunity to supplement their income by adding a basement suite rental will help alleviate the problem, but not as quickly as housing advocates would like to see.
“These constitute a variety of income levels: from very low income, to modest fixed income, to disability supplements and also encompassing seniors with decent pensions who have a house to sell and are looking to downsize,” said Leishman. “We can't fill all the housing needs at this time and with a large portion of existing housing being older stock and needing renovation, there is a huge gap to fill of all types of housing.”
Average rents in the region rose from $657 to $762 for a one-bedroom unit and from $757 to $828 for two bedrooms.
