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Metro Vancouver home hunters are seeing relief on two fronts, with rental-apartment vacancy rates rising and new-home prices falling, according to new statistics released Wednesday.
Vacancy rates for two-bedroom apartments rose to 1.9 per cent in Metro Vancouver in April, a substantial jump from 0.9 per cent a year ago, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Wednesday.
The figure was lower in Victoria, at 1.2 per cent, and much higher in Abbotsford, at 4.8.
Across British Columbia in April, the vacancy rate for two-bedroom apartments varied from 1.2 per cent in Victoria to 4.8 per cent in Abbotsford.
The higher vacancy rates in Metro means advertisements for apartments are drawing two or three applications instead of 15 to 20, as was the case a couple of years ago when the vacancy rate hovered near zero, said David Goodman, a realtor who specializes in apartment buildings.
"It makes for a somewhat healthier market that there is a bit of equilibrium," said Goodman, who is with Macdonald Commercial Real Estate Services Ltd.
"There hasn`t been much of that over the past three to six years," he said.
One reason for rising vacancy rates is the movement of first-time home buyers leaving their rental suites and taking possession of newly built homes, Robyn Adamache, a Canada Mortgage and Housing analyst said in an interview.
Adamache said the slow economy and steep job losses over the fall and winter have meant there are fewer people coming behind to rent the apartments new homeowners leave behind.
And with large numbers of condominiums under construction around the city, Adamache said there is potential for the city`s vacancy rate to climb higher.
Goodman added that due to the recession, "we`re seeing more individuals move back with their parents, doubling up, scaling down, and that has created a mild increase in vacancies."
Read the full article here.
Vacancy rates for two-bedroom apartments rose to 1.9 per cent in Metro Vancouver in April, a substantial jump from 0.9 per cent a year ago, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Wednesday.
The figure was lower in Victoria, at 1.2 per cent, and much higher in Abbotsford, at 4.8.
Across British Columbia in April, the vacancy rate for two-bedroom apartments varied from 1.2 per cent in Victoria to 4.8 per cent in Abbotsford.
The higher vacancy rates in Metro means advertisements for apartments are drawing two or three applications instead of 15 to 20, as was the case a couple of years ago when the vacancy rate hovered near zero, said David Goodman, a realtor who specializes in apartment buildings.
"It makes for a somewhat healthier market that there is a bit of equilibrium," said Goodman, who is with Macdonald Commercial Real Estate Services Ltd.
"There hasn`t been much of that over the past three to six years," he said.
One reason for rising vacancy rates is the movement of first-time home buyers leaving their rental suites and taking possession of newly built homes, Robyn Adamache, a Canada Mortgage and Housing analyst said in an interview.
Adamache said the slow economy and steep job losses over the fall and winter have meant there are fewer people coming behind to rent the apartments new homeowners leave behind.
And with large numbers of condominiums under construction around the city, Adamache said there is potential for the city`s vacancy rate to climb higher.
Goodman added that due to the recession, "we`re seeing more individuals move back with their parents, doubling up, scaling down, and that has created a mild increase in vacancies."
Read the full article here.