The rental vacancy rate in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley is tight — less than one per cent.
“That, on its own, puts pressure on the market driving up rental rates,” says Kerri Jackson of Concert Properties. Building new units here is a long and challenging process in a remarkably complex municipal landscape made up of 21 different jurisdictions.
Add in factors such as a decades-long shift away from purpose-built rental in favour of condo developments that, once sold to investors, often end up as rental properties.
“Recently, purpose-built rental housing has resurfaced as a way of easing the tight supply — a good idea, but one that developers are hard-pressed to jump onside, with minimal uptake from developers” said Beau Jarvis of Wesgroup.
As of October, there are few new purpose-built rental properties going up in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Those being built are a step in the right direction, but they do not come close to the volume of new projects that are required to meet demand.
Jackson and Jarvis joined Conversation That Matters about the value of purpose-built rentals and why it’s a risky business.