Vacancies up, rents down near universities and colleges
Fewer international students arriving than last summer
Canadian university cities facing surprising rental market downturn. Frances Bula, Globe and Mail. Some good news for a change!
In Surrey, B.C., Matisse Yiu of liv.rent said, there’s been an 11-per-cent drop in rental rates over the summer this year, compared with the 27-per-cent increase the city saw in the summer months last year. Surrey is a popular place for international students because many have ties to immigrant families already living there, plus it’s cheaper than elsewhere in the Lower Mainland and close to universities and colleges both in and near the city.
In the medium term, we need to build more housing everywhere - our pre-Covid housing stock no longer lines up with where people want to live and work. In the short term, population growth is the biggest lever that we can pull.
Universities have also been adding more student housing.
Besides the study permit cap, university efforts to build more housing over the last few years – particularly in British Columbia, where the province has provided incentives – have added hundreds of units.
In B.C., there’s been a massive push by the government to bring new rental housing on the market, between incentives for purpose-built rental housing and new restrictions on short-term rentals.
The U of T increased their number of beds by 600 from last year for a total of 10,900. They are able to guarantee all first-year, first-time students a bed.
From the perspective of landlords:
Amelie Brack said it looks as though federal government policies are having the effect that was intended: reducing rent. But it is proving difficult for those who bought properties, intending to rent to students.
“It’s putting those people who invested years ago into a difficult position.”
Seems like good news to me. This is what drives landlords to lower rents, so that they can fill vacancies. Another quote:
“On the landlord side, they’re definitely a little more desperate.”