By Emily Keller

rental rates

Rental rates down during COVID-19 pandemic

Mar 24, 2020 | 2:30 PM

Grande Prairie saw rental rates drop this month, with one-bedroom rates going down by 2.2 per cent month over month, and two bedrooms dropping by 1 per cent.

Overall, the national average for rent in Canada dropped 3 per cent month over month, according the March 2020 National Rentals Report from Rentals.ca.

Rentals.ca

Paul Danison, Content Director with Rentals.ca, says there are various factors that caused the large drop with rates.

“Rents tend to go down in the colder months number one, but number two, it was the beginning of the coronavirus that affected it also.”

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Danison says he does expect that Grande Prairie, and all of Alberta, will feel the impacts COVID-19 is having on oil prices provincially, and globally.

“That’s a huge stream, and as oil and gas prices head down, and again, people are not driving very much, not working on machinery as much that use gas, flying as much, and you get to more unemployment.”

He says that as far as vacancy rates go for the Swan City, Grande Prairie had a vacancy rate of 5.1 per cent in 2019.

In the report, Rentals.ca says they are expecting to see rental searches go down, and to see less vacancies as renters may be choosing to stay in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. They expect that immigration will also stop for the time-being, and that will close off a major source of tenants and renters.

The full report can be read here.