By Liam Verster

Rental Market

Grande Prairie rental rates increase for one-bedrooms, drop for two-bedrooms in June

Jul 20, 2020 | 11:21 AM

June’s rental market saw mixed results in Grande Prairie, as rates increased for one-bedroom units, but decreased for two-bedroom units.

The rates for one-bedrooms increased from an average of $950 in May to $965 in June, while rent decreased from $1,306 to an average of $1,175 for two-bedroom units.

Paul Danison, the Content Director for Rentals.ca says the data they’ve collected shows that Grande Prairie, like many other cities across Canada, are seeing rising rates for the less expensive properties.

“The apartment, the condominium rental, the small rentals are starting to up-tick back up overall in the country. Where the larger, three-bedroom, single-family detached housing and up-scale condos, they’re still pretty much down in terms of rent.”

He says the changes can be attributed to people looking for more affordable housing options, while they wait for work to resume, or start going back to their jobs.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Danison also adds that, though the market has fluctuated quite a bit in the past three months, and appear to be back on the rise, the rental rates are still about $90 below last year’s averages, when a one-bedroom was being rented at $1,050 and two-bedrooms were going for $1,260.

The change in the market puts Grande Prairie at the 28th spot in Rentals.ca’s monthly list of National Rent Rankings, which lists the average rent prices for 33 Canadian cities in order of most to least expensive.

National figures shows Canada’s rental rates dropped another 2.4 per cent between May and June, bringing the market down 9.4 per cent since the beginning of 2020. The average price for an available rental unit in Canada, be it one- or two-bedroom, was found to be $1,770 per month.

However, Danison says while the nation-wide rates are dropping, many places, including Grande Prairie, have started to see up-ticks. Other cities that have seen significant rent increases in the past month include Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, London and Victoria.

Danison says the market is pretty mixed at this point, but expects it to climb in the coming months as people get back to work and provinces reopens.

“Once the border reopens and immigration’s in full swing again, students are back in school and we get back to some sort of normalcy, I think things will see an up-tick.

“When that’s going to happen, I’m not quite sure.”

However, he does add that there is still uncertainty in the market’s future, as it’s hard to predict what will happen with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and what impacts it may have on the market in the coming months.