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By Shane Clausing

rental rates

Rental prices down in Grande Prairie in November

Dec 18, 2020 | 12:00 PM

Rental rates Grande Prairie were once again down for the month of November, according to rentals.ca.

The Swan City saw prices for a one-bedroom unit fall 2.5 per cent in the month of November, while two-bedroom apartments dropped 6.6 per cent.

The average price for a one-bedroom unit in Grande Prairie stands at $959 per month, $1,117 for a two-bedroom apartment.

In total, the Swan City finished 30th out of 35 cities across the country on the average monthly rent scale.

Paul Danison with Rentals.ca says the reason for the fall in prices is mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“Since the resurgence of it (the pandemic) things have gotten worse. You also do have winter coming in where fewer people are out looking for places to live. December, January, and February are kind of the slow months for the rental market. Typically rents drop low, but I think COVID-19 has definitely dropped them further.”

Danison added rental prices normally come up as we head towards the spring. With COVID-19 vaccines becoming more available over the next several months, Danison is confident that the market will slowly begin to bounce back.

“The rents will probably continue to drop a little bit as we go through the first part next year, and hopefully in the spring and summer when the vaccine is out and people are a little more comfortable with being out, jobs come back and we’ll see a little bit of a jump in the rental market.”

With rent being lower year-over-year throughout the Swan City and Alberta, Danison says now is a good time to rent a place.

Calgary was the most expensive of the six Alberta cities on the list of 35 municipalities finishing 24th for average monthly rent in November. Edmonton placed 28th.

Across Canada in 2020, the average rent was down 9.1 per cent. Rentals.ca and Danison expect a rise of three per cent across the country.