nik wesT March 2015 BCBusiness 43
Ask anyone in B.C. who
has tried to rent an apartment in the
past 25 years, and they'll tell you what
a tight market it is. By the end of 2014,
vacancy rates were just one per cent in
Vancouver and 1.5 per cent in Victoria
(see sidebar).
But now, for the first time in years,
things are looking up. Industry observers
credit several factors: tightened
CMHC cri-
teria for mortgage eligibility; the struggle
for many first-time buyers to come up
with a downpayment; delays in start-
ing families; and close to 20,000 people
moving to B.C. every year on temporary
or student visas.
In each of the past two years, more
purpose-built rental apartments were
constructed in B.C. than in the previous
25: 2,960 units completed in 2013 and
2,763 in 2014, according to
CMHC. Most
were in the Greater Vancouver and Vic-
toria areas, where new players are begin-
ning to develop market rental properties.
Rise Up!
where, and why, more
purpose-built market rental
buildings are going up in
b.c. by Felicity Stone
Real
Estate
2015
Year Vancouver Victoria
CMA CMA
1994 0.8% 1.9%
2004 1.3% 0.6%
2014 1.0% 1.5%
Vacancy rates for
purpose-built market
rental apartments
THE SUITE LIFE
The Dominion Hotel
in downtown Victoria
has been converted to
furnished micro suites
with ground-floor retail to
appeal to urban renters.
source:
cMhc,
bc
Market
analysis
centre
