Renters still struggling amid low vacancy rates

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/12/2011 (5265 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you’re a renter in St. James or Charleswood, be prepared for both good news and bad.

If you’re a senior, construction of a new 12-storey, 160-unit seniors apartment block on Westwood Drive is on schedule, its developer says.

If you’re not part of the retirement set, then you’re likely still facing the same rental squeeze many other renters across the city are feeling, as vacancy rates in west Winnipeg sit at an average of 0.9%, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

“There’s demand from several fronts for rental housing,” said CMHC senior market analyst Dianne Himbeault. “(Winnipeg is) a good place to invest in rental housing if you’re looking to build new units.”

In St. James, vacancy rates climbed to 1.2%, a baby step from 0.8% this time last year, with only 118 of more than 6,220 suites available for rent.

Renters in Charleswood and Tuxedo are facing similar woes, where vacancy rates sit at a citywide low of 0.5%, with only seven of more than 1,438 suites available for rent.

In and around the West End, rates hover at 1.1%, with only 83 of 4,900 suites available.

“It’s a struggle,” said Janet, a St. James mother of two, who didn’t want her last name used. “Not just for St. James, but further out.”

She recently had trouble finding an affordable two-bedroom apartment after receiving notice her townhouse complex was being converted into higher-end condominiums.

She is planning to move into a new apartment in early January, but admitted at one point she feared she could have become homeless or been forced to live in one of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods.

“If this place didn’t have a two-bedroom, I probably would have ended up in Manitoba Housing,” Janet said.

Walter Dyck, co-owner of W.R.E. Development Ltd., which is building the new apartments in Westwood, said the block is on schedule to open by next September.

He said the project was started to meet the demand from empty nesters looking to downsize from their homes. Some tenants have already been lined up, he said.

“Right now, the people that have rented are people who drive by and have homes in the area and are looking to sell,” he said.

About 60% of new multi-family construction over the last four years has been for the rental market, Himbeault said.

Still, the new construction isn’t necessarily outpacing apartments being lost to condo conversions and demolition, she said.

Winnipeg continues to lose about 300 apartment units a year to condo conversions.

“It’s certainly a trend that’s fairly stable,” Himbeault said.

Winnipeg has the second lowest vacancy rates in the country at 1.1%, well below the national average of 2.2%.

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matt.preprost@canstarnews.com