WINNIPEG -- Rent is getting more expensive in the city, increasing to more than $1,200 for a two-bedroom unit, but there is still a steady supply of apartments to move into, according to the latest national housing report.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) report released on Wednesday gives a snapshot of the rental market in Winnipeg.
The report shows the average rent is $733 for a bachelor suite; $957 for a one-bedroom apartment; $1,223 for a two-bedroom apartment; and $1,543 for an apartment with three or more bedrooms.
The average rent price has increased by nearly 3.5 per cent in Winnipeg in 2019, but the increase in cost has slowed compared to 2018 when it jumped 4.3 per cent.
The report said people looking for homes are faced with affordability challenges, which made for a higher demand in the rental market.
If you are looking for a place to rent in the city, the report says areas like Assiniboine Park, Midland, Centennial, Lord Selkirk, and Transcona have high vacancy rates. This is compared to St. James, Fort Rouge, Fort Garry, St. Vital, St. Boniface and East and West Kildonan that have low vacancy rates.
According to an October 2019 survey, the vacancy rate for rental housing in Winnipeg is up, but only slightly compared to the same period in 2018.
CMHC’s report on the results characterized the market’s vacancy rate “stable”, based on an increase of just two-tenths of a percentage point, 2.9 per cent to 3.1 per cent, between the survey periods of 2018 and 2019.
“Equal increases in both rental demand and supply resulted in a stable vacancy rate in the Winnipeg CMA (Census Metropolitan Area), ” said senior CMHC analyst Christian Arkilley.
The survey showed vacancy rates had risen for bachelor units and for units with either one or three-plus bedrooms.
Two-bedroom rental units showed a vacancy rate drop of four-tenths of a percentage point between 2018 and 2019.
