Vancouver’s skyrocketing rental costs and historically low vacancy rates have baffled landlords and prospective tenants to the point where neither has a handle on how much a unit is worth -- ads encouraging bidding wars are on the rise as more people look to the market for answers.
Brad McPherson used to charge $1,800 per month for the first floor of his house in the Kitsilano neighbourhood on the west side of Vancouver. The previous tenant held onto the 3-bedroom unit for 18 years, according to the Craigslist ad.
McPherson’s latest listing encourages interested parties to “make an offer.”
“I really wasn’t sure of the whole market and what the value was,” he told CTV Vancouver.
Vancouver topped a list of the most expensive cities for renters in September 2016. Data from the rental site Padmapper shows the cost of the median one bedroom unit climbed 2.9 per cent to $1,750 since August, while the median two bedroom rent declined 1.5 per cent to $2,680.
Tom Davidoff, an economist at UBC's Sauder School of Business who recently compiled a detailed analysis of Vancouver rental listings posted on Craigslist is calling for prices to continue surging through 2016.
“Rents have been rising rapidly over the past year,” he said. “This year they’re on pace to grow 20 per cent.”
Demand for rental units remains staggeringly high in spite of the surging prices. Vancouver had the lowest vacancy rate in Canada at 0.6 per cent in 2015, according to a report compiled by the city in April.
Andrew McCordan and his partner recently moved back to B.C. They’re on the hunt for a place to rent. He’s interested in moving into McPherson’s unit on Oct. 1, but worries he can’t scrape together a winning offer.
“I could see it between $2,500 and $3,000. I don’t know if we can offer that,” he said.
McPhearson says he won’t simply hand over the keys to the top bidder. He’s looking for a reliable long-term tenant who will take good care of the place.
“It cost more money to fix the place up if it gets wrecked or damaged from getting the wrong tenant,” he said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver
