St. Albert ranked last on list of 100 best cities for renters: Report

The St. Albert Entrance Sign can be seen in this undated file photo. (File)

On a list of the 100 best Canadian cities for renters, St. Albert comes in dead last.

The report from online real estate marketplace company Point2 used data from Statistics Canada and other sources to compare the country’s largest cities on 24 different metrics in three categories: economy and housing, quality of life, and community. The metrics were weighted to determine the final score.

St. John’s, NL tops the list, owing to its strong economy, housing affordability, vibrant arts and culture scene, and a shared sense of community among residents.

Two other east coast cities — Saint John, NB and Fredericton, NB — ranked in the top 10, alongside St. John’s and seven cities in Québec.

"St. Albert ranked lower on the list mainly due to its lower rentership rate and limited rental options compared to other cities. Although it scores well in life satisfaction, it ranked lower in areas like average greenness and walkability, which impacted its overall ranking," Sabina Marincean from Point2 said.

For renters in St. Albert, housing is both expensive and hard to find. The average cost of rent is $1,450, and the rental availability rate per 10,000 people sits at zero, according to the report.

The number of rental units in St. Albert has nearly tripled in the last decade, but rentership is still low compared to the rest of the province, said Lory Scott, affordable housing liaison with the city.

"Historically, St. Albert has been a community where home ownership has been the preferred housing type, particularly for single-family dwellings," Scott said.

"But in 2021, the Canada census showed that the home ownership rate declined, and now 17.1 per cent of our households are renters, but you can compare that to Alberta, where 28 per cent of households are renters," Scott said.

Scott also noted there is a very low overall vacancy rate of 0.9 per cent in St. Albert, compared to 2.6 per cent in neighbouring Edmonton.

Though the city now has 2,087 purpose-built rental units, up from just 754 in 2012, they have filled up as quickly as they’ve come on to the market.

"With the vacancy rate difference from Edmonton to St Albert, it illustrates that there's a high demand in St. Albert for rental units, and people want to live in St. Albert, if you’re a renter or an owner," Scott said.