Vacancy Rate In Prince George Drops
By 250 News
The apartment vacancy rate in Prince George declined From October '06 to October '07 it had been 2.6 % and slipped to 1.9%.
Provincially, the vacancy rate declined for the fourth consecutive year reaching just one per cent in October 2007.
Twelve of the province’s 27 urban centres reported vacancy rates below one per cent. “Increased job opportunities, the rising cost of homeownership, immigration and longer completion times on new multiple-unit projects intended for homeownership were responsible for boosting rental demand in British Columbia, “ noted Carol Frketich, BC Regional Economist.
On the supply side, there have been very few new rental projects built in BC during the last year. Renters are turning to the secondary rental market, which includes secondary suites and investor owned condominiums, to meet their housing needs.
Based on a sample of rental structures common to both the 2006 and 2007 rental market surveys, the average rent for a two bedroom apartment increased 5.5 per cent.
The average rent for a two bedroom apartment was $922 in October 2007.
Community | Vacancy Rate October ‘06 | Vacancy Rate October ‘07 | Average Rate of Rental Increase |
Prince George | 2.6 | 1.9 | 5.3 |
Quesnel | 8.3 | 3.9 | 9.1 |
Dawson Creek | 2.5 | 2.7 | 24.0 |
Fort St. John | 0.8 | 3.9 | 8.1 |
Kamloops | 0.9 | 0.5 | 8.4 |
Kitimat | 34.9 | 21.0 | ++ |
Prince Rupert | 20.5 | 15.0 | ** |
Terrace | ** | 7.3 | 8.2 |
Williams Lake | 0.4 | 1.9 | 4.5 |
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Posted by: Harbinger on December 13 2007 4:50 PM
A quote relevent for the central interior and our main economic base.....
"We think overall housing starts will run below one million units in each of the next two years -- a level not seen in the history of the modern data since 1959," he said
Thats huge considering US housing starts have been well over 2 million for most of the last 5-6 years and dipped to 1.4 million this last year.