Rent continues to rise in Yellowknife, despite decrease in demand

Yellowknife's rental vacancy rate is double the national average, yet rental prices are still rising, according to the latest Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation rental market report.

According to the report, released Wednesday morning, Yellowknife's vacancy rate is 4.9 per cent, up from from 3.5 per cent last year. The national average is 2.4 per cent.

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The average rent in Yellowknife rose by two per cent, to $1,614 per month, compared to the national average of $987 per month.

Broken down by bedroom type, the average rental rates in the city were $1,182 for a bachelor, $1,451 for a one-bedroom, $1,697 for a two-bedroom, and $1,993 for a three-bedroom.

Supply and demand

The number of rental units available in Yellowknife is "marginally" higher than last year, increasing by two units. There are a total of 1,667 private apartment units in the city as of October 2018, according to the report

This, according to the report, "[indicates] that demand factors were largely responsible for the rising vacancy rate."

The report pinpoints the reason for the rising vacancy rate on people leaving Yellowknife, even as the territory welcomes more immigrants.

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The report states that while the N.W.T. gained a net 63 residents through international migration in the first half of 2018, it lost a net of 678 people to other provinces.

The decrease in demand isn't making rental units more affordable.

"Despite the rise in the vacancy rate … landlords continue to increase rents," states the report.

Nationally, demand for rental housing is outstripping supply, with the number of units available increasing by 2.5 per cent over the past year.

The stability of rental prices varies wildly across the country, with rent rising by 9.4 per cent over the past year in Kelowna, B.C., and going down slightly in Regina, by 0.5 per cent.