Squamish increases rentals, but vacancy rate stays low

This news will likely not come as a surprise to anyone in town who rents. 

A new report shows that Squamish has seen a 15% increase in the number of rentals, but the vacancy rate remains low as average prices climb.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its annual report on the rental market today (Jan. 26).

In Squamish, the overall number of rentals increased by 84 from 539 to 623 between 2021 and 2022. The increase included one studio rental and 83 two-bedroom rentals with no increases to one-bedroom or three-plus-bedroom rentals, according to CMHC.

The overall vacancy rate increased but remained very low, going from 0.4 to 0.6%. As well, the average price for all types of rentals increased from $1,608 to $1,770.

CMHC’s data conglomerated larger cities like Abbotsford, Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna into metropolitan areas and looked at centres with more than 10,000 people.

By its data, the $1,770 average rental price in Squamish is the highest average among the regions it collected data from. It should be noted that the report did not include Whistler and suppressed its data from Sechelt.

On the other hand, Quesnel and Powell River had the least expensive average rental prices at $794 and $885. Also, relatively nearby Port Alberni had an average of $970.

Big Picture

One of the main takeaways of the 2022 report is that national demand for rentals remained greater than the supply despite 55,000 new rentals across Canada.

“Growth in demand outpaced strong growth in supply, pushing the vacancy rate for purpose-built rental apartments down from 3.1% to 1.9%,” reads the report about Canada.

This national vacancy rate is the lowest it has been in Canada since 2001.

The report noted that rental demand surged across the whole country, which was partially due to higher net migration, return of students to on-campus learning and higher mortgage rates.

What’s more, the lowest-income renters continue to be the most at risk.

“Despite higher overall supply, the share of rental units that are affordable for the lowest-income renters is, in most markets, in the low single digits or too low to report. This is especially true in Ontario and British Columbia,” reads the report.

To view the data collected by CMHC or to read its report, please visit its website.