The Red Deer housing market is ripe for renters.
That’s the message in the July report produced by the rental website Rentals.ca, which compiles statistics on the market in Canada.
For the second month in a row, Red Deer features the lowest average monthly rent in the country for one- and two-bedroom units, which are listed at $870 and $963, respectively.
Red Deer is one of the only cities in Canada in which the average rent for a two-bedroom unit is below $1,000.
Red Deer rents for a one-bedroom and two-bedroom accommodation are down significantly year over year.
In June, however, the monthly average rent for a two-bedroom unit rose 3.5 per cent.
“Tenant demand has returned to the market as lockdown restrictions end, and employers bring back furloughed employees and rehire staff,” said said Matt Danison, CEO of Rentals.ca.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put pressure on the rental market nationally, with rent dropping 9.4 per cent in June, and average monthly rents decreasing in April, May and June.
Calgary finished 24th on a list of 33 cities for average monthly rent in June for a one-bedroom unit at $1,164, and 25th for average monthly rent for a two-bedroom space.
Compare that to Canada’s largest city, Toronto, which had the highest average monthly rent in June for a one-bedroom unit at $2,063 and for a two-bedroom at $2,684.
“Rental forecasting remains uncertain as the potential for greater mortgage defaults remains, eviction bans will soon expire, CERB payments will end, and our borders remain closed.
“There is data that suggests both rent increases and decreases are coming,” said Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research & Consulting, which helped produce the report.