Western Canada Apartment Market Poised for a Comeback

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Since the start of the pandemic, the Canadian CRE market has experienced some significant changes. We’ve seen a rise in demand for industrial solutions like warehousing and an unexpected rise in interest in residential and multi-family real estate in suburban environments. However, the urban environments have experienced heavy blows.

The urban office and residential sectors have seen a rise in vacancies in 2020, which was a great cause for concern for many investors. However, tides are slowly turning, and experts at Urban Analytics are predicting a massive apartment market growth in Western Canada in the following years.

The Impact of Covid-19 on the Canadian Apartment Market 

Unsurprisingly, the pandemic’s negatively affected the apartment markets across the globe. In Canada, major cities like Edmonton, Vancouver, and Calgary have seen a significant increase in rental vacancies.  Edmonton’s vacancy rates increased to 7.2% in 2020, Vancouver’s to 2.6%, and Calgary’s to 6.6%.

The rise in vacancies was, in part, to blame on closed borders and travel restrictions. There was a significantly lower influx of international students in 2020 and an overall slowdown in immigration.

Adding to the urban vacancy rates was also the shift to suburban environments. With lower rents and more space, suburban rental properties proved much more appealing than their urban counterparts, especially since many Canadian employees could avoid commuting and embrace remote work.

However, the pandemic had only a passing impact on the apartment market. As the borders open and travel restrictions ease, Canadian rental CRE is ready to bounce back.

Read more at https://www.redevgroup.com/news-article/western-canada-apartment-market-poised-for-a-comeback