Here's how much rent will cost the average tenant in Regina
Rising rent costs and limited options are making it challenging for Regina renters to find the right place to settle into.
The average two-bedroom rent in Regina rose 3.3 per cent to $1,186 in 2022, according to a rental market report released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Monthly rent for a two-bedroom condo apartment was even higher, rising 14.7 per cent to $1,467, CMHC said.
“Landlords often increase rent to current market levels when a tenant leaves a unit. Some landlords upgrade units between tenants so they can charge higher rents to new tenants,” CMHC said in the report.
“These higher rents increased affordability challenges for renters who are trying to enter the market or find new housing.”
Falling vacancy rates are also contributing to rent increases, according to CMHC.
Regina’s rental vacancy rate dropped to 3.2 per cent in 2022, which is down from the five-year average of seven per cent and the lowest rate since 2014.
The national average dipped to 1.9 per cent in 2022.
The downtown, university, Lakeview and Albert Park areas have the lowest vacancy rates in the city, according to the report.
CMHC said demand outpaced supply in 2022 as last year saw some of the highest levels of migration into Saskatchewan.
Migration coupled with the economy’s return to pre-pandemic levels and an increase of in-person activities contributed to the rising occupancy rate of rental apartments.
According to CMHC senior market analyst Anita Linares, high inflation rates are also forcing more people out of the housing market and into the rental market.
“Some people may not be able to afford down payments, not able to afford mortgage payments and they are being pushed into the rental market,” Linares said.
“It’s kind of like a balloon. You squeeze one area and it pushes into another.”
According to CMHC, there were 191 additions to Regina’s rental supply. However, due to the demolition and renovation of older rental stock, the increased supply was not enough to meet demand in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“We’ve seen a decrease in the rental market universe for the second year in a row,” Linares said.
“It’s highlighting the need and awareness that there is a supply issue within Regina.”
Linares said this should be a signal for all levels of government to intervene and address the supply issues.
She said these rental market trends are likely to continue into 2023. However, as interest rates are expected to decrease by the end of the year, she said renters will hopefully see “an easing in the market.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.