The Calgary Rental Market is Hot!
Calgary Real Estate and Rental Market Update
July 1, 2022 - Written by Jamie Palmer, President/Broker of Power Properties
How’s the Calgary rental market?
The answer to the question we keep hearing “how’s the rental market?” In a word “HOT!” There is a city-wide shortage of available rental properties, owing to the fact that many landlords have sold their properties over the past twelve months, and Calgary is seeing a large influx of inter-provincial and international immigration. So it is a bit of a perfect storm with limited supply and increasing demand. As a result, rents are rising rapidly; we are seeing rental increases of 25-30% compared to the same period last year. Most of this increase has been in the last two-to-three months. To put it in perspective, there are only 34 houses with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms for under $2000/month in all of Calgary.
While many of our clients are reluctant to significantly increase rents for fear of losing their existing tenants, in most cases tenants are renewing their leases, and if they are not, we are able to almost immediately re-rent the property. While I have said it before, it is important to raise rents in order to keep pace with the increasing costs of maintenance, and for many of you with variable-rate mortgages, to keep pace with the significant increase in your mortgage payments.
Calgary ranks nationally and internationally
Calgary was recently shown to be one of the most affordable cities in Canada to rent in, coming in at number 26 out of 35 for most expensive cities, and with an average rent of $1514/month for a 2-bedroom apartment was significantly below the Canadian average of $1855/month. Combine that with Calgary’s recent ranking as the third best city in the world, let me say that again, third best city in the WORLD, and Calgary’s rents are a bargain. So I would suggest you follow the guidance of your Property Manager regarding rental rates as they are tuned into the current rental market, and have a good understanding of what the market will bear.
Plus an update on the Calgary Sales Market
As far as the sales market goes, the number of sales and the average price are starting to slide on a month-to-month basis, but are still up significantly year-over-year. Rising interest rates are doing their job and slowing down the housing market. That said, given all the recent positive economic news for Calgary and Alberta, we can expect that prices will continue to increase through 2022 and well into 2023. The rising interest rates will continue to remove buyers’ ability to purchase a property, the silver lining to this is this will only further increase demand for rental property as people have to live somewhere.
Written by Jamie Palmer, President/Broker of Power Properties Ltd.
Jamie Palmer is the President and Broker of Power Properties. He holds a Certified Property Manager (CPM®) designation, the highest designation in Property Management in North America. He earned an Honors degree from the University of Toronto, and he has over two decades of experience in property management.
About Power Properties Ltd.
Founded in 1980, Power Properties has been providing hassle-free property management services to property owners, property investors and non-residents with homes in Calgary, Alberta for over 40 years. Our full-service property management includes everything from move in to move out, so you don’t have to worry about the day-to-day operations of your rental property. With a team of licensed professionals, years of experience, and award-winning service, you can rest assured that your property is in good hands.
