London a deal for renters

Good news if you’re a Western University or Fanshawe College student looking for digs this fall.

London has some of the most affordable rents of any major centre in Canada, says a new survey.

London ranked 22nd out of 25 cities surveyed with an average monthly rent of $790 for a onebedroom apartment and $940 for a two-bedroom.

The August survey of Canadian cities was released by PadMapper, an American online site for apartment hunters. Not surprisingly, the overheated housing markets of Vancouver and Toronto topped the list. Rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,700 a month in Vancouver, while a two-bedroom is $2,720, almost three times the London figure.

Toronto is a relative bargain with a one-bedroom monthly rent of $1,330 and $1,720 for a two-bedroom.

London also had the cheapest rents for any major centre in southern Ontario with Hamilton (15th), Kitchener-Waterloo (16th) and Windsor (19th) all ranking higher.

London’s low rents come despite a steady decline in apartment vacancy rates. Annual surveys from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) show London’s vacancy rate was 2.7 per cent last fall, a steady drop from 4.9 per cent in 2010.

The low London rents also do not seem to be discouraging apartment construction. The CMHC says there have been starts on 1,699 multi-family buildings, typically geared to renters, so far this year, up from 1,199 in the same period last year.