Apartment rents rise 10% in a year, study reveals
A housing crisis is looming in Windsor as the city’s economy continues its upward climb, creating apartment shortages and pushing many people out of the rental market.
Between June 2017 and June 2018, the median cost of a twobedroom apartment in Windsor jumped nearly 10 per cent to $930 a month, according to a new study called the Canadian National Rent Report.
Anna Angelidis, executive director of Housing Information Services, said that’s more than many Windsorites can afford.
“We are going to be in a crisis, a housing crisis, if we don’t see more funds for rent supplement units and build more affordable units,” said Angelidis. “There is greater demand than supply, so landlords can increase their price and they can rent their unit at whatever price they set it for.”
The new report comes from PadMapper, an apartment rental website that also collects monthly data on rental listings.
The report analyzed hundreds of thousands of listings to examine rent prices across the 26 largest cities in Canada.
The report shows that the median cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Windsor increased 4.4 per cent to $710 a month.
The median cost of a two-bedroom pad jumped 9.4 per cent.
PadMapper spokesperson Crystal Chen said Windsor’s vacancy rate was less than three per cent in 2017. But it’s still one of the most affordable places in the country. Out of the 26 cities listed, only Saguenay, Que., had lower rental rates. Toronto and Vancouver were the two most expensive cities.
The median price for a one-bedroom in Toronto is $2,080. A two bedroom is $2,800.
In Vancouver, a one-bedroom goes for $2,000 and a two-bedroom is around $3,200. Chen — who lives in San Francisco where a one-bedroom unit is about $3,500 a month — said Windsor’s relative affordability has created a situation where the focus seems to be on selling homes instead of renting.
Those who can’t or don’t want to buy are not letting go of the apartments they moved into when rents were lower.
“I think there’s just been a shortage of affordable rental units over all, and people who have an affordable rental apartment will stay there for a long time,” said Chen. Angelidis said an economic revival is also likely contributing to the low vacancy rates. “People are moving into our area,” she said. “For the longest time, a lot of efforts have been made to promote Windsor as a retirement community, and maybe that is why we see the low supply of rental units. The economy has improved. It’s good that the vacancy rate is low, but it’s not helping those on fixed incomes.”
She said that situation is unlikely to improve as construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge ramps up, bringing work crews and other people into town. “Landlords and property management companies have a choice to pick from whoever they want, and use screening criteria to select the best tenants for their units,” said Angelidis. “That makes it very difficult for the people that we service who are on fixed income, who are working two jobs or just above minimum wage. It’s become more and more difficult for those folks to find affordable housing.” There are more than 4,500 people waiting for social housing in Windsor, she said.
“The rents have jumped significantly,” said Angelidis.
“The rents are still affordable in social housing. But we’re not building units in social housing. “Those that can afford to pay the higher market rent, those are the ones that are going to be able to secure the units. Others are going to struggle.”