Will More Apartments bring rental rates down?

(July 19, 2012 )

The Aquilini family, owners of the Vancouver Canucks planned to propose a three residential towers at Rogers Arena.  The three residential towers proposed for the Rogers Arena site - one at each end of the arena and the third just across the Georgia Viaduct from the arena. The towers would include 614 living units.

The proposal is suppose to help with housing affordability, stating a large numbers of units should have rental caps placed on them.  But will that be enough?

Vancouver has one of the lowest vacancy rates, and highest rental rates in Canada.  The thought is that as the market supply increases, it will make it harder for investors to find tenants, and therefore rental rates will drop to attract tenants.  We haven't seen any change yet, even in this softer market, as around 50% of people living in Vancouver are renters.  Developers may slow down on new constructions before rental rates go down.  The city will have to find a more proactive solution.


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