Saskatoon rental vacancy rate drops as demand increases

It was tougher to find a place to rent in Saskatoon in 2021, according to a survey by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

“We're seeing strong rental occupancy that's outpacing supply,” said senior analyst Goodson Mwale.

“In terms of direction it's been moving down for the last few years and so that is indicative of the strength we're seeing in terms of demand versus supply.”

The vacancy rate has dipped to 4.8 per cent in 2021, down from 5.9 per cent in 2020.

Saskatchewan Landlord Association CEO Cam Choquette says the increase in demand in Saskatoon is due to increased immigration and university students returning to campus.

Mwale says despite the increase in demand, rent prices for vacant units in the city were still lower than the average rent for units that were already occupied.

“Rents actually grew very modestly in both Saskatoon and Regina less than one per cent in both markets, which is indicative that the market is still quite accommodative for the level of demand that's out there and for the level of supply that that exists in the market.”

Choquette says vacancy levels can be cyclical.

“Landlords are able to generate higher rents which in turn allows them to both reinvest in current housing stock, but also bolsters their ability to invest in more units for renters in Saskatoon which keeps vacancy at a level that doesn't encourage significant price increases,” he said.

“We want to make sure that the housing continuum is meeting the needs of both real estate investors and landlords, but also is affordable for renters so that they're attracted to Saskatchewan, want to come and work and live here for a good quality of life but also an affordable quality of life.”