Greater Vancouver’s apartment market has had some of the lowest vacancy rates in the country in recent years, indicating high demand and low supply. However, as the Goodman Report: 2013 Greater Vancouver Apartment Building Review suggests, the city’s focus on purpose-built rental apartment buildings and its rental incentive programs is starting to pay off.

As of January 2014, the Greater Vancouver area had 49 new purpose-built rental projects, representing 5,849 suites, awaiting development permits or under construction. The Goodman Report expects that this new supply, along with the value of renting versus home ownership, will have significant impacts on apartment transactions and vacancy rates throughout the region.

The report states that, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, “it is 32.5 per cent less expensive to rent a one-bedroom in Greater Vancouver than to own (whether one rents a condo or an older purpose-built unit). The gap increases considerably once strata fees, maintenance costs and taxes are also taken into account.”

Throughout the second half of 2013, full-time employment growth remained relatively flat and, without significant employment gains, renting remained a more viable option for many low to moderate-income households, the report says: “In general, purpose-built rental apartments are still the least expensive housing options in Vancouver CMA.”

The Goodman Report explains that average Vancouver rental prices increased only marginally in 2013, by 1.9 per cent. This, combined with low vacancy rates, fewer full-time employment opportunities, regulations surrounding the rezoning of older apartment apartments and the appeal of new, highly-functional purpose-built rental buildings, provides ideal conditions for propelling the purpose-built rental market.