The cost to rent a private apartment in Chilliwack rose again in 2020, but not as sharply as in previous years.
Statistics released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Rental Market Survey show the average rent for all sizes of apartments hitting $965, up just $16 a month from 2019, when it was $949.
Apartment rentals surged $78 from 2017 to 2018 and $51 last year, making this year’s bump seem modest by comparison.
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Rental inventory didn’t change much in the last 12 months, but if you were renting an apartment with three-plus bedrooms, more available units proved beneficial.
There were 65 such apartments rented in 2020, nine more than in 2019, and they rented for an average of $164 less.
Everything else went up, with the average rent for a bachelor unit rising $26 (from $734 to $760), the average rent for a one-bedroom rising $24 (from $831 to $855) and the average rent for a two-bedroom rising $29 (from $1,081 to $1,110).
Vacancy rates remained steady, except for bachelor units, which were nearly impossible to find the previous three years but had a vacancy rate of 2.8 per cent in 2020.
The vacancy rate for one bedroom apartments was 1.1 per cent, same as last year. The vacancy rate for two bedroom apartments was 1.8 per cent, where it was 1.5 per cent in 2019. CMHC stats didn’t show the vacancy rate for three bedroom apartments.
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