Vancouver Rental Market Discussion

[Holden West]

This is Victoria but is happening everywhere. Mrs. West is a property manager and came across an online ad Tuesday for a very roomy apartment renting for $1,200. With school starting in days students are past desperate and the situation in Victoria now is frantic. We smelled a scam right away. Something was off about the photos, we couldn't quite put our finger on it but when we requested a video it all came together: the weird appliances, air conditioner and the clincher was the round Euro electrical outlets. This was definitely not a Saanich home.

She reported the ad but knew it was probably on multiple sites. She contacted one respondent on Facebook, a student from Chile who told us he was just about to send the scammer a deposit. Next she drove to the nearby Gordon Head house whose address was used in the ad in order to inform the homeowner their property information was being used to dupe people and to be aware that anyone dropping by to look is being scammed.

We messaged an application to the scammer and got a rental agreement by email. Now we had an email address which the Canada fraud website told us is helpful in stopping the scam.

The scammer then pressured us to send a deposit by e-transfer. Mrs. West replied that we don't have e-transfer so we put the deposit in cash in an envelope and put it through the mailbox of the house.

It didn't stop him but we wasted a lot of his time and killed one of his email addresses. Fun!

[whatnext]

Probably not a surprise to anyone:

Study: Metro Vancouver, B.C. have much higher rental eviction rates than rest of Canada
Lower Mainland significantly outpaced other major Canadian metro areas like Toronto and Montreal for the dubious honour, with a five-year eviction rate of 10.5%
By Chuck Chiang | September 14, 2021

One of the first comprehensive analysis of rental evictions in Canada has found that both Metro Vancouver and B.C. see a significantly higher eviction rate than their counterparts= provinces or metropolitan areas across the country.

The report, conducted by UBC researchers Silas Xuereb, Andrea Craig and Craig Jones through the Housing Research Collaborative, uncovered the major gap between rental eviction rates between B.C. and the rest of Canada after delving through data from the 2018 Canadian Housing Survey (surveying a total of more than 65,000 Canadians)...

.... For instance, the five-year eviction rate for B.C. in the report reached 10.6% - almost double that of the next highest province (Prince Edward Island, at 6.8%) and almost three times higher than the rate in the provinces/regions with the lowest eviction rates (Manitoba and Nunavut, 3.7%)...

https://biv.com/article/2021/09/study-me...higher-rental-eviction-rates-rest-canada

[Klazu]

Man, that 90s kitchen and wooden cabinets in living room sure do ooze luxury. There cannot really be anyone stupid enough to pay such price for such a dumpy old place, can there? For that price you could rent Shangri-la subpenthouse unfurnished.

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van/apa/d/vancouver-luxury-penthouse-water-view/7486307525.html

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Man, that 90s kitchen and wooden cabinets in living room sure do ooze luxury. There cannot really be anyone stupid enough to pay such price for such a dumpy old place, can there? For that price you could rent Shangri-la subpenthouse unfurnished.

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van/apa/d/vancouver-luxury-penthouse-water-view/7486307525.html

Looks like a long term owner moved out. Could be nice with a total gut and reno, why don't they just sell it?

Meanwhile you could get into the West Side with this:

This tiny room 'connected to a house' in Vancouver is renting for $475 a month
This room, advertised on Craigslist, is renting for $475 a month in Vancouver's Dunbar neighbourhood. This room, advertised on Craigslist, is renting for $475 a month in Vancouver's Dunbar neighbourhood.
By Lisa Steacy
Published June 1, 2022 5:09 p.m. PDT

A Craigslist ad describing a room for rent in Vancouver encourages prospective tenants to "imagine living in the cabin of a sailboat."

The 64-square-foot room that is "connected to" a house in the Dunbar neighbourhood is renting for $475 a month.

The post doesn’t try to pretend the room is anything other than miniscule.

"The room comes with a loft bed and has a very ergonomic layout with lots of shelving and a large work table. But I repeat, this is a tiny space,"...

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/this-tiny-room-con...ver-is-renting-for-475-a-month-1.5928799

[seamusmcduff]

Stuff like this is infuriating and a symptom of our housing crisis. It's also another reason why NIMBY arguments are so frustrating. If you don't build more housing, people are going to find places to live, even if it means cramming themselves into tiny storage closets. Its reprehensible to me that for many, that is an acceptable option as long as their "neighbourhood character" isn't ruined by building slightly larger multi family buildings in single family neighbourhoods. A lot of the time, on of the arguments is that their neighbourhood will be too crowded, it won't be quiet anymore, etc. but a lot of the times there are multiple families crammed into single family homes because its the only way people can afford that housing. People are living in terrible conditions just so their neighbours can have the perception that it is a quiet single family home neighbourhood.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by seamusmcduff

Stuff like this is infuriating and a symptom of our housing crisis. It's also another reason why NIMBY arguments are so frustrating. If you don't build more housing, people are going to find places to live, even if it means cramming themselves into tiny storage closets. Its reprehensible to me that for many, that is an acceptable option as long as their "neighbourhood character" isn't ruined by building slightly larger multi family buildings in single family neighbourhoods. A lot of the time, on of the arguments is that their neighbourhood will be too crowded, it won't be quiet anymore, etc. but a lot of the times there are multiple families crammed into single family homes because its the only way people can afford that housing. People are living in terrible conditions just so their neighbours can have the perception that it is a quiet single family home neighbourhood.

Exactly!

Originally Posted by whatnext

Probably not a surprise to anyone:

Study: Metro Vancouver, B.C. have much higher rental eviction rates than rest of Canada
Lower Mainland significantly outpaced other major Canadian metro areas like Toronto and Montreal for the dubious honour, with a five-year eviction rate of 10.5%
By Chuck Chiang | September 14, 2021

One of the first comprehensive analysis of rental evictions in Canada has found that both Metro Vancouver and B.C. see a significantly higher eviction rate than their counterparts= provinces or metropolitan areas across the country.

The report, conducted by UBC researchers Silas Xuereb, Andrea Craig and Craig Jones through the Housing Research Collaborative, uncovered the major gap between rental eviction rates between B.C. and the rest of Canada after delving through data from the 2018 Canadian Housing Survey (surveying a total of more than 65,000 Canadians)...

.... For instance, the five-year eviction rate for B.C. in the report reached 10.6% - almost double that of the next highest province (Prince Edward Island, at 6.8%) and almost three times higher than the rate in the provinces/regions with the lowest eviction rates (Manitoba and Nunavut, 3.7%)...

https://biv.com/article/2021/09/study-me...higher-rental-eviction-rates-rest-canada

And you are contributing to it by hating on high-rise, high density rental properties in currently ultra-low density but well-connected neighbourhoods.

[WarrenC12]

Note that this is still higher than the $375 shelter rate the government hasn't raised in decades(?) for people on welfare.

I wonder why SROs are in shit condition. I guess we'll never know!

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Vin

Exactly!

And you are contributing to it by hating on high-rise, high density rental properties in currently ultra-low density but well-connected neighbourhoods.

Yes, yes, and we all know this is your wet dream for Vancouver.

Problem is once the developers have overpaid for the land and paid construction costs it woouldn't be remotely affordable either.

[IMG]shenzen by bcborn, on Flickr[/IMG]
Credit: reddit

[seamusmcduff]

Dramatic much? There's a wide gap between Chinese cities level of density and Vancouver density. We can add a lot more density before we look anything remotely like that.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by seamusmcduff

Dramatic much? There's a wide gap between Chinese cities level of density and Vancouver density. We can add a lot more density before we look anything remotely like that.

Whatnext is a stereotypical west side, SFH owning NIMBY.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Yes, yes, and we all know this is your wet dream for Vancouver.

I don't understand how people can go "look at these skyrises, Vancouver should never look like this" when this is what Vancouver looks like:

Source - Vancouver Wikipedia page

Would it hurt to have this level of density literally anywhere except confined to one part of downtown?

(I guess it would if you think Yaletown and Coal Harbour are hellhole hives of scum and villainy like many here do.)

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by chowhou

I don't understand how people can go "look at these skyrises, Vancouver should never look like this" when this is what Vancouver looks like:

Would it hurt to have this level of density literally anywhere except confined to one part of downtown?

(I guess it would if you think Yaletown and Coal Harbour are hellhole hives of scum and villainy like many here do.)

It's funny. Think of the best places in the world to visit: Big cities, natural wonders, historical areas.

Low density is nowhere on that list.

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Yes, yes, and we all know this is your wet dream for Vancouver.

Problem is once the developers have overpaid for the land and paid construction costs it woouldn't be remotely affordable either.

[IMG]shenzen by bcborn, on Flickr[/IMG]
Credit: reddit

This is a false dichotomy. We only need to up-zone for mid-rises and we're good.



https://www.goodfreephotos.com/france/paris/overlooking-the-cityscape-of-paris.jpg.php

[Migrant_Coconut]

Must've missed the part where Vancouver is in the business of building uniform low-cost prefabs. Even the social housing looks vastly different from each other.

[officedweller]

mid-rises ... for as far as the eye can see.

[Findinguu]

I heard from my agent saying GEC Living is quite good.. all utilities are included with housekeeping as well. Anyone has stayed there b4?? there is no pricing on the website LOLhttps://gecliving.com/.

[whatnext]

Good thing is just a myth according to some SSPers:

UBC student plans daily commute from U.S. after failing to find Metro Vancouver rental
By Martin MacMahon
Posted Aug 29, 2022, 2:31PM PDT.Last Updated Aug 29, 2022, 3:02PM PDT.

Following an extensive search for rental housing in Metro Vancouver, a UBC student from Washington state is giving up one week before heading back to school.

Instead, Zoë Tapert plans to commute from Bellingham or Ferndale if she can find a place there that will also take her cat...

....Tapert has made inquiries about approximately 70 rental listings over a span of three months, and has a budget of $1,700.

“It’s draining,” Tapert said during an interview, saying she has rented in some American cities previously and never encountered a rental market like this, where units are spoken for almost immediately after they are posted.

“You apply for a place, and they tell you, ‘sorry, somebody else already applied, and they’re probably going to get it.’ And you’re like, ‘woah, this is totally foreign.’ I didn’t realize how many people are also in my same exact position. The competition is wild.”

She now faces a daily drive of about an hour and a half, after she relocates from where she’s living now, about an hour north of Seattle.

“That feeling of desperation just keeps creeping up,” Tapert said. “It’s definitely a strange situation. It’s stressful. I know so many other students are in the same exact thing. I’ve seen it on social media sites. I’ve seen it on Facebook. I’ve seen it on Reddit. I’ve seen it on Twitter. I know I’ll find something that works for us, whether that be a temporary thing to sort out. I just really hope we’ll find something.”

A contributing factor to the rental affordability crunch is what housing analyst Ben Rabidoux refers to as a “policy mismatch” between the federal government and local governments.

At the federal level, record immigration targets are in place. Universities are accepting record levels of international students. But local governments around the country, including in Metro Vancouver, are not approving housing at a rate in line with the influx of newcomers....

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2022/08/29/ubc-student-plans-daily-commute-from-u-s/

[GenWhy?]

I don't want to get into the weeds here too much, but I have a lot of questions about the article content and Zoe's financial support.
They applied to UBC not looking at the rental market beforehand? Are they willing to live with a roommate? Are there certain locations off the list? Do they insist of keeping their car?

They Can afford renting in Ferndale - and could afford $1,700 in Vancovuer - the over 2 hrs of gas each day, plus parking at UBC? This isn't typical to my understanding.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

I don't want to get into the weeds here too much, but I have a lot of questions about the article content and Zoe's financial support.
They applied to UBC not looking at the rental market beforehand? Are they willing to live with a roommate? Are there certain locations off the list? Do they insist of keeping their car?

They Can afford renting in Ferndale - and could afford $1,700 in Vancovuer - the over 2 hrs of gas each day, plus parking at UBC? This isn't typical to my understanding.

A cursory glance at rentals in Ferndale shows the rent there would be more than $1,700 CA. There are cheaper rents in Bellingham, but there are cheap basement suites in Burnaby too. I agree with you the article seems very odd. Just pricing in the cost of travel and the potential delays crossing the border, especially once we get to winter weather, suggests Zoe might want to rethink the US idea.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

I don't want to get into the weeds here too much, but I have a lot of questions about the article content and Zoe's financial support.
They applied to UBC not looking at the rental market beforehand? Are they willing to live with a roommate? Are there certain locations off the list? Do they insist of keeping their car?

They Can afford renting in Ferndale - and could afford $1,700 in Vancovuer - the over 2 hrs of gas each day, plus parking at UBC? This isn't typical to my understanding.

You’re surprised a first year uni student didn’t do extensive rental market research?

Maybe she has an EV.