Estevan’s rental vacancy rate remains the highest in the province, according to the Rental Market Report for 2019 that was recently released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The report offers a snapshot of rental costs, vacancy rates, the number of rental units and other vital information for a community. The data was tabulated for communities across the country in October of last year, but not released until January.
Estevan’s total vacancy rate was 25.8 per cent, which was up from 21.8 per cent in 2018. It is the highest in Saskatchewan, with Swift Current (21.9 per cent) the next closest to Estevan.
Six of the 10 Saskatchewan cities tracked in the report had a vacancy rate of at least 10 per cent.
Vacancy rates in Estevan were at 52.5 per cent for bachelor suites, 23.1 per cent for one-bedroom apartments, 27 per cent for two-bedroom units and 18.3 per cent for homes with at least three-bedrooms.
Estevan’s average rent stood at $901 per month, up slightly from the $889 monthly fee seen in 2018. It remained the fourth-highest average rate in the province, trailing only Saskatoon ($1,046), Regina ($1,035) and Lloydminster ($1,037).
The average rent was $489 a month for a bachelor suite, $790 each month for a one-bedroom unit, $975 per month for a two-bedroom apartment, and $1,037 for a home with at least three bedrooms.
Estevan had the lowest average rent for bachelor suites. But it was the fourth-highest average for two-bedroom apartments and fifth-highest for three-bedroom units.
There were 636 total rental units in the city, which is down three from the previous year. Estevan had 14 bachelor suits, 224 one-bedroom apartments, 365 two-bedroom units and 33 units with at least three bedrooms.
The number of total units is the lowest in the province, with Weyburn (659) the closest to Estevan.
At one time, Estevan was home to the highest average rent in the country, and had a reported zero per cent vacancy rate, but those numbers have changed dramatically in recent years due to the change in the economy.
