Despite average rental prices going up in the City of Grande Prairie, a couple of factors could reportedly see the price of one and two-bedroom suites plummet once again.
According to Rentals.ca, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit in December was roughly $985, with a two-bedroom home property for $1,154. The updated averages rank Grande Prairie prices 28th and 29th respectively on a list of 35 municipalities across Canada. Those numbers are up roughly one per cent from November 2020.
Rentals.ca Content Director Paul Danison says there are a number of factors at play, including the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination rollout, which could see the uptick head back south.
“We’re predicting overall that rent could either flatten out or be a little lower for the next three or four months before they start to turn around,” he says. “How much people will be able to get out there, and not have fear of being out in the public again, and jobs come back… and the unemployment rate is a little bit better overall in the Peace Region; I think things are starting to turn around a little bit,” he adds.
However, Danison adds COVID-19 isn’t the only outside factor that could cause some potentially big changes. The cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline expansion permit, Danison suggests, could create another scenario in which rent could plummet.
“If the vacancy rates go up, rent will continue to slide a little bit,” he says. “It’ll be so many more vacancies because you don’t have people coming to work in the oil fields as much.”
Overall, Grande Prairie ranks third in Alberta municipalities on the Rentals.ca list, behind only Calgary and Edmonton in terms of the average price of a rental unit.