One expert believes we could see a rise in rental prices in Grande Prairie towards the third quarter of the year, but as with most things, it’s heavily dependent on the progress made against COVID-19.
Rentals.ca Content Director Paul Danison says the most recent data shows an average monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit in the city sitting at $985, with a two-bedroom property going for $1,154. He suggests that Grande Prairie, like much of the province, has seen those numbers slide over the past 12-months. However, he believes the uptick in cost will likely start to ramp up mid to late 2021.
“Grande Prairie has been down, so I think the city will turn a corner and likely see some rents going up at the end of summer, or early fall,” he says.
Danison says moving, in general, has been down year over year, but says they have a few examples of those who have either been forced to or chose to up switch up their living situation.
“When people did want to live near work, and now they don’t have to… and the people who have moved have moved to get more room for lower rates,” he says.
“The others who have to move, unfortunately, are those people without jobs who have had to downgrade, whereas you may have had a two or three-bedroom, to a one-bedroom simply because they can afford it.”
He adds, however, that the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic aren’t the only thing that can cause rent prices to stick below the recent historical average,
“If new strains of the virus are, force more lockdowns and force people inside, that could change things,” he says.
“Especially in Alberta, the oil and gas industry is going to have to make a turn around… the pipeline project that the U.S nixed didn’t help any, but jobs have to come back to, and they have been, they’ve just been slow.”