BOW VALLEY – Banff’s average rental rates have increased by eight per cent while Canmore saw a five per jump in the cost of renting a home over the same period last year.
That’s according to the Bow Valley Job Resource Centre’s fall labour market review, which considered 875 rental listing in local newspapers, Bow Valley Home Finder and Kijiji between February and July 2018.
The average starting wage was $17.09 per hour based on jobs posted at the Job Resource Centre — a 6.7 per cent increase over the same period in 2017 and a 15 per cent increase over the rate two years ago.
Michel Dufresne, director of the Job Resource Centre, said the wage increases are due to many market factors, including the phased-in increase to Alberta’s minimum wage, now at $15 per hour.
“Wages still aren’t keeping up with cost of living in the Bow Valley,” said Dufresne.
In a recent study, Canmore topped the list as the least affordable community in Alberta, with the average home price of $676,093 out-pricing the median income of $116,975 by 5.8 times.
The study, by national real estate company Zoocasa, calculated the home price-to-income ration in each Alberta market and compared it to the median single- and dual-or more household income in that region.
According to the recent labour market review, average rental rates for a two-bedroom place is $2,117 in Banff and $1,906 in Canmore. For a three-bedroom, it’s $2,729 and $2,294 in Banff and Canmore respectively.
As for average wages, servers, hosts, delivery drivers are at $14.66, housekeeping and cleaners $15.40, social workers, caregivers, massage therapists $19.38, office and administration jobs at $20.31, park interpreters, guides, tour operators $22.29.
Both the Town of Canmore and Banff have built rental housing to deal with the housing crunch, including Banff’s 131-unit Ti’nu affordable rental housing development on Coyote Lane and Canmore’s Palliser rental and employee housing development, which includes 140 units of managed long-term rental and eight five-bedroom staff units.
But Dufresne’s not convinced the housing that was built and other projects that are in the works will put much of a dent in the housing crunch right now, with a vacancy rate sitting at zero year-over-year.
“I’m not saying it won’t plateau at some point, but this is Banff and Canmore and these units will be absorbed almost immediately,” he said.
Town of Banff officials say it’s too soon to tell how much of a difference Ti’nu has had on housing pressures, noting 122 are almost completely subscribed and nine others are still under construction, with occupancy scheduled in November.
“At this point in time, applicants for specific types of units that are no longer available will be managed through a wait list,” said Alison Gerrits, the Town’s community services director.
Gerrits said the 2012 housing study showed some housing units in Banff historically have been occupied by more people than would usually be the case in a healthy housing market to address both lack of supply and affordability challenges.
She said over the last several years, Banff has had a zero vacancy according to the Alberta Apartment Rental Vacancy Survey.
“It is therefore reasonable to assume that as more rental housing comes on stream, one of the outcomes would be to correct some of the overcrowding that has been happening within the housing stock.”
That said, Gerrits said Banff did see a minor upward tick of the latest rental vacancy rate, noting the attest posted rental vacancy rate in December 2017 released by the province was 0.6 per cent.
She said she’s interested to see the next release of the report in December 2018 to see what the new rate will be.
“Keep in mind this methodology does not incorporate below market projects; however the hope is obviously that vacancy rate will improve overall,” said Gerrits.
“With this in mind, Ti’Nu’s 131 units will not eliminate Banff’s housing challenge, but they do represent part of the solution to it.”
