The local realtors association says a lack of rental housing in the metro region is having far-reaching impacts on the housing market as a whole.
CEO Bill Stirling says the real estate market is tight, with demand far outpacing supply, and with the added pressure created by higher interest rates, demand for homes with basement apartments and rental units is high to help ease the cost of carrying a mortgage.
Stirling says a greater availability of rental units might also help those interested in downsizing, therefore freeing up homes for waiting families.
“There’s an awful lot of, what I would call over-housed senior citizens in our province who would probably be better off in a small, rental apartment in a building and free up that three or four or five bedroom, two storey that they’re sitting in now that’s absolutely underutilized. And that would free-up the opportunity for a growing family to move up to something which would then also open up a home for somebody on the more affordable end as a first-time buyer.”
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