A combined total of 1,200 purpose-built rental apartments are currently under construction throughout metropolitan Victoria, according to data collected by Citified.

Of those homes, approximately 309 are part of affordable housing initiatives aimed at a wide spectrum of income brackets.

Although Victoria’s vacancy rate has traditionally been in the 2-3% range — considered low by industry standards — the region’s current 0.6% availability has placed tremendous pressure on tenants seeking rental housing across the region. And unlike in years prior, demand for rental housing continues to far outpace availability as would-be homeowners remain in rentals in light of rising real-estate prices.

Complicating matters further, as part of a recent rental industry roundtable organized by Landlord BC — an industry group representing British Columbia’s rental housing property owners and management firms — it was revealed that over 20,000 purpose-built rental apartments throughout southern Vancouver Island will require extensive mid-life upgrades by 2025. This equates to tens of thousands of Victorians faced with finding alternative housing over the next decade while their buildings undergo renovations.

There is some good news, however. The development industry is moving forward with thousands of purpose-built rental units due to come online by 2020. Given the favourable lending environment created by Victoria’s low vacancy rate coupled with high housing demand, private lenders have stepped up to finance rentals in place of government initiatives and subsidies that helped the industry flourish between the 1960’s and 1980’s. Coupled with some lifting of density and height restrictions in the urban core, developers now have the resources and the backing to move forward on projects.

By the numbers, the region’s new-build purpose-built rental housing scenario looks like this:

• 1,200 units are currently under construction, including 309 affordable homes
• 571 of those units are in downtown Victoria, with the remainder scattered throughout the region
• Some 1,600 units are in planning in the region and expected to be completed by 2020
• A further 800 units are also expected to materialize as part of the newly announced Colwood Corners development along Sooke Road at Goldstream Avenue in Colwood
• Of the 1,600 (upwards of 2,400 with the 800 units mentioned above) units in planning, 282 are destined for downtown Victoria
• Newly built rental housing stock (completed within the last year) totals 390 units, with several hundred units completed in 2014
• Federal affordable housing monies are expected to yield hundreds of affordable housing units locally, although the nature of the projects and exact figures are yet to be determined

If you’re in the market for a new-build rental home in Victoria, be sure to follow Citified’s up-to-date development lists for the latest project information. And sign up for Citified’s Insider Report newsletter to receive news and updates straight to your inbox. C

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