Lethbridge rental property rates on the rise

The cost of living is on the rise in Lethbridge — at least if you’re renting.

According to rentals.ca’s national rent report, the cost of renting a one-bedroom unit month to month in the city increased by 3.7 per cent.

For a two-bedroom, the month-to-month increase was 5.6 percent.

“Of the seven cities that we tracked in Alberta, Lethbridge had the highest monthly increases in rent for one and two-bedrooms,” Paul Danison, rentals.ca’s content director, said.

Braemore Management broker and CEO Matt Hemmerling said while rental rates don’t fluctuate in Lethbridge like in other cities, the current market is hot, pushing up prices.

“Coming into the fall, students are starting to come back… so we are seeing the demand for rentals,” Hemmerling said.

“With what’s been happening with the real estate industry right now, it’s certainly in higher demand.”

As those post-secondary students return to in-person learning this fall, rentals are becoming a popular commodity.

RentWhiz helps students find off-campus housing and CEO Robin Mwesigye said the amount of people using their service to find a rentals in Lethbridge has doubled compared to last year.

“I think in the last 60 days we’ve seen 500 new members (on RentWhiz’s Lethbridge Facebook page) — in the last 30 days we’ve seen close to 250 new members and there’s constant activity within the group,” Mwesigye said.

“We’re getting back to pre-pandemic levels,” Hemmerling said.

“With two post-secondary institutes here in Lethbridge, that is really our bread and butter — this time of year. Late-summer, students are coming back.”

With the increased prices, Mwesigye says more students are looking to share the burden.

“A lot of students are saying, ‘I can’t afford to live on my own, it’s too expensive.’ (They’re) looking for a roommate,” Mwesigye said.

And the properties are filling up.

“Pre-pandemic we were just over 10 per cent vacancy and now we’re just below one per cent, so quite a big change,” Hemmerling said.

Despite the price increase, Danison said Lethbridge’s rates are still on the lower end of Canadian cities.

“You compare it to some of the bigger cities, Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, even Calgary — it’s a good deal.”

Lethbridge is 28th in rental prices out of 35 cities on rentals.ca’s national rent rankings.

Among Alberta’s cities, Lethbridge is fourth, with lower rates than Calgary, Fort McMurray and Edmonton, but higher rents than Grande Prairie and Lloydminster.