Estevan continues to have the highest rental vacancy rate in the province, even though the average cost of rent dropped in 2020.
According to the 2020 report, released Thursday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Estevan鈥檚 rate was at 26.5 per cent, up from 25.8 per cent the previous year.
CMHC tabulated the numbers in October 2020.
Vacancy rates for bachelor suites were down, from 52.5 per cent in 2019 to 43.2 per cent in 2020, while one-bedroom apartments dropped from 23.1 per cent to 18.1 per cent.
But two-bedroom apartments increased from 27 to 31.3 per cent, and three-bedroom apartments soared from 18.3 to 29.2 per cent.
The average rent was down from $901 per month in 2019 to $852 a month in 2020. Among the 10 Saskatchewan communities surveyed, Estevan was sixth for average rent.
The average rent for bachelor suites was $455, compared with $489 in 2019. Rent also decreased for one-bedroom units from $790 to $767 and two-bedroom units from $970 to $914, but it increased for three-bedroom sites from $1,037 to $1,115.
The average rent for the 10 Saskatchewan communities surveyed was $1,037 a month, compared to $1,004 in 2019.
There were 592 total rental units in Estevan in 2020, compared with 636 the previous year.
The number of bachelor suites remained the same at 14. One-bedroom units were almost identical, sliding from 224 to 222, and three-bedroom units dropped slightly from 33 to 31. But the number of two-bedroom apartments dropped from 365 to 325.
Estevan鈥檚 rental market was, at one time, one of the hottest in the country, with a zero per cent vacancy rate and rent fees that exceeded those of some of Canada鈥檚 largest cities. But the rent has dropped, and the vacancy rates have soared, since the price of oil plunged in mid-2014.聽
