Vancouver is infamous for its sky high rental prices and every once in awhile a "property" comes on the market that truly highlights the city's rental crisis.
In June, this 525sqft windowless shed was spotted on Craigslist for the relatively low (in Vancouver) cost of $1225/month.
Social media promptly had a field day with the rental posting:
$1225/mo for a 475sq ft windowless shed turned "coach house" (w/o full kitchen). This is why so many are leaving Vancouver. #VanRE #obscene pic.twitter.com/dsSAXx1hnc
— Devon Greyson (@DevonGreyson) June 9, 2017
$1,225 a month to live in a shed? Only in Vancouver #vanre #vanpoli https://t.co/AdjgMepHgI
— Metro Vancouver (@vancouvermetro) June 12, 2017
While these ludicrous living options make for a good chuckle, their frequency online of late is a bad sign for the city.
This week another "I can't believe this" rental posting hit Craiglist.
Photo Credit: Craigslist.
While the room is the size of a walk-in closet and the bed appears to be for a toddler, it does have a stand up arcade game with over 600 games!
Photo Credit: Craigslist.
You may be wondering, does the door even open all the way? The answer is yes! But barely.
Vancouver boasts the highest rent in the country, with one-bedrooms usually renting at $1,990, and two bedrooms going for $3,200, so this is slightly below market for the neighbourhood.
Ultimately, the listing highlights the lack of affordable and available housing in and around the Vancouver area.
Expensive and scarce housing has subsequently resulted in many people packing up their bags and moving to cities like Victoria and Kelowna.
The sudden influx of renters to Kelowna has created a vacancy rate below 1% and pushed the city into the top 10 most expensive rental markets in Canada.
In fact, according to rental website Padmapper, the rental market for one bedroom's in Kelowna has risen 12.9% in the last year.
