I have the first vacancy I've had in a while in Southwest Edmonton and have posted my unit for the same rent I was getting. So far after a couple days and having posted on 3 different sites, I'm finding that I'm getting almost zero responses.

I'm not sure if this is related to timing or if the market has actually slowed significantly in Edmonton due to obvious factors. I understand the market is not as hot as it was a couple years ago, but I'm surprised how quiet it has been. I'm renting for Aug 1 so there is still time. Does anyone have any feedback on this front?

Summer is slow, especially over a long weekend.

Depending on rent you are asking there is also competition from folks who would rather buy. What are you akikng, for what ?

We have not seen rents decline nor vacancies go up in Edmonton but we are talking $1000 for 1BRs and $1200 for 2BRs, +/- $30 incl. utilities.

Hi Thomas,
Thanks for your reply. It is a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom newer townhouse (maybe 7-8 years old- 1100 sq ft) with a single garage in the Rutherford area in SW Edmonton. I have been consistently getting 1400-1450 over the past 2-3 years excluding utilities. This time, however, at the same rental rate, I have not been getting much of a response. It's only been a few days, however, and based on what you said, I think it may be due more to the time of year and the Canada day holiday. If you have any further thoughts, it would be much appreciated.

What else can you get for $1400 in the area ? Where do you advertise ?

Ir is taking a but longer to rent now. I just rented a 3 bdrm townhouse in Millwoods for 1,550 plus utilities

Similar units are posted ranging from 1400 to 1550. I've used kijiji and rentfaster for posting. Thanks Amin for the feedback. I definitely sense it slower than a year ago.

I have a database of a couple thousand secondary market townhomes in Edmonton going back to October 2014. Yes, we are seeing flat/downward pressure. Mostly what I am seeing is that the shabbier looking units are sitting for 8+ weeks and landlords are dropping rents and offering big incentives. The historical average I have seen for south Edmonton 2 bedroom townhouses is $1,572 + utilities with the weekly average dropping down to a low of $1,375 (this is really narrowing down my database to about 4 - 6 observations per week).

You will be below this average in Rutherford as you only have 1.5 bath (big negative...now not very good for a family) and only a single garage (newer area, lots of double garages available). It is a little older product, and most of the new product now comes almost standard with SS and granite countertops...worth a premium of a minimum $100 - $125 / month.

At the first glance, I think you are right on market.

I agree with above that it's the long weekend / extended holiday week so don't read anything the current lack of calls.

If you are confident with the quality of the place and your ability to select good renters, you may consider dropping the DD. Professional companies do this all the time so that they can increase the monthly rent. Ultimately, renters are looking at the total price tag it costs for them to get into the property...If you are looking at $1450 x 2 = $2,900 that is going to price you out of some people's budget. This is an advanced strategy and I would not recommend it for everyone! You have to have ability to collect from renters in case they do damage your property and understand the legal process to do so.

The 3 bedroom in MW for $1,550 is good. 4 week moving average is $1,501 and 12 week moving average is $1,473. So above market rents by my estimation. Probably a well managed (and advertised) property.

Yes, much higher rents are achievable in this market. I rented a basement suite for $1,500 two weeks ago (including utilities) and a main floor + double detached garage (including utilities) for $1,940. But it is super relative to the neighborhood and the condition of the property.

SweetZone, are you updating this database yourself or is this something you have found online? Lots of good info.

I recently rented a 2 bedroom main floor suite on the northeast side and I was also finding there were not many replies coming in, so I ended up lowering the rent by $50 and found I got a few more replies and was able to rent it. It is a clean but slightly older unit. Comparing to other ads in the area I was still on the higher side though. I never thought of dropping the DD, might be something to try.

I find that a lot of people do not want to use the phone any more, so I have to be very timely in replying to their email or text. If it takes me too long to reply I usually do not hear back.