New survey results shed light on Kitchener-Waterloo rental market
Results found that all demographics were concerned with safety and affordability when renting
The newly-published results of a University of Waterloo survey are shedding light on the preferences of renters in Waterloo region.
Carried out by a team of researchers at the university, the survey asked three thousand households what they're renting now, how much they're paying, and what an ideal rental would be for them.
"We were able to paint a nice profile of student renters, senior renters and also family renters with children," Dawn Parker, professor of planning with the University of Waterloo, told The Morning Edition's Craig Norris.
According to Parker, one of the main things to understand about the rental market is that it is very diverse – not just in terms of who is renting, but also in terms of what their needs and preferences are.
Students, for example, are happy to be in high rises with access to transit, while seniors think less about transit and are more concerned with access to services. Across the board, though, everyone was concerned with safety and affordability.
The survey also asked participants if they wanted to be around people like themselves in terms of education, income and ethnic diversity.
"We found that people were very tolerant of diversity," said Parker.
Results also revealed links between the housing market and the rental market in Waterloo region.
"There's been a lot of appreciation in rental market because of the pressure on the housing market," she said.
Parker said the next step for her and her team will be to use the survey to better understand how changes in the transportation system – including the launch of ION LRT – impact people's location and travel patterns.