Cost of rent in Whitehorse reaches new high in December

Rent in Whitehorse has skyrocketed in 2013, reaching a new high in December.

The Yukon Bureau of Statistics released the Yukon Rent Survey Tuesday stating that the average cost of an apartment in Whitehorse is now $900. That means the average rent has increased $250 since 2003.

The bureau said that the spike could be related to a lack of vacant rental units in the city.

“It’s been a very tight market. In fact, we’ve only been over four per cent vacancy rate once in the last five years… six years since March 2008,” said Gary Brown, Yukon Bureau of Statistics senior information officer.

The vacancy rate in Whitehorse in December 2013 was 3.1 per cent which is an increase of 1.6 per cent compared to the previous year.

The vacancy rate is higher for bachelor units and lower for one and two bedroom apartments, according to Brown.

The survey consists of multi-unit housing, does not represent the all forms of rental housing market in Yukon such as buildings with less than three rental units -- such as houses, suites and duplexes. Subsidized or government-owned housing, and illegal units are also not included in the survey

The survey is carried out in March, June, September, and December each year in Whitehorse, Watson Lake and Dawson City. It began in Yukon in 1977.