SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - It didn't even matter that the three-bedroom home for rent was in an amazing location, on a quiet cul-de-sac close to schools, with a large yard, flower beds, a shed, a dog run at the side, and a sunny deck – high school math teacher Mike Johnston was sold at "for rent."

Home-renter Mike Johnston stands with his two mixed-breed huskies, Bro (left), and Aput on June 11. Johnston has been looking for a new home for his family to rent, but has had no luck so far. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

He called right away when he saw the posting last Thursday. He even attended an open house the vacationing home-owners scheduled that Friday to narrow down possible renters, and filled out application forms along with ten others interested. Due to the overwhelming response, the home's new renter was drawn out of a hat, and Johnston's name wasn't picked.

Continuing his search for a home to rent for himself, his wife, three boys, and two mixed Huskies, Johnston shot over an e-mail the minute he saw a Franklin Avenue white duplex posted for rent. He was not surprised when he got an e-mail back just two days later saying 'sorry, it's been sold.'

"Anything that comes up doesn't last the week," Johnston said, outside the 57 Street home his family has rented for the past year but can't continue to live in past Aug. 1, when the rental agreement expires.

"You have a place, there's so many applicants. There's such a high demand. It's a landlord's market."

Johnston may not be alone in his arduous search for a place to rent in Yellowknife, as the latest regional figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed a decrease from last year's already low vacancy rates.

In April, CMHC surveyed 1,764 private rental apartments in Yellowknife and found just 14 suites vacant, marking a vacancy rate of 0.8 per cent, down from 1.3 per cent one year earlier.

"One per cent (vacancy) is very tight," CMHC regional representative Sandra Turner said, forecasting the vacancy rate will remain at about that rate through 2011, as continued job creation and growth in the city meets the supply of expanding residential construction.

"Robust economic expansion" in 2010, including a six per cent increase in diamond mining production and a 25 per cent increase in construction output last year, is fuelling new job creation in the Northwest Territories and supporting rental demand," CMHC market analyst Regine Durand found.

The CMHC survey recorded the lowest vacancy rate in three-bedroom units at 0.6 per cent, followed by one and two-bedroom suites at 0.7 and 0.8 per cent, respectively.

Turner said the rental market is expected to loosen up as many renters turn to homeownership with large residential projects breaking ground this year, including the multiple-family developments underway in the Niven Lake subdivision. Most of the units pre-sold in Copper Sky's Tin Can Hill development were purchased by renters, Turner said – 33 homes were sold out in two days.

"That's how much pent-up demand there is," she said.

The difference between monthly mortgage payments and average rental rates in Yellowknife is about half that in other centres across Canada, the CMHC says, estimating the mortgage difference for a two-bedroom apartment rental at slightly above $400 in 2010.

Johnston says his family will be renting for at least two more years as they save for a down payment on a home in Yellowknife, which Turner said can be as low as five per cent with mortgage insurance.

"Everybody says don't stress out, things will open up," Johnston said, counting down the days until their current rental agreement is up.

Turner agrees they might have better luck later this month or in July, as families often wait until the end of the school year to move out.

"We'll just keep looking til July," Johnston said. "If we don't find anything we'll look in other parts of the country."

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