Case Study: Fraser Valley Purpose-Built Rental
Examining a multi-family development property in South Surrey, as a potential purpose-built rental site.
Property information
- 15436 31 Avenue, Surrey
- Located in the Rosemary Heights neighbourhood of South Surrey
- 1.427 acre site
- Development permit ready for 86 condominium units
- Backs onto greenbelt with park-like setting
- Designated live and work in official community plan
Observations
What we noticed when developing the proforma is that there is approximately a 30% differential between the rental rates that CMHC quotes for rental apartments and what renters are willing to pay to rent new product – and that difference jumps to over 50% when you isolate just two bedroom suites.
Developers and their financiers tend to use the CMHC rates in their proformas. This differential shows up as a gross underestimation of revenue and when translated to the residual land value, can make a great investment opportunity appear unfeasible.
This differential is likely a key reason why we see so few purpose-built rentals being built in the Fraser Valley despite a sub 2% vacancy rate.
Sources:
Market rental rate data was collected in October and November 2015 from:
Craigslist
Hugh McKinnon Realty
Homelife Peninsula Property Management
Kijiji
The CMHC data is taken directly from the following reports:
CMHC Rental Market Statistics Spring 2015
CMHC Rental Market Report Vancouver and Abbotsford-Mission CMAs Fall 2014 (most up to date data set available)
