The family is relocating from out west to Pictou County for a job her husband is starting at Vida Cannabis. But as of yet, they haven’t been able to find a place to rent.
“Every day we are on the computer looking for home rentals,” she said.
She said she was surprised to see there are more wanted ads for houses to rent on Kijiji than there are actual houses listed as being for rent. They’ve talked with three real estate agents at three different companies, but as of yet, nothing is available. She was told they would check with their clients to see if someone who was having trouble selling their home, might be interested in renting.
“I haven’t see that anywhere else I’ve lived,” she said.
She and her husband have two children and a couple dogs.
“We’re a normal family, looking for a normal family home,” she said.
Sherry Blinkhorn, who owns Blinkhorn Realty and has rented out houses herself for years, said there is indeed a shortage of houses on the market for rent. It’s always been hard to find a good place to rent for a reasonable price, but this year has been even worse.
She said properly maintained homes for rent go quickly.
“It’s very hard to find anything decent,” she said.
She said she thinks part of the reason there is such a demand for rental properties is that people want to take their time before jumping into buying a house. She said they’ve still been able to sell a lot of houses.
“It hasn’t impacted the sales just because there’s more people looking for rentals.”
The other factor affecting the market she said, is the fact that many property owners don’t want to have to deal with the challenges of being a landlord.
“You have to have specific appetite for rentals,” she said. “Some people don’t want to go through the hassle of renting any more.
It’s always been hard to find a good place to rent for a reasonable price. It just seems like this year has been.
Another Real Estate agent who declined to use their name, said they too have seen a shortage in rental homes this year.
Rod Rafuse, broker at HLM realties, however, said there are plenty of apartments for rent in the area and when people have come to them looking for homes to rent they’re usually able to find something.
“At this point we haven’t seen any issues with it,” he said.
He said the best thing for people searching for a place to rent is to contact a Real Estate agent.
“That’s a better starting point,” he said.
Austin said they aren’t alone. She knows of others coming to work at Vida that are also looking for places to rent.
“It’s so discouraging. As much as we love the Travelodge, we want to get settled,” she said.
They have a moving truck that’s supposed to arrive later this week. She hopes that when it does, they’ll have somewhere to put all their belongings, so they don’t have to put it in storage.
