Good article. What really hit home, though, were the comments posted to various social media sites.
According to a January report by RentSeeker.ca, the average rental price for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver was $1,079. A 560-square-foot apartment at that, utilities not included.
In Winnipeg a similar apartment went for $813, a difference of $3,192 per year.
In Vancouver's Downtown Eastside a 100-square-foot room rents for $560 a month, shared bath, intermittent heating and elevator service.
From a letter to the editor in the Abbotsford News: "I'm a 45-year-old single mom of four children. Our landlord has sold the place we currently live and we need to move by June 30.
I receive $700 for shelter and $652 for bills, food, gas and everything else per month from provincial disability.
We are a kind, polite, honest, clean family with a small dog, just wanting a very long-term place to live. So why is it so hard to find a suitable place to live right now?
The average rent for a pet-friendly, three-bedroom apartment in Surrey is $2,250 (WalkScore).
Last August, RentSeeker pegged the average monthly rent for a three-bedroom apartment in Coquitlam at $1,826. That's $21,912 per year.
A 2015 Vancity study on housing affordability found that by 2020, the salaries for 82 of 88 in-demand jobs will be insufficient to buy a single-family home in Metro Vancouver, even assuming dual-income households.
In 2001, there were 296,000 rental units in the Lower Mainland. In 2011, there were 307,555, an increase of four per cent. The number of owned units rose by 26 per cent.
This isn't limited to the Lower Mainland or Victoria.
From the Alaska Highway News in 2015: "Sara Duncan and her husband recently found a two-bedroom apartment in Fort St. John, but it wasn't easy.
Two more. No juxtapositions necessary.