While July 1 is a moving day for many Quebecers, the day was rather quiet in Saguenay according to a mover and people who recently arrived in their new homes on Monday.
JCL Moving Assistant Manager Jimmy Lavertue has noticed a drop in demand of about 50% compared to last summer. He and his team have only 12 moves scheduled.
“Usually it’s three per truck, so you could say 24, so we’re going down by half,” he said.
According to Mr. Lavertue, this tranquility is not unrelated to the scarcity of housing. Indeed, in 2023, the vacancy rate was 1.3% in the Saguenay census metropolitan area, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
“It’s much quieter than other years. There are many who have brought their dates forward or pushed them back.”
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Assistant manager at Déménagement JCL, Jimmy Lavertue, has noticed a drop in requests compared to last year.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Gabrielle Morissette
The challenge of finding accommodation
For her part, student Rose Dufour also noticed the calm of this day.
“Honestly, it’s definitely calmer than I thought it would be compared to other years I’ve moved,” she shared.
She also considers herself lucky to have found an apartment, while others had to look harder.
“I was really lucky because I took the last one that was left. I have a lot of friends who had a hard time finding something,” said Rose Dufour.
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Student Rose Dufour (left) considers herself lucky to have found new accommodation.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Gabrielle Morissette
Frédéric Tremblay, who is moving two streets away, had to use his contacts to find accommodation.
“It’s still contingent, as you might say, but we knew the owner, so it was easy to get in here,” he explained.
