OTTAWA, June 6 /CNW Telbec/ - The average rental apartment vacancy rate
in Canada's 35 major centres(1) was 2.8 per cent in April 2007, according to
the new spring Rental Market Survey released today by Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation (CMHC).
"Thanks to strong employment growth, solid income gains, and high
immigration levels, the Canadian economy remains very supportive of strong
demand for both ownership and rental housing," said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist
at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "Generally speaking, vacancy rates were
lowest in Alberta (0.9 per cent) and British Columbia (1.1 per cent). The
economic expansion experienced in western provinces is attracting workers from
Central and Atlantic Canada. Upon their arrival, many of these people settle
in rental housing, which has put downward pressure on vacancy rates in major
centres in Alberta and British Columbia."
The new April Rental Market Survey(2) is part of CMHC's new suite of
enhanced surveys and analytical reports. From now on, CMHC will be releasing
rental market information twice a year in June and December as opposed to only
in December. The new spring survey will enable all market participants to
benefit from more timely information on market trends.
In October 2006, the vacancy rate was 2.6 per cent nationally, however,
due to potential seasonality between the fall and the spring, which could
affect rental market conditions, caution should be taken when comparing the
October and April vacancy rates.(3)
The results of this new spring survey reveal that the major centres with
the lowest vacancy rates in April 2007 were Calgary (0.5 per cent), Abbotsford
(0.6 per cent), Kelowna (0.7 per cent), and Victoria (0.8 per cent). All the
major centres in British Columbia posted a vacancy rate below one per cent as
the province's increasing population and the continued relatively high
homeownership costs have propped up rental demand.
At the other end of the spectrum, the major urban centres with the
highest vacancy rates were Windsor (11.6 per cent), Moncton (6.1 per cent),
Saint John (NB) (5.7 per cent), Thunder Bay (5.5 per cent), and Charlottetown
(5.3 per cent).
The highest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in Canada's
major centres were in Toronto ($1,073), Vancouver ($1,051), and Calgary
($1,037). Of all the major centres, these three were the only ones with
average rents above $1,000. The lowest average monthly rents for two-bedroom
apartments were in Trois-Rivières ($482) and Saguenay ($491).
"Interestingly, the highest average rents were not in one of Canada's
major centres, but in the northern Alberta community of Wood Buffalo, where
the average monthly two-bedroom rent was $1,681," said Mr. Dugan. "Strong
economic growth due to activity in the oil sands in Wood Buffalo has attracted
workers from other parts of the country and has driven up demand for rental
housing."
CMHC's spring Rental Market Survey found that the average rental
apartment availability rate in Canada's 35 major centres was 5.4 per cent in
April 2007. A rental unit is considered available if the unit is vacant
(physically unoccupied and ready for immediate rental), or if the existing
tenant has given or received notice to move and a new tenant has not signed a
lease. Availability rates were highest in Windsor (15.0 per cent), Saguenay
(8.8 per cent), and Charlottetown (8.5 per cent), while the lowest rates were
in Kelowna (0.8 per cent), Vancouver (1.6 per cent), Calgary and Edmonton
(both 1.8 per cent).
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been Canada's national
housing agency for more than 60 years. CMHC is committed to helping Canadians
access a wide choice of quality, affordable homes, while making vibrant,
healthy communities and cities a reality across the country.
The full text of this press release is available on the internet at
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca
To access CMHC's 2007 reports on the rental market select from the links
below:- Rental Market Report - Canada Highlights - containing at a glance
rental market information for Canada's 35 major centres
- Rental Market Report - Provincial Highlights - providing a summary of
rental market statistics for urban centres with a population of over
10,000 in each province and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
- Rental Market Statistics Report - a sourcebook of statistical tables
with national, provincial and local rental housing market data
Note: A table of vacancy rates, availability rates and rents is attached.
(Aussi disponible en français)
--------------------
(1) Major centres are based on Statistics Canada Census Metropolitan
Areas (CMAs) with the exception of the Ottawa-Gatineau CMA which is
treated as two centres for Rental Market Survey purposes and
Charlottetown which is a Census Agglomeration (CA).
(2) CMHC's Rental Market Survey is now conducted twice a year in April
and October, to provide vacancy, availability and rent information
on privately initiated structures in all centres over 10,000
population across Canada. Reports are released in June and December.
The spring survey covers apartment and row structures containing at
least three rental units, and unlike the fall survey does not report
information on:
1. Smaller geographic zones within centres
2. Secondary rental market (rented condominium apartments, single
detached, semi-detached, duplexes or accessory apartments).
(3) In our analysis, we have avoided making comparisons between the
results of the April 2007 rental market survey and the October 2006
survey. A key reason for this is that changes in rents, vacancy
rates, and availability rates between the spring and the fall may not
be solely attributable to changes in rental market conditions; they
could also reflect seasonal factors. For example, if more people
tend to move in the spring than in the fall, it could have an impact
on vacancy and availability rates as well as the level of rents.
Alternatively, in centres where there are a significant number of
university students, vacancy and availability rates could be higher
in the spring if students move home for the summer.
To the extent that these types of seasonal variations exist,
comparing results from the spring and fall Rental Market Surveys
could lead to incorrect conclusions about trends in rental market
conditions. To avoid this, we have limited our analysis to the
results of our spring 2007 Rental Market Survey and comparing these
results for different centres across Canada. In spring 2008, when we
have results from our second spring Rental Market Survey, we will be
able to extend our analysis to make year over year comparisons.
VACANCY RATES, AVAILABILITY RATES, AVERAGE RENTS FOR NEW AND EXISTING
STRUCTURES IN PRIVATELY INITIATED APARTMENT STRUCTURES OF THREE UNITS
AND OVER IN MAJOR CENTRES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vacancy Availability Average Rent
Rate Rate Two-Bedroom
(%) (%) ($)
April 2007 April 2007 April 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newfoundland & Labrador 4.2 4.8 560
------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. John's 4.6 5.3 602
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prince Edward Island 5.7 8.4 640
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlottetown CA 5.3 8.5 653
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nova Scotia 3.8 4.7 757
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halifax 3.6 4.6 793
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Brunswick 6.0 6.7 610
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moncton 6.1 6.8 631
Saint John 5.7 6.7 568
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quebec 2.4 5.8 603
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gatineau 2.8 4.2 654
Montréal 2.9 6.3 630
Québec 0.9 4.6 638
Saguenay 3.3 8.8 491
Sherbrooke 1.6 5.2 529
Trois-Rivières 1.0 3.6 482
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ontario 3.9 6.4 921
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrie 3.5 6.0 929
Brantford 2.1 3.3 735
Guelph 3.2 6.1 838
Greater Sudbury 0.9 2.2 723
Hamilton 4.3 7.4 802
Kingston 4.1 7.8 839
Kitchener 4.0 7.0 839
London 3.7 7.1 795
St. Catharines-Niagara 3.9 6.9 760
Oshawa 3.9 5.5 867
Ottawa 2.2 5.3 961
Peterborough 3.5 6.6 815
Thunder Bay 5.5 6.7 693
Toronto 4.0 6.4 1,073
Windsor 11.6 15.0 769
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manitoba 1.4 2.2 715
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winnipeg 1.2 2.0 733
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saskatchewan 3.2 5.1 619
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regina 2.7 4.1 636
Saskatoon 3.0 6.3 626
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alberta 0.9 2.0 932
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calgary 0.5 1.8 1,037
Edmonton 1.1 1.8 877
------------------------------------------------------------------------
British Columbia 1.1 2.2 894
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbotsford 0.6 3.0 700
Kelowna 0.7 0.8 817
Vancouver 0.9 1.6 1,051
Victoria 0.8 3.4 892
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canada CMAs(1) 2.8 5.4 784
Canada (10,000 +) 2.8 5.3 761
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Weighted average of Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). Charlottetown,
which is a Census Agglomeration, is not included.
For further information: Kristen Scheel, CMHC, (613) 748-4632,
kscheel@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
