Canada’s Latest Rental Market Report

by | Jan 5, 2015 | Rental Property Management Tips

Millennial renters and immigrants are keeping vacancy rates low, according to the fall Rental Market Survey released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

tenant screeningThe average rental apartment vacancy rate in Canada’s 35 larger centres increased slightly, to 2.8 per cent in October 2014, from 2.7 per cent in October 2013.

“Between October 2013 and October 2014, the supply of purpose built rental housing units rose by 2.7 per cent. Overall, this increase in supply outpaced the rise in occupied units, slightly pushing up the national vacancy rate,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “That said, demand for rental housing was supported by net migration and steady levels of full-time employment in the 15 to 24 age group”.

Key highlights of the report include:

The highest purpose-built rental housing vacancy rates among the country’s larger centres were in Saint John (9.0 per cent), Moncton (8.7 per cent), Ottawa-Gatineau (Que. part) (6.5 per cent) and Charlottetown (5.9 per cent), while the lowest vacancy rates were registered in Vancouver and Kelowna (1.0 per cent), Guelph (1.2 per cent), Calgary (1.4 per cent) and Victoria (1.5 per cent).

Overall, the average rent for two-bedroom apartments in existing structures across Canada’s 35 larger centres increased 2.5 per cent between October 2013 and October 2014. The average rent for a two bedroom apartment in new and existing structures was $941 in October 2014.

Condo Apartments

CMHC’s October 2014 Rental Market Survey also covers condominium apartments offered for rent in 11 large urban centres, including Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal. In this particular segment of the secondary rental market, rental condominium vacancy rates ranged from a high of 3.4 per cent in Montréal, to a low of 0.7 per cent in Vancouver. Average monthly rents for two-bedroom condominium apartments were highest in Toronto ($1,818) and lowest in Québec City ($1,070).

Foreign Investments

Addressing needs in the rental community, CMHC has, for the first time, asked property managers to provide information on the total number of condominium apartment units owned by people whose permanent residence is outside of Canada as part of its survey.

Condominium foreign investment information was collected in 11 Census Metropolitan Areas in Canada, including Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Québec.

The results show that the percentage of foreign investment in condominiums in Victoria is 1.1 per cent, Vancouver 2.3 per cent, Calgary 0.2 per cent, Edmonton 0.1 per cent, Saskatoon 0.3 per cent, Regina 0.1 per cent, Winnipeg 0.1 per cent, Toronto 2.4 per cent, Ottawa 0.7 per cent, Montréal 1.5 per cent and Québec 0.6 per cent. With respect to location, the city core in Canada’s largest rental markets (Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver) experienced larger foreign condominium ownership.

For more detailed information from the report, visit CMHC’s Housing Market Information Portal.

This post is provided by Tenant Verification Service, Inc., helping landlords reduce the risks of renting with fraud prevention tools that include Tenant Screening, Tenant Background Checks, (U.S. and Canada), as well as Criminal Background Checks, and Eviction Reports (U.S. only).

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.

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