2013 Retirement Home Survey

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - June 27, 2013) - Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released today the results of its latest retirement home survey. According to the survey, the vacancy rate for standard spaces (1) increased slightly in Quebec in 2013. It amounted to 8.7 per cent in February, compared to 8.4 per cent over the same period in 2012.

"The small change in the overall vacancy rate still stems from stable levels of supply and demand over the last year. That said, there are regions for which the context led to a more pronounced change in the market," explains Kevin Hughes, Regional Economist at CMHC for Quebec.

In large urban centers (see Table: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMCa-mtl-0627.jpg)

As in previous years, the results of the retirement home market survey differ greatly from one urban center to another Québec.

This disparity is also observable across census metropolitan areas (CMAs). In the Montréal region, a slight increase was observed (8.4 per cent compared to 7.9 per cent in 2012). In the CMAs of Québec (6.3 per cent) and Trois-Rivières (14.0 per cent), there was an increase of about one percentage point.

As for regions Gatineau (12.2 per cent) and Saguenay (12.7 per cent), the survey reported notable tightening (5.4 points and 2.9 points respectively). The Sherbrooke CMA (9.0 per cent), for its part, showed a more modest decline (0.8 point).

Rents

According to the 2013 survey, the average rent for a standard room in a retirement home was $ 1,520, compared to 1,475 $ at the same time last year. The breakdown of this result by unit type reveals a diverse picture.

For private rooms, the average rent was $ 1,461 for single rooms and was $ 1,567 for semi- private rooms. As for apartments, the average rent ranges from $ 1,278 (bachelor suites) to $ 1,922 (two bedroom apartment).

(1) Places requiring less than an hour and a half of medical care per day

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

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This release is also available at www.cmhc.ca.

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