CMHC Fall Rental Vacancy Rates Moved Lower in British Columbia

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec. 16, 2014) - According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) fall Rental Market Survey¹, the British Columbia apartment vacancy rate declined to 1.5 per cent in October 2014 from 2.4 per cent in October 2013.

"This October, apartment vacancy rates moved lower in all but six of the province's 27 centres surveyed," noted Carol Frketich, CMHC's BC Regional Economist. "Increased demand for rental accommodations from a growing population and improving labour market outpaced additions to supply, putting downward pressure on apartment rental vacancy rates compared to October 2013."

At 1.0 per cent, the vacancy rate in the Vancouver and Kelowna Census Metropolitan Areas was the lowest among the province's large urban centres. Prince Rupert recorded the highest apartment vacancy rate at 6.8 per cent however this was down from 11.1 per cent in October 2013.

The two-bedroom apartment average rent in British Columbia was $1,112 below Alberta's $1,238 per month and ahead of Ontario's $1,086 per month. For one-bedroom apartments in British Columbia, the monthly average rent was $953.

Based on units common to both the 2013 and 2014 surveys, the average two-bedroom apartment rent in British Columbia increased 2.4 per cent on an annual basis, compared to 1.8 per cent a year ago.²

Rental Market data is available in English and French at the following link: Fall Rental Market Reports

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and advice to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.

¹ CMHC's Rental Market Survey is conducted twice a year in April and October, to provide vacancy, availability and rent information on privately initiated structures in all centres with populations of 10,000 and more across Canada. Reports are released in June and December. Note that there are differences between the fall and spring surveys.

² When comparing year-over-year average rents, the age of the building needs to be taken into consideration because rents in newly-built structures tend to be higher than in existing buildings. By comparing rents for units that are common to both 2014 and 2013 Fall Rental Market Surveys, we can get a better indication of actual rent increases paid by most tenants.

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Additional data is available upon request.

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