Spring 2014 Rental Market in Ontario

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 11, 2014) - The rental apartment vacancy rate¹ in Ontario urban centres² was 2.8 per cent in April, 2014, up slightly from 2.6 per cent in April 2013 according to the Spring Rental Market Survey released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

"Less international migration and more condominium rental completions exerted upward pressure on vacancy rates across the province. Meanwhile, stronger employment among younger households who typically rent and fewer rental households moving to homeownership supported rental demand in Ontario this spring. A slight uptick in rental vacancies was the net effect these factors had on the rental market in the spring of 2014," said Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC's Ontario Regional Economist

By market, vacancy rates remained stable in eight of out of 15 CMAs across the province. Barrie (2.1%), Ottawa (3.2%) and Windsor (5.0%) were the only centers that registered lower vacancy rates while Toronto and London contributed most to the rise in the vacancy rate. The lowest vacancy rate was registered in Oshawa (1.6%), Guelph (1.7%) and Toronto (1.9%) while the highest vacancy rates were registered in Windsor (5.0%), Sudbury (5.0%) and Brantford (4.4%).

On the basis of a sample of structures common to both the 2013 and 2014 surveys³, the average 2-bedroom rent increased by 2.7 per cent in Ontario versus 3 per cent this time last year. Slightly higher vacancy rates moderated the increase in same sample rents during the spring of 2014. However, in tighter rental markets such as Guelph, Toronto and Oshawa fixed sample rents grew above the average rate registered across the province

Rental Market data is also available in English and French at the following link: Spring Rental Market Report

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of 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.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC.ca

¹ The survey is based on privately-initiated rental apartment structures of three or more units.

² Urban centres defined as centres with a population of 10,000 or more.

³ Year-over-year comparisons of average rents can be slightly misleading because rents in newly built structures tend to be higher than in existing buildings. Excluding new structures and focusing on structures existing in both the April 2013 and April 2014 surveys provides a better indication of actual rent increases paid by tenants.

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français)

A table is available at the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/951234e.pdf.