Vacancy Rate Up in St. John's Area

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR--(Marketwire - Dec. 13, 2012) - According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) Fall Rental Market Survey, the vacancy rate in the St. John's Census metropolitan area (CMA) was 2.8 per cent, compared to 1.3 per cent in 2011.

"Growth in population, income and employment continued to attract people to the St. John's region in 2012," said Chris Janes, senior market analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador. "Current house prices and buoyant economic activity also supported rental market demand, but these factors were not enough to keep the vacancy rate from rising, despite a lack of new supply in the market," added Janes.

Provincially, vacancy rates in percentage terms were 1.0 in the Corner Brook area, 0.5 in Gander and 1.1 in the Grand Falls-Windsor area. The combined provincial vacancy rate for all centres surveyed increased from 1.3 per cent to 2.2 per cent.

Overall, the average two-bedroom rent was $725 across the five urban centres surveyed, with increases recorded in every centre. The highest average two-bedroom rent recorded was $798 in the St. John's area, while Bay Roberts posted the lowest average rent of $563. The remaining average two-bedroom rents were $610 in Corner Brook; $596 in Gander and $659 in Grand Falls-Windsor.

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.

For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642. CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at CMHC Housing Market Information.

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Additional data is available upon request

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