Average apartment vacancy rates for purpose-built apartments in Canada held steady over the past year according to the CMHC Spring Market Report, sitting at 2.7 per cent in April 2014.

The report looked at 35 major urban centres across Canada, noting that the lowest vacancy rates were in Edmonton, Calgary (1.4 per cent each) and Kelowna (1.5 per cent) while the highest vacancy rates were in Moncton (10.7 per cent), Saint John (10 per cent), and Charlottetown (8.7 per cent).

Vacancy rates are more than just useful metrics used for evaluating a rental property; they are also indicators of social well-being when used in conjunction with other indicators — like health, employment and education. Vacancy rates help provide a snapshot of the economic state of a city or place compared to how it was at other points in history. In the 1990s, for instance, the average rental vacancy rate in Canada rose above 4 per cent, reaching as high as 4.5 per cent in 1995. Rates began to trend downward in 1998, reaching their lowest point in 2001 (1.7 per cent).

What’s happening in Ontario

Ontario rates rose slightly from where they were a year ago, with Barrie (2.1 per cent), Ottawa (3.2 per cent) and Windsor (5 per cent) listed as the province’s only urban centres registering lower. Meanwhile, Toronto and London contributed to the overall rise; the lowest vacancy rate was registered in Oshawa (1.6 per cent), Guelph (1.7 per cent) and Toronto (1.9 per cent) while the highest vacancy rates were registered in Windsor (5 per cent), Sudbury (5 per cent) and Brantford (4.4 per cent).

Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC’s Ontario Regional Economist, attributes the slight rise to less international migration and more condominium rental completions. He also notes that “stronger employment among younger households who typically rent and fewer rental households moving to homeownership supported rental demand in Ontario this spring.”

According to the report, the average two-bedroom apartment rent increased by 2.7 per cent in Ontario versus the 3 per cent recorded at the same time last year.

Cross-Canada highlights:

• The British Columbia vacancy rate dropped from 2.4 per cent from 3.5 per cent in April 2013. The province’s four largest rental markets recorded lower vacancy rates in April 2014. In the Vancouver and Abbotsford-Mission markets, the apartment vacancy rate dropped a full percentage point or more to 1.8 and 3.7 per cent, respectively.

• The average apartment vacancy rate in Alberta’s urban centres was 1.8 per cent versus 1.5 per cent a year ago. Vacancies ranged from zero per cent in Canmore to seven per cent in Wood Buffalo.

• The highest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments were in Vancouver ($1,274), Calgary ($1,267), and Toronto ($1,241). The lowest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments were in Saguenay ($562), Trois-Rivières ($571) and Sherbrooke ($594).

Erin Ruddy is the editor of Canadian Apartment Magazine.