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The average rental apartment vacancy rate in 35 major Canadian cities increased slightly to 2.7 per cent in April from 2.6 per cent in April 2008, according to a survey by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The CMHC said the slight increase in the vacancy rate recorded in its spring rental market survey partly reflects a drop in demand for rental units.
"Completions of condominiums, which continue to attract renter households looking to move into homeownership, are decreasing demand for rental housing," Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC`s market analysis centre, said in a news release.
"Also, some of the completed condos compete with rental units if they were purchased by investors who then rent them out. These two factors have put upward pressure on the vacancy rate. However, this has been balanced by higher levels of demand for rental housing."
The survey, released Wednesday, found that the major cities with the lowest vacancy rates in April 2009 were as follows: Quebec City, with 0.6 per cent; Regina, with 0.7 per cent; Winnipeg, with 0.9 per cent; and Saguenay, Que., and Trois Rivières, Que., both with rates of 1.1 per cent.
In B.C., only two cities had vacancy rates lower than 2.0 per cent: Victoria at 1.2 per cent and Vancouver at 1.9 per cent.
The survey found that the major cities with highest vacancy rates in April 2009 were Windsor, Ont., at 15.5 per cent, St. Catharines-Niagara in Ontario at 5.3 per cent and Abbotsford, B.C., at 4.8 per cent.
Read the full article here.
The CMHC said the slight increase in the vacancy rate recorded in its spring rental market survey partly reflects a drop in demand for rental units.
"Completions of condominiums, which continue to attract renter households looking to move into homeownership, are decreasing demand for rental housing," Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC`s market analysis centre, said in a news release.
"Also, some of the completed condos compete with rental units if they were purchased by investors who then rent them out. These two factors have put upward pressure on the vacancy rate. However, this has been balanced by higher levels of demand for rental housing."
The survey, released Wednesday, found that the major cities with the lowest vacancy rates in April 2009 were as follows: Quebec City, with 0.6 per cent; Regina, with 0.7 per cent; Winnipeg, with 0.9 per cent; and Saguenay, Que., and Trois Rivières, Que., both with rates of 1.1 per cent.
In B.C., only two cities had vacancy rates lower than 2.0 per cent: Victoria at 1.2 per cent and Vancouver at 1.9 per cent.
The survey found that the major cities with highest vacancy rates in April 2009 were Windsor, Ont., at 15.5 per cent, St. Catharines-Niagara in Ontario at 5.3 per cent and Abbotsford, B.C., at 4.8 per cent.
Read the full article here.