According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s (CMHC) spring Rental Market Survey, the average B.C. apartment vacancy rate was 3.4% in April 2012, down from 3.7% the previous year.
The national average in Canada’s 35 major centres decreased to 2.3% in April 2012 from 2.5% in April 2011.
In the Vancouver census metropolitan area (CMA), the apartment vacancy rate was statistically unchanged from the April 2011 level.
The Kelowna and Abbotsford-Mission CMAs reported lower apartment vacancy rates this spring compared with a year ago. However, Kelowna at 5.2%, had the nation’s third highest vacancy rate.
Victoria was the only CMA to record an apartment vacancy rate increase compared with the April 2011 level.
Carol Frketich, CMHC’s B.C. regional economist, said, “An increase in employment, growth in the population and the affordability of rental housing compared to ownership housing were key factors exerting downward pressure on vacancy rates this spring.”
Provincially, apartment rents rose slightly in April compared with a year ago. The average two-bedroom apartment rent was $1,036 per month, the second highest in Canada, behind Alberta.
Vancouver had the highest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in Canada’s major centres at $1,210.
The average one-bedroom apartment rent was $892.
The CMHC estimated that rents increased 2.3% in April 2012 compared with April 2011 rents.
