Increasing Vacancy Rate

StumbleUpon 0 Like 0 Retweet 0 Google +1 0

By Elli Davis, June 17, 2010

It is a little easier to find an apartment for rent, in the great Canadian cities, now than it was just a year ago! This is what Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation claims in one of its reports. According to the report, the vacancy rate went up to 2.9 percent this April. When comparing the figures to April 2009, it is not actually much higher – just 0.2 percent.

Windsor is the place where it is the easiest to find an apartment, as its vacancy rate is as high as 12.4 percent. It is not that difficult in Alberta with a 6 percent vacancy rate. However, finding a rental apartment in Quebec City or Regina might not be very easy. The vacancy rate of the former is 0.4 percent, and it is 0.8 percent in Regina.

Regarding prices for a rented apartment, according to CMHC, the highest is Vancouver ($1,150 per month), followed by Toronto ($1,134), Alberta ($1,082), Ottawa ($1,061) and Edmonton ($994). Generally, there is a 1.8 percent rise in rental prices from April 2009 to this April. I would like to say the results are fabulous but honestly, a 0.2 percent rise is not that great. I am just wondering whether it was caused by more people buying homes over the last year?